Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 1): Zeus god of the bright sky (Cambridge, 1914)

The Mountain as the Throne of Zeus 147

for judges or the like, forerunners perhaps of the Council on the
Areiopagos. They are about two hundred yards from the rock-cut
niche in the Pnyx where Zeus Hypsistos was worshipped1. It seems
possible, therefore, that we have here an open-air tribunal at which
decisions were delivered under the inspiration of Zeus. In fact,
I incline to identify the seven seats with the so-called ' Seats of
Zeus,' the place at Athens where, according to old tradition,
Athena when she contended with Poseidon for possession of the
Akropolis, begged Zeus to give his vote for her, promising on her
part to sacrifice the first victim on the altar of Zeus Polieits2.

Fig. in.

At Phalasarna in western Crete three sandstone thrones are
hewn in the lower slopes of a coast-hill near the necropolis. The
best-preserved of them was described by R. Pashley in 1837 as
' a great chair—cut out of the solid rock : the height of the arms
above the seat is two feet eleven inches; and its other dimensions
are in proportion3.' But the most interesting feature of this throne,
the pillar carved on the inner surface of its back, was first observed
and drawn by L. Savignoni and G. de Sanctis in 1901 (figs. Ill,

1 Infra Append. B.

2 Hesych. s.v. Atos Q&koikuX ireacroL, Souid. s.v. Atos \p7)<fios, Kratin. Archilochifrag. 4
{Frag. com. Gr. ii. 18 f. Meineke).

3 R. Pashley Travels in Crete Cambridge and London 1837 ii. 64 fig. Cp. T. A. B.
Spratt Travels and Researches in Crete London 1865 ii. 234 f. fig. ('the monolith bema of
Phalasarna' !).

IO—2