Sanctuary of Ithomatas Zeus

Τhe Temple of Ithomatas Zeus is on top of Mountain Ithomi of Messinia, in the area old Convent of Voulkano at an altitude of 800 meters. The temple was worshiped in the region in ancient times.

A bronze tripod leg and other findings dating back from the Geometric period, show that the Sanctuary of Ithomatas Zeus was a religious center since then.

Pausanias informs us that in the past musical competitions were organized in the Sanctuary of Ithomatas Zeus. According to the ancient traveler, the legend says that the divine child – Zeus, after his kidnapping by Curetes and his rescue from the wrath of his father Cronus, was given to be brought up by local nymphs Ithomi and Neda, who bathed him with water from the source Klepsidra.

A small statue of young Zeus, whose sculptor was Ageladas (late 6th-early- 5th century BC) was transferred to the Sanctuary of Ithomatas Zeus by the repatriated Messinians in 369 BC. The statue was found by the monks during the construction of the monastery of Voulkano in 625 AD. According to tradition, it was guarded with great secrecy over the centuries, as it was given to the younger monk until his death and then was delivered to the younger.