RIFLESSIONI SUL CULTO DELLE DIVINITÀ CELESTI E CTONIE A OLIMPIA

Abstract

Kronion, the conical hill, on the southern foothills of which the pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Zeus was gradually
created, consists together with the river Alpheios, an important landmark for the plain of Olympia.
Apart from its topographical significance and the reference to Pausanias, the research rarely dealt with the
role of Kronos in the context of the mythological past of the area. This was certainly due to the fact that the
few and rather insignificant relics that had previously been found at the top of it do not provide sufficient
evidence for its importance in the context of worship. However, an inscription from the archaic era that
was published in recent years and which for the first time refers to Kronika, the hitherto unknown festival,
which was dedicated to the worship of Kronos, has been the starting point to the thoughts that will follow
in the context of this presentation.
Kronos as the primordial deity, son of Ouranos and Gaia but also father of Zeus must have played an important
role in the religious consciousness and collective memory of the people who visited the sanctuary. In
this context, and based on older and newer archaeological data, reference will be made to some other deities,
of a celestial or chthonic character, that characterize the complex cult scene of the Olympic landscape.