Thunder, Lightning, and Earthquakes and Their Impact on the Sanctuary of Zeus On Mt. Lykaion

ABSTRACT: We present here an interdisciplinary inquiry exploring why a sacred site was established on the southern peak of Mt. Lykaion and developed into a major Greek sanctuary to Zeus, documented by ancient authors and in use for thousands of years. The site offered many attractions, but most compelling may have been the dynamic expressions of natural forces experienced there: powerful earthquakes, ground motion, lightning, and thunder. Scientific quantification of the frequency of lightning and thunder identifies Mt. Lykaion as one of the best places in Greece to see lightning and hear thunder, and the place in the Peloponnese where the most distant lightning could be viewed and thunder heard.