Major archaeological discoveries have come to light during excavations at the temple of Zeus at Mount Lykeon, south west of Arcadia, the location where Zeus was born and raised as local tradition would have it.
According to the Greek Ministry of Culture of particular significance was the discovery of a 3000 year old skeleton believed to be that of a teenager, as it was found in a 30 metre altar used for animal sacrifices.
Although archaeologists cannot yet explain the nature of the teenager’s death, its connection to the animal sacrificial altar and the nefarious history of the area suggest the boy was the victim of human sacrifice.
Historians and ancient writers claim Mount Lykeon was linked to Greek cults, including those associated with human sacrifice to Zeus, a phenomenon that has rarely been discovered anywhere in the Greek world throughout its history.
According to ancient legend, the human sacrificial offering, usually a boy, along with the animals, was cooked together and whoever ate the human part would turn into a wolf for a period of nine years.
Archaeologists place other findings along with the tomb near the end of the Mycenaean era at 11th century BCE.
