Text, Idaean Cave and cult of Zeus

National Archeological Museum, Athens, Greece

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Material: Mixed artifacts including bronze, ivory, and gold
Date range: 4th millennium BC to Roman times; cult began after 1600 BC
Origin: Idaean Cave, Mount Psiloritis, Crete

This cave was sacred to Zeus. Myth says Rhea hid him here from Kronos.

Bronze shields and figurines were offered. They came from Greece, Syria, and Egypt.

Excavations began in 1885. Finds show it was a major cult site for centuries.

Museum label reference:

According to mythology, the Idaean Cave, on Mount Psiloritis (ancient Ida) at an altitude of 1500 metres, was the place where Zeus, father of gods and men, was born and brought up. An Italian traveller was the first to visit the cave in 1591, but the existence of antiquities in it was established by chance in 1884, thanks to a shepherd from Anogeia. Trial excavations were carried out in the years 1885, 1917 and 1956, and a systematic excavation was conducted by the Archaeological Society of Athens from 1982 onwards. The finds now kept in the National Archaeological Museum come from the looting of the cave in 1884 and belonged to the collection of the then Russian consul in Crete, who purchased them as a collector of antiquities.

The history of the cave began in the 4th millennium BC, when the earliest occupation is attested, and continued down to Roman times. The cult, however, started after 1600 BC, with the worship of the Minoan vegetation god who was later displaced by Zeus. Over the centuries the cave developed into an important Cretan cult centre. Its significance is attested by the various bronze dedications, such as human and animal figurines, a variety of vases and cult vessels, and objects of minor art, especially gold-work and ivories. In addition to superb examples of Cretan metal-working, many of the dedications found in the cave come from various regions of Greece and the East (North Syria, Palestine, Egypt, etc.). Some of the most interesting finds are the bronze disk-shaped objects with embossed representations of birds, animals, human figures and mythological scenes. These items have been interpreted as lids of large vases, though they are thought to be mainly shields and they have been connected with the following tradition: Rhea, the mother of Zeus, hid her son in a cave in order to save him from his father Kronos, who devoured his own children; when Zeus cried, the Kouretes, young warriors and daemons of nature who were protecting him, clashed their shields loudly to cover the sound of the baby's crying with the noise.

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Idaean Cave in Crete, birthplace and cult site of Zeus with bronze offerings

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