page_title: Archaeological Park of Dion
section_title: Demeter Sanctuary
hierarchical_section_title: Archaeological Park of Dion / The Sanctuaries / Demeter Sanctuary
caption_attribution_description: English: Nonae Capratinae
context_page_description: The Archaeological Park of Dion is the most important archaeological site at Mount Olympus in Greece, located in Dion. In the area comprised by the Archaeological Park of Dion, sanctuaries were found from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The park displays the importance of ancient Dion in the history of Pieria.
context_section_description: It consists of several temples and is dated from the archaic period up to the Roman period. The sanctuary of Asklepios is located in the immediate vicinity. The connection between the two sanctuaries is also evident at other archaeological sites in Greece.
  In the open, walled-in area, the goddess was offered liquid sacrifices. The oldest remains of the sanctuary are also found here. End of the 4th century BC two archaic temples were replaced by two Doric temples. Small, one-room temples (Oikos) were consecrated to the gods of the earth like Baubo and Kurotrophos. They were hoped for rich harvest yields. Another temple was erected in honor of Aphrodite. The faithful hoped for increased fertility. In front of the temples there were altars on which carnal sacrifices were offered to the respective gods. Vegetable sacrifices, such as grain or fruit, were spread out on so-called cult tables. Archaeological finds and ancient records have given the water an important role in the Demeter cult. It was among the duties of the priestesses to ensure that pure water was always available. In addition to cleaning rituals, water was seen as the necessary element to allow plant growth. Two circular wells are among the oldest structures of the temple.
  In addition to the usual finds such as statues, pottery, jewelry, oil lamps etc., one found a ring stone from Mycenaean time. It dates from the 14th to 15th century BC, and shows a schematically represented lion in front of a tree. The artifact is a reference to the earlier settlement of Dion. 1990 the foundations of an altar were discovered east of the temple; At this point 1973 the head of a statue of the goddess was recovered.
  In the Late antiquity there were kilns on the grounds of the Demeter Shrine.
caption: Arura, Maid of Plutiades, dedicates this to Zeus Hypsistos with the help of Fructus, after serving as Agoranomos during the Nonae Capratinae
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