A mountain on the island of Krete (Crete).
Mount Ida, currently known as or Psiloritis, is the tallest peak on Krete, with a height of 8,057 feet or 2,456 meters.
The island of Krete and particularly Mount Ida were very important to the god Zeus and his semidivine descendants. Kronos (Cronus), Zeus' father, tried to eliminate all of his offspring by swallowing them as soon as they were born. Zeus' mother Rhea (Rheia) tricked Kronos by substituting a stone concealed in swaddling cloth. Kronos did not perceive the deception. Rhea secretly took the infant Zeus to Mount Ida and gave him to the semi-divine Kouretes (Curetes) of Mount Ida so he could be reared in secret. The Kouretes entrusted Zeus to the mountain Nymphs who hid him in a cave and nurtured him on a mixture of honey and milk from a goat named Amaltheia. The cave became a holy shrine when Zeus reached maturity and assumed the role of Father of Gods and Men.
Latitude North, Longitude East
35.2268, 24.7707
| References: Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History book 5.70.3 Pausanias, Description of Greece book 7.3.8 |