On the northwestern slope of the Acropolis Rock, three cave-like openings dominate, dedicated to the worship of Pan, Zeus, and Apollo. The eastern cave was devoted to the god Pan. According to tradition, the god contributed to the Greeks’ victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC by instilling panic and fear. The Athenians expressed their gratitude to the god by establishing his cult in the city. The sanctuary was tripartite, with carved niches for receiving votive offerings. The identification of the sanctuary is based on the testimonies of Euripides and Pausanias, as well as the discovery of a votive relief on the site, now preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The relief depicts the god seated on a rock playing a syrinx on the left, while a clothed figure stands before him. During the Christian period, the eastern part of the sanctuary was converted into a chapel dedicated to Saint Athanasios, traces of whose wall paintings still remain in the niches today. The middle cave, dating to the 5th century BC, is attributed to Zeus, based on interpretations by Thucydides and Strabo. The westernmost cave, that of Apollo Hypakraios, was likely in use from the 13th century BC and is directly connected with the genealogical myths concerning the autochthony of the Athenians. According to tradition, here Apollo united with Creusa, the daughter of Erechtheus, and from this union was born Ion, the progenitor of the Athenians. The sanctuary was identified through the discovery of inscribed marble votive plaques. In one of the rock niches, a 3rd-century AD inscription of Archon Errhenios Dexippos is visible. A cavity further west of the caves, with a carved platform-like surface, was used as a viewing space for the procession of the Panathenaic festival.

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