The marble statue of Zeus sitting on a throne was discovered on an altar of what is believed to be a sanctuary of the chief Olympian god found at Dion, an ancient Macedonian city in central Greece. The sanctuary was discovered by chance, as it was below the surface of a river that was being drained as part of anti-flooding works. [more]

Athens – Diggers accidentally discovered a
temple to Zeus at the foot of Mount Olympus in an indicating that
ancient Greeks switched away from polytheism to the faith of a single
God even before Christianity appeared in Greece, archaeologists said on
Friday.

The sanctuary was found during works to broaden the bed of the Vaphyras
river running through the Dion temple complex at the foot of Mount
Olympus, northern Greece – the seat of Greek mythology’s twelve Gods.

The findings include the sanctuary’s foundations, 14 marble blocks with
marble eagles engraved on them – Zeus’s symbol – and a slightly
smaller-than-life-size, headless marble statue of Zeus, said
archaeologist Dimitris Pantermalis who supervises the Dion site.

The sanctuary dates to the centuries preceding Christ’s birth. Insignia
found on it refer to Zeus as “the highest”.

“It is a special version of Zeus as a single God residing in heaven…
we know that ‘Zeus the Highest’ played an important role in the
transition to monotheism,” Pantermalis said.

“The findings are dated before the birth of Christ, that’s what’s
important,” he added.

It is the first time that a sanctuary to ‘Zeus the Highest’ is found,
Pantermalis said.

— Temple to Zeus unearthed at Mount Olympus