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Trümpy, 2006). Low-angle regional thrust        Figure 2. Geoarchaeological map of the Sanctuary of Zeus, Mount Lykaion. Archaeological
faulting places older, deeper rock forma-       features: aa—ash altar; ad—administration building; af—Agnos fountain; b—bath; fh—fountain
tions on top of younger, shallower ones,        house; h—hippodrome; hp—horse pasture; js—j-seats; pw—processional way; st—proto-stadium;
and it is this inverted stratigraphic succes-   q—quarry; s—stoa; t—temenos; CSB—Chert Series Beds Formation; FFB—First Flysch Beds Forma-
sion that is an essential “smoking gun” for     tion; TPLB—Thin Platy Limestone Beds Formation; TWLB—Thick White Limestone Beds Formation;
recognizing thrust klippen.                     FTB—Flysch Transition Beds Formation.

  Many large, expansive klippen have            day most of the entire vast expanse of the    seventh century BC and first century BC
attracted historical and cultural attention,    Peloponnese could be seen from the very       (Romano and Voyatzis, 2014, 2015). The
in part because they can be strikingly          top of the sanctuary. Moreover, Mount         main archaeological features in the upper
anomalous in topography, landscape, and         Lykaion and environs reside within a          level include the open-air mountaintop ash
aesthetics compared to their surroundings.      dynamic setting marked by rock falls,         altar, where animals were sacrificed and
A klippe that particularly stands out is the    landslides, fissuring, and earthquakes        dedicatory objects offered to Zeus; a teme-
Mythen klippe, which overlooks Lake             (Ambraseys and Jackson, 1990, 1998;           nos, i.e., religious precinct where no one
Lucerne (Central Switzerland) (Wissing          Jackson, 1994). The ancient connection of     except priests could enter without meeting
and Pfiffner, 2002) (Fig. 3A). The bedrock      earthquake-related phenomena to the           their death within a year (Pausanias,
of Mythen is mainly Upper Jurassic strata,      action of gods is clear in the Late Bronze    8.38.6; see Habicht, 1999); and possibly a
which rest in low-angle thrust contact upon     Age archaeological record, from which         proto-stadium, where the earliest athletic
dominantly Cretaceous strata (Bertrand,         period onward Poseidon was known as the       races are thought to have been held
1887). As early as the eighteenth century       Earth Shaker. The association of Poseidon     (Romano and Voyatzis, 2015). The main
the Mythen seized the philosophical, artistic,  and earthquakes is revealed first in the      archaeological elements of the lower sanc-
poetic, and scientific attention of Johann      Linear B clay tablets preserved at Pylos      tuary include the Agno fountain (a notable
Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe’s passion           (Budin, 2004).                                ancient spring), stoa (covered, detached
for the Mythen influenced his friend                                                          portico with stalls), fountain house, admin-
Friedrich Schiller to use the Mythen as the       When Agios Elias began to be consid-        istrative building, corridor, seats, hippo-
backdrop of Schiller’s drama, William Tell      ered and/or used as a cult place in honor of  drome, stadium, baths, and a processional
(1804).                                         Zeus, it would have appeared as a steep-      way (Romano and Voyatzis, 2015) (see
                                                sloped, smooth, 200-m-high conical moun-      Figs. 2 and 4B).
  Yet another example of klippen influenc-      taintop summit that gives way below to an
ing history and culture is Chief Mountain,      encircling bench-like bedrock apron of        AGIOS ELIAS KLIPPE: HOW IT
which is located along the eastern border       more modest topographic relief (~40 m)        LOOKS IN RELATION TO THE
of Glacier National Park, Montana, USA          (Fig. 4A; also see Fig. 3C). It would have    GEOLOGY
(Mudge and Earhart, 1980) (Fig. 3B). Chief      been obvious that springs feed from the
Mountain is known as Ninaistako to the          interface between the conical summit and        A draping of my geologic map and the
Blackfoot people. Bailey Willis (1902)          bench-like platform upon which Agios          archaeological elements of the Sanctuary
identified Chief Mountain as a thrust           Elias rests. Over time the sanctuary was      of Zeus over the modern landscape (Fig. 5)
klippe, recognizing that Precambrian base-      expanded with the addition of built struc-    creates an image that underscores the
ment rocks were faulted up and over             tures and activity areas (Fig. 4B). The       premise of this paper: the Sanctuary of
Cretaceous strata along the Lewis over-         upper level of the sanctuary was largely      Zeus exploits in a variety of specific ways
thrust. According to Blackfoot tradition,       established between the fifteenth and sev-    the geology of the Agios Elias klippe, and
Thunder resides there, and Thunder is con-      enth centuries BC, whereas the lower level    especially the major thrust fault that
sidered to be an agent of renewal to the        was developed and used between the            defines the base of the klippe. In fact, it is
Blackfoot people (National Park Service,
2006).

AGIOS ELIAS KLIPPE: HOW IT
MAY HAVE LOOKED TO THE ZEUS
CULT

  Whereas Ninaistako is home to
Thunder, Agios Elias (St. Elijah), the
klippe hosting the Sanctuary of Zeus, is
home to Lightning. Epithets for Zeus in the
ancient literature include Lightning
Wielder and Shepherd of the Clouds. Agios
Elias (elevation 1381 m) is technically the
second-highest summit of Mount Lyakion
proper (elevation 1421 m) (Fig. 3C). The
assets of its natural setting must have been
particularly obvious to the ancient peoples
who frequented the site. Pausanias (8.38.7;
see Habicht, 1999) recorded that on a clear

                                                www.geosociety.org/gsatoday                                                                   5
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