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The Pelopion was a structure at the ancient site of Olympia, Greece. It was the alleged tomb of
The Pelopion was a structure at the ancient site of Olympia, Greece. It was the alleged tomb of Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.
He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...
, a figure in Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
. It was a monument surrounded by a pentagonal structure. The tomb became an altar for animal sacrifices in Archaic Greece and continued to serve as an altar into the Roman era, until it fell into disuse with the advent of Christianity. It consisted of a mound of ashes and compacted earth, at the peak of which the sacrifice would take place – a black ram was sacrificed here every year in honor of Pelops.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5.13.1 In order to get to the top of the altar, priests would carve steps into the mound. This packed earth form of altar was a particularly ancient one, quite unlike the more modern stone altars such as those evidenced at Delphi and the Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...
.
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Ancient Greek buildings and structures Ancient Olympia {{AncientGreece-stub