Mount Ida (Crete)
placeMount Ida was the highest peak in Crete, home to the cave where the infant Zeus was hidden from his father Kronos and raised in secret by nymphs and the Kouretes.
The Myth
When Rhea bore Zeus, she hid the infant in the Dictaean Cave (or the Idaean Cave) on Mount Ida to prevent Kronos from swallowing him as he had his other children. She gave Kronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead. The nymphs fed the infant on the milk of the goat Amaltheia, while the Kouretes — armed dancers — clashed their shields and weapons to drown out the baby's cries. When Zeus grew to manhood, he descended from the mountain to overthrow his father and free his siblings. The Idaean Cave remained a cult site for millennia; archaeologists found bronze shields and votives dating back to the 9th century BC.
Symbols
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Kronos
titanKing of the Titans who ruled during the mythological Golden Age. Kronos overthrew his father...
Rhea
titanMother of the Olympian gods and wife of Kronos. Rhea saved the infant Zeus from being devoured by...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Acheron
placeThe Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some...
Aeaea
placeAeaea was the mythical island home of Circe, the divine sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men...
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...