ANTIQUITIES: TEMPLE OF ELLANIOS ZEUS


Mount Ellanio is the highest mountain in Aegina. It's 532 meters high and at the peak of the mountain there is the Ascension Church. According to Mythology, during a period of drought, Aiakos asked Zeus to rain. His requests were heard and then Aiakos built a sanctuary in honour of Zeus in a place which today is called Sfirixtres.

From the Hellenistic years, a wall was remained and next to it a stony staircase. At the top of the staircase there is a flat area and the sanctuary of Zeus is built in this area. We can see the foundations of a big building as well as the foundations of pillars that are in three sets.

Higher up, were two tanks of water between the rocks. The higher one is the biggest. The view from Mount Ellanios is truly fantastic. You can literally see Saronikos.

In the north part of the mountain, there is the church of Taxiarxon and in the lower parts of the mountain there is a town called Pahia Rahi which is built on the slope, over Marathonas