Archaeological Site of Ano Louson
Lousoi was an important city of Arcadian Azania (as the northwestern region of Arcadia around Cleitor was known) and was home to a sanctuary of Panhellenic significance — the Sanctuary of Artemis Hemera. It is located on the southwestern extension of Mount Aroania (Helmos), specifically on the western slopes of Mount Lousios or Prophet Elias, in the valley of Soudena, between Kynaitha and Cleitor.
According to ancient tradition, the sanctuary of Artemis was associated with the seer Melampus — known as the first “psychiatrist” of antiquity — who, with the intervention of the goddess, cured the daughters of King Proetus of Tiryns, the great-grandson of Danaus, of their madness.
In gratitude to the goddess, the daughters introduced women’s dances, founded a sacred grove, and built an altar, which they sprinkled with the blood of goats and sheep. From that time, the inhabitants called the goddess Artemis Hemera, or Hemerisia — meaning “the one who tames and soothes.” In her honor, a great festival known as the Hemeraisia was celebrated, featuring athletic competitions in which even foreigners participated. During these rites, Artemis was worshiped as a benevolent and merciful deity through offerings and sacred rituals performed at her sanctuary.
Near the modern village of Lousiko, in the Municipality of Kalavryta, the Austrian Archaeological Institute has uncovered the remains of this important Arcadian city, and excavations continue to this day. The temple of Artemis Hemera, dating from the 3rd century BC, the city’s agora, and several private houses have already been excavated.
The site was first identified in 1886 by G. Papandreou. In 1898 and 1899, with permission from the Greek government, W. Reichel and A. Wilhelm excavated the sanctuary on the hill. Their work revealed the foundations of the temple and the main buildings of the sacred precinct but did not extend to the lower area where the city itself is located.
Excavations resumed in 1981 under the supervision of Veronica Mitsopoulou-Leon, Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, and since 2000 have been directed by her successor, Georg Ladstätter. Supplementary excavations at the temple’s foundations were conducted to confirm its dating, and Ladstätter produced a new architectural plan of the temple’s layout.
Moreover, to the east of the temple, archaeologists uncovered a votive deposit containing numerous offerings dating from the Late Geometric and Archaic periods, as well as an elongated building — possibly an earlier temple that predated the larger one.
The ruins date to the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, a period during which the sanctuary flourished. However, evidence of an earlier cult exists, including a fragment of a marble cult statue of the goddess, dated to the 6th century BC. Silver and bronze coins depicting Demeter or Zeus Omagyrios, as well as inscriptions, were also found at the site.
The surrounding area has been declared an archaeological zone, and the location of the temple is open to visitors.
