LYCAEUS
LYCAEUS or
LYCE´US (
τὸ Λύκαιον ὄπος,
ὁ Λυκαῖος:
Diofórti), a lofty mountain of Arcadia, in the district of Parrhasia, from which there is a view of the greater part of Peloponnesus. Its height has been determined by the French Commission to be 4659 feet.
It was one of the chief seats of the worship of Zeus in Arcadia, and on the summit called Olympus, or
ἱερὰ κορυφή, were the sacred grove and altar of Zeus Lycaeus, together with a hippodrome and a stadium, where games called Lycaea were celebrated in honour of Zeus (
Λύκαια).
These games are said to have resembled the Roman Lupercalia, and were sometimes celebrated by Arcadians when in foreign countries. (
Plut. Caes. 61;
Xen. Anab. 1.2. 10) Near the hippodrome was a temple of Pan, who is hence also called Lycaeus.
There are still remains of the hippodrome extending from S. to N.; and near its northern extremity there are considerable remains of a cistern, about 50 feet in length from E. to W.
A little further W. is a ruin called
Hellenikon, apparently part of a temple; and near the church of St. Elias is the summit called
Diofórti, where the altar of Zeus formerly stood.
In the eastern part of the mountain stood the sanctuary and grove of Apollo Parrhasius or Pythius, and left of it the place called Cretea. (
Paus. 8.38;
Pind. O. 9.145,
13.154; Theocr. 1.123;
Verg. G. 1.16,
3.314 ;
Aen. 8.344.)
The river Neda rose in Mt. Cerausium (
Κεραύσιον), which was a portion of Mt. Lycaeus. (
Paus. 7.41.3; comp. Strab. p. 348.) Cerausium is shown by Ross to be
Stepháni, and not
Tetrázi, as is usually stated. Mt. Nomia (
Νόμια ὄρη), near Lycosura (
Paus. 8.38.11), was probably a portion of the modern
Tetrázi. (Leake,
Morea, vol. ii. p. 313, seq.;
Peloponnesiaca, p. 244; Ross,
Reisen im Peloponnes, vol. i. pp. 88, 91; Curtius,
Peloponnesos, vol. i. pp. 294, 338.)
