The Cave of Zas, or Cave of Zeus, is an ancient Greek cave located on
Mt. Zas on the island of
Naxos
Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
. The cave was occupied from the
Late Neolithic
In the Near Eastern archaeology, archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding th ...
to
Early Cycladic III periods.
Due to the lack of crop processing residue found, archaeologists suggest that the cave was not used for year-round settlement, but for herding animals during the driest period of the year. Excavations of the cave were carried out in 1985-1986 and 1994.
Geography
The Cave of Zas is 630m above sea level and located southeast of
Filoti
Filoti (in Greek language, Greek: ''Φιλώτι'' or ''Φιλότι''; officially: ''Φιλότιον'') is a semi-mountainous village of central Naxos, Greece, with a population of 1,617 residents (census 2021), located at the foot of Mt. Zas ...
, a village at the foot of the mountain. Large stalactites and stalagmites have been found inside the cave.
In myth
In
Agathosthenes' telling of the history of Naxos,
Zeus
Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Zeus is the child ...
spent his childhood in the cave, in hiding from his father,
Cronus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...
. A rock carving found near the cave reads "Zeus Melosios," referring to Zeus as the protector of the sheep.
References
Further reading
* Zachos, Konstantinos L (1999). "Zas Cave on Naxos and the Role of Caves in the Aegean Late Neolithic." ''Neolithic Society in Greece'', edited by Paul Halstead.
* Zachos, Konstantinos L and Dousougli, Angelika. "Observations on the Early Bronze Age Sealings from the Cave of Zas at Naxos." ''Horizon: A Colloquium on the Prehistory of the Cyclades'', edited by Colin Renfrew et al.
{{Coord, 37, 02, 06, N, 25, 29, 55, E, display=title
Ancient caves of Greece
Sacred caves
Naxos
Neolithic sites in Greece
Zeus