Mount Lykaion
1,421 m
Greece
Also known as Lykaion, Λύκαιο, +7Also known as
Lykaion · Λύκαιο · Likeo · Liceo · mont Lycée · Monte Liceo · Ликео · Likej · Lycaeus
- Elevation
- 1,421 m
- Prominence
- 867 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Apr–Jun
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1A short walk on tracks and paths from the ancient stadium and hippodrome of the Lykaia games (about 1,180 m), reached by car from Ano Karyes, to the highest, northern summit of Mount Lykaion (1,421 m). About 3.3 km and 1.5 hours one way; the ash altar of Zeus on the slightly lower southern top is an easy side trip.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 3.3 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +251 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 1,421 m
- Time Up
- 1h 17m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 1h 06m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Drive from Megalopoli to Ano Karyes and on up the dirt road to the lower sanctuary on the Kato Kampos plateau, where the hippodrome, stadium, xenon (guest house), stoa and bath of the Lykaia games lie on a flat meadow at about 1,180 m. Park without blocking the excavation areas. From the stadium, topoguide.gr describes a route of about 3.3 km and 1.5 hours as the most practical line to the highest summit, the northern top (locally Diaforti or Stefani, 1,421 m). The upper mountain is rolling and scrubby rather than craggy, with low trees and bushes and dirt tracks reaching almost to the top, and waymarking is minimal. The southern top, Agios Ilias (about 1,382 m), carries the ash altar of Zeus Lykaios, with the column bases of the sanctuary a little below the summit. From the stadium a track loops round the back of the mountain to it (about 6.5 km and 200 m of ascent there and back), or you can climb the slope more directly. Return the same way. There is no water on the upper mountain.
Start
Lykaion stadium1,180 m
- No public transport to Ano Karyes or the sanctuary was found; a car is needed (Megalopoli is the nearest town).
- Parking at the trailhead
Waypoints
- Parking: Lykaion stadium1,180 m
Lower sanctuary of Zeus Lykaios (hippodrome, stadium, xenon); reached by dirt road from Ano Karyes
- Summit: Mount Lykaion1,421 m
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 45%Overview
Mount Lykaion (1,421 m), on the Arcadia–Messinia border, was the sacred mountain of the Arcadians and a claimed birthplace of Zeus. A dirt road leads almost to the top, past the hippodrome and stadium of the Lykaia games, to the ash altar of Zeus and the slightly higher northern summit.
Lykaion is a modest, rounded mountain in western Arcadia, above Megalopoli and close to the Messinian border, about 35 km (22 miles) from Olympia. It has two tops: the northern one (called Stefani in Wikipedia and Diaforti by topoguide.gr), the highest at 1,421 m, and the southern Agios Ilias (about 1,382 m), which holds the ash altar of Zeus. The upper slopes are rolling, with scrub and low trees rather than cliffs, and the views across Arcadia and Messinia are wide.
The mountain's interest is above all archaeological. On the summit plateau lies the altar, a mound of burnt sacrificial remains about 30 m across, used from the Mycenaean period to Hellenistic times, with traces back to about 3000 BC. On the Kato Kampos plateau below are the remains of the Lykaia games: a hippodrome about 250 m long, a stadium, a xenon, a stoa, a bath and fountains. Excavations by the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project continue.
As a climb it is short and easy: cars reach the lower sanctuary from Ano Karyes, and the summit is a walk of an hour or two. Waymarked paths of the Parrhasian Heritage Park and the Arcadian Trails network cross the area for longer days.
Climbing Notes
No special skills or fitness are needed. Drive to the stadium from Ano Karyes, then allow 1.5 hours to the northern summit and about the same for a visit to the altar on the southern top. Bring water and sun protection, as there is no water or shade high up, and a map or GPS track, as signposting is minimal. Late spring and early summer, when the slopes are in flower, are the best time; winter can bring snow, which may make the dirt roads impassable.
The hippodrome, stadium and altar are archaeological sites under excavation: stay on the paths and do not disturb remains. Combine the visit with Lykosoura, about 10 km away, and the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae nearby.
History
Arcadians claimed Lykaion as the birthplace of Zeus, placing his hiding from Kronos at a spot called Kretea on the mountain rather than on Crete. In myth Lykaon, founder of the cult and the games, served Zeus human flesh and was killed or, in Ovid, turned into a wolf. Pausanias described a forbidden precinct where those who entered died within a year and cast no shadow, and two columns topped by gilded eagles beside the altar. The Lykaia games, with footraces, chariot races, boxing, wrestling and pentathlon, were held every four years. The altar was excavated by K. Kourouniotis in 1902; the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project (University of Pennsylvania and University of Arizona) has worked here since 2004–05, and in 2016 found a human burial in the altar area.
Season
Best Apr–Jun- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Good
- April: Best (best window)
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Best
- November: Good
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Possible snow; dirt roads may be impassable
- Feb
- Possible snow
- Mar
- Changeable
- Apr
- Spring flowers
- May
- Best season; flowers
- Jun
- Good; early summer flowers
- Jul
- Hot; little shade
- Aug
- Hot; little shade
- Sep
- Good conditions
- Oct
- Good conditions
- Nov
- Cooler; shorter days
- Dec
- Possible snow
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- No huts. Accommodation in Megalopoli, Andritsaina or the surrounding villages.
- Rules
- Hippodrome, stadium and altar are archaeological sites with ongoing excavations; stay on paths and do not remove or disturb anything
- Getting There
Megalopoli; the village of Ano Karyes is the access point
Kalamata (KLX); Athens International (ATH)
- Drive from Megalopoli via Lykaio village or Ano Karyes and up the dirt road to the lower sanctuary (stadium and hippodrome)
- No public transport to Ano Karyes was found
Hazards
- Weather