The Cave of Zas, or Cave of Zeus, is an ancient Greek cave located on Mt. Zas on the island of Naxos. The cave was occupied from the Late NeolithictoEarly Cycladic III periods.
Due to the lack of crop processing residue found, archaeologists suggest that the cave was not used for year-round settlement, but for herding animals during the driest period of the year.[1] Excavations of the cave were carried out in 1985-1986 and 1994.[2]
The Cave of Zas is 630m above sea level and located southeast of Filoti, a village at the foot of the mountain. Large stalactites and stalagmites have been found inside the cave.[2]
InAgathosthenes' telling of the history of Naxos, Zeus spent his childhood in the cave, in hiding from his father, Cronus. A rock carving found near the cave reads "Zeus Melosios," referring to Zeus as the protector of the sheep.[2][3][4]
Zachos, Konstantinos L (1999). "Zas Cave on Naxos and the Role of Caves in the Aegean Late Neolithic." Neolithic Society in Greece, edited by Paul Halstead. ISBN978-1-85075-824-2
Zachos, Konstantinos L and Dousougli, Angelika. "Observations on the Early Bronze Age Sealings from the Cave of Zas at Naxos." Horizon: A Colloquium on the Prehistory of the Cyclades, edited by Colin Renfrew et al. ISBN978-1-902937-36-6
