What passions, what sacrifices … and all for a reason
Gloomy legends about the ubiquitous sacrifices of humans and animals in ancient history, which were made at the request of the "gods", are increasingly being confirmed in recent times. Excavations this summer on Mount Lycion, once worshiped as the homeland of Zeus himself, found a 3,000-year-old skeleton of a teenager buried in the ashes of thousands of sacrificial animals. Scientists believe that after the boy was killed, there was a fact of cannibalism - part of him was simply eaten …
According to the Greek Ministry of Culture, the remains rested in the heart of a 30-meter ash altar next to a man-made stone platform. It is still too early to say what the teenager died of (but some of the traces on the bones speak for themselves), but the find is notable primarily because Mount Lycion has been associated with the most terrible ancient Greek cults for many centuries.
Plato's records contain evidence that the priests practiced human sacrifices in honor of Zeus, who was considered a very harsh god (who had a punitive vajra with lightning!). Several literary sources mention rumors that a ritual in which the meat of animals and humans was consumed for witchcraft purposes was carried out at the altar. Those who ate human flesh sincerely believed that they would turn into wolves within nine years. For the time being, these terrible rituals were not found any confirmation, said David Gilman Romano, an archaeologist from the University of Arizona who participated in the expedition, but now, perhaps, the approach will have to be reconsidered …
Experts are sure that they found more than just a tomb, since the place clearly does not correspond to the traditional idea of where the cemetery should be located. Scientists noted an unusual detail: the upper part of the skull was missing, the body rested between the stones along the west-east axis, and the pelvic bones were shyly covered with a stone slab.
The top of a mountain in the Peloponnese is the earliest known site where Zeus was worshiped. In the XVI century BC. e. tens of thousands of animals were sacrificed to God at this place. So far, archaeologists have completed the work only by 7%, but the excavations are planned to continue, and scientists do not exclude that they may find other remains of people sacrificed to Zeus … The sacrifices to the "gods" were supposed to have a practical purpose - the "gods" received from them a stream of intangible energy, which was one of the most valuable resources.