Lyceum mt

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Lyceum is a mountain of arcadia at the frontier of three nomes: arcadia, mykines and ilia. Its top is prophetis Ilias, ancient creta 1421 meters height. The name Lyceum is from the root Luc (λυκ) witch means light. The mt is between Alphios river and the costs of kyparissia (kyparissia that time was costs of arcadia called arcadiά)

[edit] Mythology - Ancientity

At ancient era it was the holy mountain of Arcadians where it is believed Zeus born. Ancient Arcadians called this mountain 'Olympus' & 'holy mountain'. Rea took to top of Lyceuum, Cretea, for not to be killed by her husband Cronos who ate their children. She born Zeus there. Rea wanted to ablute her baby but there was no water. She bit the ground and found water. The river made was Neda (female river). Zeus has been given to Agno, Theisoa,and Neda witch are nymphes of Alphios. Zeus abluted there. Neda later suckled him and brought up him. Ancient Arcadians was saying that Creta the island was not where Dias born but on the top of Lyceum.

At the root of the mountain there was Lycosoura (wolftail) where according to Pausanias it was the first city on the world with other smaller around. At the top it was the Altar Of Dias where they were show-killing, of animals and humans, happened. (according to Pausanias. The altar was made by stone and by it ther were 2 smaller columns with eagles on them which look the East. There has been a a lot stories told that if someone sacrifice to Lyceum Zeus become Werewolf and should not eat human flesh for the next 10 years to become human again.

Near altar there is holy place of Pan where in a cave he had sexual relations with the moon (Σελήνη). Around the cave there was the little forest of Pythios Appolon, and after the forest, the Stadium, the Hippodrome and the guest houses. There mounted Lycea, athletic games by honor of Lyceum Zeus. Pausanias reports that these games were the oldest has been mounted ever. Beholders were sit on stoned [...] and the winners crowned with brance of olive tree on pedestals and took a Cu object. They were fighting with music(diaulos), stadium (running 400m), pentathlo(five sports), wrestling (πάλη), power (πυγμή). Arcadians fight with their natural name Arcades. According Thucydides at the altar os Zeus there was a holy where Pleistoanactas went hunted by the Lacethemonius. The entrance was forbidden for common people. If you got in there you would die within a year. Only priests allowed.

[edit] Archeology

First archaiology diggings have been done in 1897 by K. Kontopoulos, in 1902 and in 1909 by K. kounturiotis. In 2006 new digging research has been done from the American school of classical studies by David Romano and Michalis Petropoulos. According to the results of their diggings to the altar in 2007 they were at protohelladian era (3000 BC).

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