Dion is a village and a part of the municipality Dio-Olympos; best known for its archaeological site and the Archaeological Museum of Dion. the ancient city of Dion located at the foot of Mount Olympus. The village owes its name to the important sanctuary dedicated to Zeus =Dias; leader of the gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus; The first mention of Dion in history comes from Thucydides; 鈥?at the end of the 5th century BC; gave the city and its sanctuary their subsequent importance by instituting a nine-day festival that included athletic and dramatic competitions in honor of Zeus and the Muses.'鈥he site of ancient Dion was first identified by the English traveler William Martin Leake on December 2; 1806; in the ruins adjoining the village of Malathria. He published his discovery in the third volume of his Travels in Northern Greece in 1835. L茅on Heuzey visited the site during his famous Macedonian archaeological mission of 1855 and again in 1861. Later; the epigraphist G. Oikonomos published the first series of inscriptions. Nevertheless; systematic archaeological exploration did not begin until 1928.IN THE PHOTO: Of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus almost nothing remains. Once it would have been the most splendid and revered of sacred sanctuaries; where the Macedonian kings made their sacrifices and celebrated their victories with magnificent feasts. Here the New Year celebrations took place; at the end of September in the Macedonian calendar;