Zeus is said to be entombed inside this mountain (811m), where votive offerings (given in fulfillment of a vow) from a Minoan sanctuary have been found. Its silhouette is thought to resemble the profile of a sleeping man, whom popular belief claims to be Zeus himself. From the top, crowned by a pilgrimage church at the edge of a steep cliff, there is a vast panorama over Iráklio and the sea to the north, Mount Díkti to the east, and Mount Ida to the west.

The restored Odeon is a small theatre consisting of semi-circular terraces supported by vaulting. It was built in the early 2C AD under Trajan, on the site of - and with materials taken from - an earlier rotunda. Here and there lie damaged statues. At the rear of the Odeon are several blocks of stone, taken by the Romans from the earlier building, bearing the 17 000-letter text of the Twelve Tables of Gortyn dating from 480 BC.

The central court was partially flanked by pillared porticoes. As at Knossós, it was probably used for displays of bull-leaping and sacrifices. There is a well in the southwest corner. On the left are traces of a crypt with two pillars and a room surrounded by benches, both part of a sanctuary. Further along is the Pillared Hall, lined with alabaster, leading into the storeroom corridor.

The interior of this church contains six remarkable icons by Mihális Damaskinos who worked in Venice and the Ionian Islands from 1574 to 1582 before returning to Crete. These works, which were formerly at the Vrondissí Monastery, combine the traditional Byzantine formality of composition and picturesque realism with the Italian feeling for form. Compare the unusual scene of the Council of Nicaea, in the Byzantine style, with the Last Supper and Adoration of the Magi, which owe much to Tintoretto.