New Discovery Shows Ancient Greek May Have Practiced Human Sacrifice

The remains of a teenage boy who died around 3,000 years ago was found by archaeologists on the slopes of Mount Lykaion. In this region in Greece, people were associated with the practie of offering animal sacrifices for Zeus, and with the latest discovery , it seems that they performed human sacrifices as well.

Remains uncovered at an altar to Zeus on Mount Lykaion may confirm legends about human sacrifice at the shrine. https://t.co/LdQlQu63Gz

— Smithsonian Magazine (@SmithsonianMag) August 12, 2016

David Gilman Romano of the University of Arizona spoke with The Guardian, explaining that while there have been ancient literary sources mentioning human sacrifice taking place at the altar of Zeus, there had been no trace of human bones at the site, chalking up the mentions as mere rumors -- until now.

"Whether it’s a sacrifice or not, this is a sacrificial altar ... so it’s not a place where you would bury an individual. It’s not a cemetery," he said.

Science Alert noted that the members of the Mount Lykaion Excavation and Survey project found the remains of the young boy from a giant "ash altar" on the slopes of the mountain's southern peak. However, despite digging around nine years now, they were only able to uncover about 7 percent of the altar, most often brining up coins, cups, figurines, and charred remains of sheep and goats -- animals that are usually burned as offerings.

This is the first time that they were able to uncover remains of a boy, however, shedding new light on ancient practices from the greeks, however, despite Romano's statement, it is still difficult to say whether the boy was killed at the altar, or died somewhere else but buried on the site -- either way, such discovery has archaeologists and historians excited, especially considering that the prospect of human sacrifice seems like a contradiction in ancient Greece.

Dr Jan N Bremmer, professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of Groningen, Netherlands said, “On the one hand there’s this picture of Greece as the cradle of civilisation, the birthplace of democracy, of philosophy, of rational thinking – but on the other hand we have these cruel cruel myths."