Misplaced Pages

#917082

152-620: In Greek mythology , Olympus is the home of the Greek gods , on Mytikas peak. The mountain has exceptional biodiversity and rich flora . It has been a National Park , the first in Greece, since 1938. It is also a World Biosphere Reserve . Olympus remains the most popular hiking summit in Greece, as well as one of the most popular in Europe. Organized mountain refuges and various mountaineering and climbing routes are available. The usual starting point

304-579: A pederastic light . Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the early Roman Empire, often re-adapted stories of Greek mythological characters in this fashion. The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles and, as a result, to develop a new sense of mythological chronology. Thus, Greek mythology unfolds as a phase in the development of the world and of humans. While self-contradictions in these stories make an absolute timeline impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The resulting mythological "history of

456-420: A shallow sea . Various geological events that followed caused the emergence of the whole region and the sea. Around one million years ago glaciers covered Olympus and created its plateaus and depressions. With the temperature rise that followed, the ice melted and the streams that were created swept away large quantities of crushed rock in the lowest places, forming the alluvial fans , that spread out all over

608-677: A Christian moralizing perspective. The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the nineteenth century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans in the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of

760-437: A National Park in 1938. The aim of this declaration was "...the preservation in perpetuity of the natural environment of the region, i.e. of wild flora, fauna and natural landscape, as well as its cultural and other values...". In addition the declaration has aimed promoting scientific research along with environmental education for the public and tourist development in the region. Specific laws prohibit all forms of exploitation on

912-573: A cave that he named Shelter of the Muses , and he spent many summers painting views of the mountain. Olympus was later photographed and mapped in detail by others, and a series of successful climbs and winter ascents of the steepest summits in difficult weather conditions took place. Climbing Mount Olympus is a non-technical hike, except for the final section from the Skala summit to the Mytikas peak, which

1064-585: A collection of epic poems , starts with the events leading up to the war: Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti , the Judgement of Paris , the abduction of Helen , the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis . To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the overall command of Menelaus 's brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos, or Mycenae , but the Trojans refused to return Helen. The Iliad , which

1216-492: A combination of their name and epithets , that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves (e.g., Apollo Musagetes is " Apollo , [as] leader of the Muses "). Alternatively, the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece. Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite

1368-493: A common noun, as a synonym of οὐρανός ouranos "sky". Mount Olympus was historically also known as Mount Belus , after Iliad 1.591, where the seat of the gods is referred to as βηλὸς θεσπέσiος "heavenly threshold". In Ancient Greek religion and mythology , "Olympus" was the name of the home of the Twelve Olympian gods . This was conceived of as a lofty mountaintop, and in all regions settled by Greek tribes ,

1520-456: A considerable variety of herbaceous plants. Gorges and ravines are covered by oriental planes , willows , black alders and riverside greenery. Typical species of this zone is Bosnian pine. This rare kind of pine occurs sporadically higher than 1,000 metres and gradually replaces the black pine, while over 1,400 metres it creates an almost unmixed forest. Over 2,000 metres the forest becomes sparser, reaching to 2,750 metres, thus creating one of

1672-525: A convenient framework into which to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. Twelfth-century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure ( Roman de Troie [Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter ( De Bello Troiano [On the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found in Dictys and Dares . They thus follow Horace 's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite

SECTION 10

#1732776572918

1824-520: A convent. Further west, in the edge of Mavratza stream, at 1,020 m, there is the Agia Triada Sparmou Monastery , that flourished in the early 18th century, possessed great property and assisted to establish the famous Tsaritsani ' school. It was abandoned in 1932, but in 2000 it was completely renovated and reopened as a male monastery, affiliated to Elassona 's diocese. Archaeological evidence suggests that Mount Olympus

1976-675: A few inches tall, with weak root systems. Other common plant life-forms include prostrate shrubs ; tussock -forming graminoids ; cushion plants ; and cryptogams , such as bryophytes and lichens . Relative to lower elevation areas in the same region, alpine regions have a high rate of endemism and a high diversity of plant species. This taxonomic diversity can be attributed to geographical isolation , climate changes , glaciation , microhabitat differentiation, and different histories of migration or evolution or both. These phenomena contribute to plant diversity by introducing new flora and favoring adaptations , both of new species and

2128-450: A few yards of each other, depending on topography, substrate, and climate. Alpine vegetation generally occurs in a mosaic of small patches with widely differing environmental conditions. Vegetation types vary from cushion and rosette plants on the ridges and in the rock crannies; to herbaceous and grassy vegetation along the slopes; dwarf shrubs with grasses and forbs below the melting snowdrifts; and sedges, grasses, low shrubs, and mosses in

2280-489: A flat disk afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon, and stars. The Sun ( Helios ) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades and his predecessors, home of

2432-558: A god "greater than he", Zeus swallowed her. She was already pregnant with Athena , however, and she burst forth from his head—fully-grown and dressed for war. The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogonies to be the prototypical poetic genre—the prototypical mythos —and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus , the archetypal poet, also was the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and storms in Apollonius' Argonautica , and to move

2584-513: A limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of heroes (or demigods) supplemented that of the gods. "The origins of humanity [were] ascribed to various figures, including Zeus and Prometheus ." Bridging

2736-633: A mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers (45 miles or 0.75° of latitude) towards the pole. This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors such as proximity to oceans can drastically modify the climate. In the alpine tundra, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowpack, or associated lack of available moisture). Typical high-elevation growing seasons range from 45 to 90 days, with average summer temperatures near 10 °C (50 °F). Growing season temperatures frequently fall below freezing, and frost occurs throughout

2888-405: A musical contest with Apollo . Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures as "a place between the history of the gods and that of man." An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly portrays Dionysus ' punishment of the king of Thrace , Lycurgus , whose recognition of the new god came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife. The story of

3040-468: A natural limit that separates the mountain from Lower Olympus. There are also many precipices and a number of caves, even nowadays unexplored. The form and layout of the rocks favor the emergence of numerous springs, most of them lower than 2,000 m, small seasonal lakes and streams and a small river, Enipeas, with its springs in the site Prionia and its estuary in the Aegean Sea . The origin of

3192-632: A number of interesting data for the mountain's climate. The average temperature is −5 °C in winter and 10 °C in summer. The average annual precipitation heights vary from 149 cm at Prionia (1,100 m) to 170 cm at Aghios Antonios, about half of them rainfall and hailstorms in summer and the rest snowfall in winter. The weather may change several times in the same day. In summer rainfalls are frequent, commonly as evening thunderstorms, many times accompanied by hail and strong winds. However water springs over 2,000 metres are scarce and visitors should ensure that they have always water and of course

SECTION 20

#1732776572918

3344-458: A number of local legends became attached. The story of Medea , in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets. In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes. This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus (one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus ) lies

3496-472: A poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new. Alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation , with an associated harsh climate . As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra . The high elevation causes an adverse climate, which

3648-454: A relationship between the Arctic and Antarctic tree lines and the 10 °C summer isotherm; i.e., places where the average temperature in the warmest calendar month of the year is below 10 °C cannot support forests. See Köppen climate classification for more information. Otto Nordenskjöld theorized that winter conditions also play a role: His formula is W = 9 − 0.1 C , where W is

3800-426: A road leads to Prionia, where the hike begins at the bottom of the mountain. Generally speaking Olympus's climate can be described as Mediterranean with continental influence. Its local variations are the result of the impact of the sea and the rugged terrain of the region. In the lower locations (Litochoro and the foothills) the climate is typically Mediterranean, i.e. hot and dry in the summer, but humid and cold in

3952-537: A site of community interest. In June 2016 the Olympus National Park Information Center , located at Litochoro, opened its gates. It informs their visitors about geology, archaeological sites, mythology, monasteries, plants, animals and other subjects affecting Mount Olympus. Hikers will find help from professional rangers, a guide provides tours for groups in the mountain area. The Park is protected by specific legislation. Under

4104-507: A spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human forms and entered the local mythology as gods. When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in battle, and violent heroism. Other older gods of the agricultural world fused with those of the more powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance. After

4256-453: A tradition Orpheus, son of Apollo and Calliope (one of the Muses), taught here the mystic ceremonies of worship of Dionysus (also known as Bacchus). By the sea, in a strategic position, at Macedonia's gates is located Platamon Castle , built between 7th and 10th century AD in the ancient town of Heracleia. To the north the ancient Pydna is located. Here, in 168 BC, the decisive battle between

4408-481: A wall, an impressive precipitous amphitheatrical cavity, 700 metres (2,300 ft) in depth and 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in circumference, the 'Megala Kazania'. On the east side of the high peaks the steep slopes form zone like parallel folds, the 'Zonaria'. Even narrower and steeper scorings, the 'Loukia', lead to the peak. On the north side, between Stefani and Profitis Ilias, extends the Muses' Plateau, at 2,550 metres (8,370 ft), while further south, almost in

4560-400: Is a YDS class 3 rock scramble and due to high exposure to heights, requires resistance to acrophobia . It is estimated that over 10,000 people visit Mount Olympus each year, most of them reaching only the Skala and Skolio summits. Most climbs of Mount Olympus start from the town of Litochoro , which took the name City of Gods because of its location at the foot of the mountain. From there

4712-471: Is also probably cognate with the Mycenean Greek word 𐀄𐀬𐀠𐀊𐀍 (u-ru-pi-ja-jo) which is, most likely, a term used to describe people, or possibly an ethnic group . In Homeric Greek ( Odyssey 6.42), the variant Οὔλυμπος Oulumpos occurs, conceived of as the seat of the gods (and not identified with any specific peak). Homer ( Iliad 5.754, Odyssey 20.103) also appears to be using οὔλυμπος as

Mount Olympus - Misplaced Pages Continue

4864-460: Is known to have been the site of a sanctuary of Zeus in antiquity based on archaeological finds discovered in 1961. In the modern era, a series of explorers tried to study the mountain and to reach its summit. Examples include the French archaeologist Leon Heuzey (1855), the German explorer Heinrich Barth (1862), and the German engineer Edward Richter. Richter tried to reach the summit in 1911 but

5016-898: Is marked by important, rare and endangered species. Large mammals, that lived formerly in the region, like roe deer , have disappeared. In ancient times there were lions ( Pausanias ), while at least until the 16th century there were brown bears (Life of St. Dionysios the Later). Thirty-two mammal species have been recorded, including Balkan chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) , roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) , wild boar , wildcat (Felis sylvestris) , beech marten (Martes foina) , red fox and red squirrel . There have also been detected 108 species of birds (like sparrowhawk , cinereous vulture , rock partridge , white stork , rock dove , European robin , lanner falcon , peregrine falcon , tree falcon, golden eagle , short-toed snake eagle , booted eagle and hoopoe ). Many of them, particularly

5168-593: Is mixed with black pine and Bosnian pine . In this zone there is also beech . While in the neighboring mountains Pierians and Ossa it creates an extended vegetation zone, in Olympus it is restricted to small clusters, appearing as islets, mainly in more humid locations and the best soils. A particularly rich variety of trees and shrubs is found in Enipeas' gorge. One can see there elm , cherry plum , European yew , hazel , holly , Cornus mas , manna ash , maple and

5320-456: Is observed. Alpine areas are unique because of the severity and complexity of their environmental conditions. Very small changes in topography – as small as 1 foot (0.3 m) or less – may mean the difference between a windswept area or an area of snow accumulation, changing the potential productivity and plant community drastically. Between these extremes of drought versus saturation , several intermediate environments may exist all within

5472-461: Is portrayed as a sacrificer, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this role that he appears in comedy. While his tragic end provided much material for tragedy— Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of other Euripidean dramas." In art and literature, Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon

5624-619: Is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in battle of Achilles' beloved comrade Patroclus and Priam 's eldest son, Hector . After Hector's death, the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea , queen of the Amazons , and Memnon , king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess, Eos . Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then managed to kill Achilles with an arrow in

5776-484: Is snowcapped for about nine months (September to May). In some places the winds gather snow, 8–10 metres thick ( anemosouria in Greek), while in some deep ravines the snow is maintained all over the year (everlasting snow). For this Olympus's alpine region, recordings have been made in the 1960s in the highest-elevation weather station in Greece, that was established on the summit of Aghios Antonios (2,815 m), providing

5928-528: Is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts." Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth,

6080-420: Is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks , and a genre of ancient Greek folklore , today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology . These stories concern the ancient Greek religion 's view of the origin and nature of the world ; the lives and activities of deities , heroes , and mythological creatures ; and the origins and significance of

6232-421: Is the central, almost vertical, rocky peaks, that impress the visitor. Over the town of Litochoro, on the horizon, the relief of the mountain displays an apparent "V", between two peaks of almost equal height. The left limb is the peak named Mytikas (or Pantheon). It is Greece's highest peak. Then, on the right is Stefani (or Thronos Dios [Throne of Zeus – 2,902 metres (9,521 ft)]), which presents

Mount Olympus - Misplaced Pages Continue

6384-556: Is the town of Litochoro which lies in the eastern foothills of the mountain, some 100 km (62 mi) from Thessaloniki . The shape of Olympus was formed by rain and wind, which produced an isolated tower almost 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above the sea, which is only 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from Litochoro. Olympus has many peaks and an almost circular shape. The mountain has a circumference of 80 kilometres (50 mi), an average diameter of 26 kilometres (16 mi), and 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of area. To

6536-419: Is too cold and windy to support tree growth. Alpine tundra transitions to sub-alpine forests below the tree line ; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as krummholz . With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to

6688-749: The Homeric Hymns , in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle , in lyric poems , in the works of the tragedians and comedians of the fifth century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of the Hellenistic Age , and in texts from the time of the Roman Empire by writers such as Plutarch and Pausanias . Aside from this narrative deposit in ancient Greek literature , pictorial representations of gods, heroes, and mythic episodes featured prominently in ancient vase paintings and

6840-875: The Alps and Pyrenees of Europe, the Himalaya and Karakoram of Asia, the Andes of South America, the Eastern Rift mountains of Africa, the Snowy Mountains of Australia, the South Island of New Zealand, and the Scandinavian Mountains . Alpine tundra occupies high-mountain summits, slopes, and ridges above timberline. Aspect plays a role as well; the treeline often occurs at higher elevations on warmer equator-facing slopes. Because

6992-589: The Chimera and Medusa . Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and director of the Library of Alexandria ) tells

7144-476: The Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the fifth-century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem of Orpheus was in existence. The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as

7296-520: The Geometric period from c.  900 BC to c.  800 BC onward. In fact, literary and archaeological sources integrate, sometimes mutually supportive and sometimes in conflict; however, in many cases, the existence of this corpus of data is an indication that many elements of Greek mythology have strong factual and historical roots. Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless,

7448-539: The Hellenistic and Roman ages was primarily composed as a literary rather than cultic exercise. Nevertheless, it contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This category includes the works of: Prose writers from the same periods who make reference to myths include Apuleius , Petronius , Lollianus , and Heliodorus . Two other important non-poetical sources are the Fabulae and Astronomica of

7600-481: The Ice age , is of particular interest to botanists. The intense diversity of the landscape, the varying orientation of the slopes and their position in relation to the sea affect locally Olympus's climate and so a local microclimate prevails, combined with the geological background and the soil favor the growth of particular vegetation types and biotopes. Generally Olympus's northeast side is densely forested, as it receives

7752-598: The Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance to the Ancient Greek civilization. The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and

SECTION 50

#1732776572918

7904-692: The Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae , Sparta and Argos , claiming, according to legend, a right to rule them through their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the " Dorian invasion ". The Lydian and later the Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae. Other members of this earliest generation of heroes such as Perseus, Deucalion , Theseus and Bellerophon , have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him, their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale , as they slay monsters such as

8056-589: The Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas , a Trojan hero whose journey from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, as recounted in Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy). Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius . The Trojan War cycle ,

8208-571: The "Special Regulation" entrance to the Park is allowed only by the existing roads and traffic is allowed from sunrise to sunset only on formed paths. The visitor should also know that the following activities are not allowed: Olympus' massif is found about in the middle of Continental Greece and is easy to approach from the national railway network on the Athens-Thessaloniki line and the secondary roads that connect towns and villages around

8360-598: The 5th century BC, as Herodotus (1.56) identifies Olympus as the peak in Thessaly. In Pieria , at Olympus's northern foot, the mythological tradition had placed the nine Muses , patrons of the Fine Arts, daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne . In antiquity, the Olympus massif formed the border between Thessaly and Macedon . The history of the surrounding area is consequently of interest in

8512-473: The Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs). Gregory Nagy (1992) regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with Theogony ), each of which invokes one god." The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert , the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism

8664-626: The German invaders, who suspected it was a guerrilla den. Nowadays it has been partially restored and operates as a dependency of the New Monastery of Dionysios , that is outside Litochoro. On Olympus's southern foot, in a dominant position (820 m) in Ziliana gorge, there is the Kanalon Monastery, 8 km away from Karya. It was founded in 1055 by the monks Damianos and Joakim and since 2001 it has been restored and operates as

8816-610: The Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid ), and the murder of Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (the lost Nostoi ) and Homer's Odyssey . The Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation (e.g., Orestes and Telemachus ). The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient Greek artists (e.g. metopes on

8968-472: The Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths and legends, often giving little-known alternative versions. Herodotus in particular, searched the various traditions he encountered and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between Greece and the East. Herodotus attempted to reconcile origins and the blending of differing cultural concepts. The poetry of

9120-514: The Hellenistic and the Roman period. Currently there is a unique archaeological park of 200 hectares, with the ancient town and the sacred places of worship, outside its walls. Many statues and other invaluable items are kept in the nearby Dion's archaeological museum . Pimblia and Leivithra , two other towns in Olympus's region, are related to Orpheus and the "Orphic" mysteries . According to

9272-662: The Macedonians and the Romans took place. Between Pydna and Mount Olympus are a fortified bishop's seat from the Byzantine period called Louloudies and the Macedonian Tombs of Katerini and Korinos . In the Olympus region, there are also several Christian monuments, among them the highest-elevation chapel of Orthodox Christianity , dedicated to Prophet Elias , in Greek tradition associated with mountaintops , on

SECTION 60

#1732776572918

9424-553: The Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan , Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs , and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives. In order to honor

9576-712: The Roman writer styled as Pseudo- Hyginus , the Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Philostratus the Younger , and the Descriptions of Callistratus . Finally, several Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, much derived from earlier now lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Arnobius , Hesychius , the author of the Suda , John Tzetzes , and Eustathius . They often treat mythology from

9728-519: The Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. These visual representations of myths are important for two reasons. Firstly, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources: of the twelve labors of Heracles, for example, only the Cerberus adventure occurs in a contemporary literary text. Secondly, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not attested in any extant literary source. In some cases,

9880-456: The age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was limited was a transitional age in which gods and mortals moved together. These were the early days of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided into two thematic groups: tales of love, and tales of punishment. Tales of love often involve incest, or

10032-441: The alpine zone is present only on mountains, much of the landscape is rugged and broken, with rocky, snowcapped peaks, cliffs, and talus slopes, but also contains areas of gently rolling to almost flat topography. Averaging over many locations and local microclimates , the treeline rises 75 meters (245 ft) when moving 1 degree south from 70 to 50°N, and 130 meters (430 ft) per degree from 50 to 30°N. Between 30°N and 20°S,

10184-405: The ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of mythmaking itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan and Mycenaean singers starting in the 18th century BC; eventually the myths of

10336-481: The appropriation or invention of some important cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and the Mysteries to Triptolemus , or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into

10488-681: The army of the dead." Another important difference between the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity. The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic Age are also ascribed three great events: the Argonautic expedition, the Theban Cycle , and the Trojan War . Some scholars believe that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there

10640-454: The arrival of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy. In another tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae , the king of Thebes , Pentheus , is punished by Dionysus, because he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads , the female worshippers of the god. In another story, based on an old folktale-motif, and echoing a similar theme, Demeter

10792-440: The average temperature in the warmest month and C the average of the coldest month, both in degrees Celsius (this would mean, for example, that if a particular location had an average temperature of −20 °C (−4 °F) in its coldest month, the warmest month would need to average 11 °C (52 °F) or higher for trees to be able to survive there). In 1947, Holdridge improved on these schemes, by defining biotemperature :

10944-574: The basis for the collection; however, the "Library" discusses events that occurred long after his death, hence the name Pseudo-Apollodorus. Among the earliest literary sources are Homer 's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey . Other poets completed the Epic Cycle , but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no direct connection with Homer. The oldest are choral hymns from

11096-409: The beginnings of the universe in human language. The most widely accepted version at the time, although a philosophical account of the beginning of things, is reported by Hesiod , in his Theogony . He begins with Chaos , a yawning nothingness. Next comes Gaia (Earth), "the ever-sure foundation of all", and then Tartarus , "in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and Eros (Love), "fairest among

11248-512: The birds of prey, are scarce. In addition there are the common reptiles of Greek fauna (22 species such as snakes , turtles , lizards , etc.) and some amphibians (8 species) in streams and seasonal ponds, as well as a great variety of insects, particularly butterflies. Greece's highest mountain, dwelling of the Twelve Gods of antiquity, has been the first region in the country to be applied specific protective rules, by its declaration as

11400-514: The bogs and along the brooks. Alpine meadows form where sediments from the weathering of rocks has produced soils well-developed enough to support grasses and sedges. Non-flowering lichens cling to rocks and soil. Their enclosed algal cells can photosynthesize at any temperature above 0 °C (32 °F), and the outer fungal layers can absorb more than their own weight in water. The adaptations for survival of drying winds and cold may make tundra vegetation seem very hardy, but in some respects

11552-412: The center of the massif, extends the alpine tundra region of Bara, at an elevation of 2,350 metres (7,710 ft). Olympus has numerous ravines and gullies. Most distinguishable of the ravines are those of Mavrologos-Enipeas (14 km) and Mavratzas-Sparmos (13 km) near Bara and 'cut' the massif in two oval portions. On the southern foothills the great gorge of Ziliana, 13 km long, consists of

11704-512: The composition of the story of the Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey , which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it). In ancient times, the expedition was regarded as a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization. It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which

11856-451: The concept and ritual. The age in which the heroes lived is known as the Heroic age . The epic and genealogical poetry created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence. According to Ken Dowden (1992), "there is even a saga effect: We can follow

12008-724: The context of the Rise of Macedon , the Chremonidean War and the Macedonian Wars during the 4th to 2nd centuries BC. In the period of the Ottoman Empire the mountain was a hiding place and base of operations for klephts and armatoloi . It was known as Semavatevi in Turkish during the nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule. In Olympus, the second armatoliki was founded, led by Kara Michalis in 1489. The action of

12160-463: The countryside of Macedonia. However, Olympus's armatoloi, even after their capitulation to Ali Pasha , never ceased fighting on land and at sea. Among them who were active there and in nearby regions were Nikotsaras, Giorgakis Olympios and the legendary family of Lazaioi. In the early 20th century, even for some time after the liberation from the Ottoman Empire (1912), robbers were active in

12312-400: The culture, arts, and literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes. Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from

12464-461: The dead. Influences from other cultures always afforded new themes. According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.) Besides

12616-514: The deathless gods". Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilized her. From that union were born first the Titans —six males: Coeus , Crius , Cronus , Hyperion , Iapetus , and Oceanus ; and six females: Mnemosyne , Phoebe , Rhea , Theia , Themis , and Tethys . After Cronus was born, Gaia and Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born. They were followed by

12768-405: The deciduous species most common are Fraxinus , Ulmus , Montpellier maple , Judas tree , terebinth , Cotinus coggygria and others. The evergreen broadleaf trees' zone is gradually replaced by ecosystems of European black pine , that forms compact clusters, with no intermediate zone of deciduous oaks, although trees of these species occur sporadically within clusters of black pine. On

12920-473: The decoration of votive gifts and many other artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Epic Cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles . In the succeeding Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an extensive influence on

13072-404: The dispersal of pre-existing species. Though tundra covers only a minority of the Earth's surface (17-20%), the biodiversity of plant species is important to human nutrition. Of the 20 plant species that make up 80% of human food, 7 of them (35%) originated in this region. Plants have adapted to the harsh alpine environment. Cushion plants , looking like ground-hugging clumps of moss, escape

13224-624: The divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Chthonic from the Olympian. In the Works and Days , Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of

13376-480: The earlier part of the so-called Lyric age . Hesiod , a possible contemporary with Homer, offers in his Theogony ( Origin of the Gods ) the fullest account of the earliest Greek myths, dealing with the creation of the world, the origin of the gods, Titans , and Giants , as well as elaborate genealogies, folktales, and aetiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days , a didactic poem about farming life, also includes

13528-502: The eastern side of the mountain in an area of about 4,000 hectares, that is the core of the Park. A wider region, around this core, has been designated "peripheral zone of the National Park", so that its managing and exploitation to be done so as not to adversely affect the core's protection. At present, the park has been expanded to 24,000 hectares. Administratively it belongs to Pieria's and Larissa's Prefectures and specifically to

13680-428: The elevation rises, meteorological phenomena are more intense and the changes in temperature and humidity are often sudden. The coastal northeast slopes of Olympus receive more rain than the continental northwest, so, as a result, there is a clear difference in vegetation, being more abundant in the first of them. The hottest month is August, while the coldest is February. The mountain's highest zone, over 2,000 metres,

13832-476: The evolution of their culture, of which mythology, both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index of the changes. In Greek mythology's surviving literary forms, as found mostly at the end of the progressive changes, it is inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson (1975) has argued. The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who, using animism , assigned

13984-405: The fates of some families in successive generations." After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together in oaths and prayers which are addressed to them. Burkert (2002) notes that "the roster of heroes, again in contrast to the gods, is never given fixed and final form. Great gods are no longer born, but new heroes can always be raised up from

14136-509: The first known representation of a myth in geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry, by several centuries. In the Archaic ( c.  750  – c.  500 BC ), Classical ( c.  480 –323 BC), and Hellenistic (323–146 BC) periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has changed over time to accommodate

14288-473: The flora includes many endemic species of the Balkans. Beyond Bosnian pine's zone follows an extensive zone, without trees, with alpine meadows, consisted by a mosaic of grassland ecosystems, depending on the topography, the slope and the orientation of the ground. In general, this alpine flora with more than 150 plant species, contains snow accumulation meadows, grassy swamps, alpine scree and rock crevices. On

14440-472: The gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign of Cronos, the subsequent races to the creation of Zeus . The presence of evil was explained by the myth of Pandora , when all of the best of human capabilities, save hope, had been spilled out of her overturned jar. In Metamorphoses , Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages. "Myths of origin" or " creation myths " represent an attempt to explain

14592-488: The ground and consists mainly of perennial grasses , sedges , and forbs . Perennial herbs (including grasses, sedges, and low woody or semi-woody shrubs) dominate the alpine landscape; they have much more root and rhizome biomass than that of shoots, leaves, and flowers. The roots and rhizomes not only function in water and nutrient absorption but also play a very important role in over-winter carbohydrate storage. Annual plants are rare in this ecosystem and usually are only

14744-564: The ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by adiabatic cooling of air, and is similar to polar climate . Alpine tundra occurs at high enough altitude at any latitude . Portions of montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregions worldwide include alpine tundra. Large regions of alpine tundra occur in the North American Cordillera and parts of the northern Appalachian Mountains in North America,

14896-771: The growing season in many areas. Precipitation occurs mainly as winter snow, but soil water availability is highly variable with season, location, and topography. For example, snowfields commonly accumulate on the lee sides of ridges while ridgelines may remain nearly snow free due to redistribution by wind. Some alpine habitats may be up to 70% snow free in winter. High winds are common in alpine ecosystems, and can cause significant soil erosion and be physically and physiologically detrimental to plants. Also, wind coupled with high solar radiation can promote extremely high rates of evaporation and transpiration . There have been several attempts at quantifying what constitutes an alpine climate. Climatologist Wladimir Köppen demonstrated

15048-541: The heel. Achilles' heel was the only part of his body which was not invulnerable to damage by human weaponry. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium ). Finally, with Athena's help, they built the Trojan Horse . Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra , the Trojans were persuaded by Sinon , a Greek who feigned desertion, to take

15200-548: The heroes of the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer 's epic poems , the Iliad and the Odyssey . Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod , the Theogony and the Works and Days , contain accounts of the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of human woes, and the origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in

15352-500: The highest forest tree line limit (limit of forest growth) in the Balkans and Europe. Another feature of this zone is that over 2,500 metres the trees appear in a crawling form . The region, where Bosnian pine grows, is mostly dry and its slopes are rocky. There are no springs or water streams. The vegetation growing there is adapted to specific local conditions and represented by typical shrubs, graminaceous , chasmophytes etc., while

15504-451: The highest local elevation tended to be so named; among the numerous peaks called Olumpos in antiquity are mountains in Mysia , Laconia , Lycia , Cyprus , Attica , Euboea , Ionia and Lesbos , and others. Thessalian Olympus is the highest peak in any territory with Greek settlement and came to be seen as the "Pan-Hellenic" representative of the mythological seat of the gods, by at least

15656-697: The highest mountains on Earth were above the clouds and winds. Augustine of Hippo , writing in the early Middle Ages, similarly reported in On Genesis that "on the peak of Mount Olympus, which is said to rise above the area of this humid air, we are told, certain letters are regularly made in the dust and are a year later found whole and unmarred by those who climb that mountain for their solemn memorials." The third highest peak of Mount Olympus, called Agios Antonios (Άγιος Αντώνιος "Saint Anthony", 40°04′04″N 22°21′04″E  /  40.0677°N 22.3511°E  / 40.0677; 22.3511 , 2,817 m),

15808-729: The highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into the Peloponnese . Hyllus , the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle , became the son of Heracles and one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the descendants of Hyllus —other Heracleidae included Macaria , Lamos, Manto , Bianor , Tlepolemus , and Telephus ). These Heraclids conquered

15960-420: The horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of

16112-490: The klephts in Olympus led the Turks to visit their outrage on the klephts' ally-village of Milia (in the late 17th century), which they destroyed. In that period Livadi in Olympus became the seat of the armatoliki of Olympus and Western Macedonia, with their first renowned commander Panos Zidros. In the 18th century the Turks had to replace the armatoloi (who very often joined the klephts) with Muslim Albanian armatoloi who ravaged

16264-587: The limits of their spread within Northern Greece. An important book about the plants and flowers, from the beach of the Aegean Sea up to the upper regions of Mount Olympus, was written in 1980 by the Swedish botanist Arne Strid . Most of those found in lower elevation are the common Mediterranean and central European species. Ramonda heldreichii (syn. Jankaea heldreichii ), a plant relict of

16416-1108: The meadows, the rocks and the steep slopes live most of the endemic plants, among them some of the most beautiful wildflowers in Greece. Half of them are found only in the Balkans and 23 only in Olympus and nowhere else. The list of 23 local endemic plants at Mount Olympus from the Olympus National Park Management Agency: Achillea ambrosiaca, Alyssum handelii, Asprerula muscosa, Aubrieta thessala , Campanula oreadum , Carum adamovicii, Centaurea incompleta, Centaurea litochorea, Centaurea transiens, Cerastrium theophrasti, Coincla nivalis, Erysimum olympicum, Festuca olympica, Genista sakellariadis, Ramonda heldreichii , Ligusticum olympicum, Melampyrus ciliatum, Ophrys helenae ( Ophrys sphegodes subsp. helenae ), Poa thessala, Potentilla deorum , Rynchosinapis nivalis, Silene dionysii, Silene oligantha, Veronica thessalica, Viola striis-notata, Viola pseudograeca . Olympus's fauna, which has not been systematically studied so far, includes considerable variety and

16568-400: The mean annual temperature, where all temperatures below 0 °C are treated as 0 °C (because it makes no difference to plant life, being dormant). If the mean biotemperature is between 1.5 and 3 °C (34.7 and 37.4 °F), Holdridge quantifies the climate as alpine. Since the habitat of alpine vegetation is subject to intense radiation, wind, cold, snow, and ice, it grows close to

16720-576: The middle of the Archaic period, myths about relationships between male gods and male heroes became more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic pederasty ( παιδικὸς ἔρως , eros paidikos ), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the end of the fifth-century  BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos , an adolescent boy who was their sexual companion, to every important god except Ares and many legendary figures. Previously existing myths, such as those of Achilles and Patroclus , also then were cast in

16872-414: The most impressive and steep peak of Olympus, with its last sharply rising 200 metres presenting the greatest challenge for climbers. Further south, Skolio ( 40°04′58″N 22°21′26″E  /  40.0829°N 22.3571°E  / 40.0829; 22.3571 second highest sub-peak – 2,911 metres (9,551 ft)) completes an arc of about 200 degrees, with its steep slopes forming on the west side, like

17024-529: The most rainfall, while the southwest one has significantly sparser vegetation. In Olympus there are generally four sequential flora zones, but due to the complex topography and variety of microclimates, these do not form an obvious clear sequence with elevation. A zone of evergreen broadleaf trees ( maquis ) occurs between 300 and 500 metres elevation. Along with oak ( Quercus ilex ) and Greek strawberry tree there occur kermes oak , strawberry tree , Phillyrea latifolia , bay laurel , cedar and others. Of

17176-504: The mountain, with the principal base for excursions being the town of Litochoro, where there are many hotels and taverns. In addition, on Pieria's coastal zone there are many camp sites and lodgings. The nearest international airport is that of Thessaloniki, and railway stations are those of Litochoro, Katerini and Leptokarya . There is frequent service by KTEL buses and a taxi stand is in Litochoro's central square. The official list of

17328-424: The municipalities Diou-Olympou and Katerinis (Pieria) and Τempon and Elassonas (Larissa). Its lowest elevation is 600 metres and its peak, Mytikas, at 2,917.727 metres. In 1981 UNESCO proclaimed Olympus "Biosphere Reserve". European Union has listed Olympus in the "Significant for Birdlife Regions of European Union". It is also registered in the list of Natura 2000 European Network as a special protection area and

17480-577: The myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis . In the Argonautica , Jason is impelled on his quest by king Pelias , who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be his nemesis . Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason in

17632-479: The mythological details about gods and heroes. The evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and mainland Greece) was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of gods and heroes have been tentatively identified. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth-century  BC depict scenes from

17784-530: The myths of Prometheus , Pandora , and the Five Ages . The poet advises on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, rendered yet more dangerous by its gods. Lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar , Bacchylides and Simonides , and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion , relate individual mythological incidents. Additionally, myth

17936-400: The name Όλυμπος (Olympos) is unknown. One theory suggests that it is compounded of ou lyma (οὐ λύμα) and pous (πούς), meaning "pure foot", conforming to Hesiod 's description of the earth as a sort of footstool for heaven up from which rise the "Blessed Gods". According to Robert S.P. Beekes the word is of pre-Greek origin and he speculates that it originally meant "mountain" . The word

18088-549: The necessary clothing for any weather conditions. The research of Olympus's plants started in 1836, when the French botanist Aucher-Éloy studied them. According to this and later studies, the National Park of Olympus is considered one of the richest flora regions in Greece, with about 1,700 species and subspecies, that represent some 25% of Greek flora. Of them 187 are characterized as significant, 56 are Greek endemic and of them 23 are local endemic, i.e. they can be found only in Olympus, and 16 are rare in Greece or/and have there

18240-439: The northern slopes of Xirolakos valley, between 600 and 700 metres elevation, there is a high forest of downy oak of about 120 hectares. The black pine dominates on the eastern and northern side of the mountain, between 500 and 1,700 metres. In this zone there is also hybrid fir in small groups and scrubs or small clumps, particularly in the lower region and in the sites Naoumi (west) and Stalamatia and Polykastro (east), where it

18392-503: The northwest lies the Aromanian village of Kokkinopilos . The Makryrema stream separates Olympus from the massif of Voulgara. The villages Petra , Vrontou and Dion lie to the northeast, while on the eastern side there is the town of Litochoro , where Enipeas bisects the massif of Olympus. On its southeastern side, the Ziliana gorge divides Mount Olympus from Kato Olympos (Lower Olympus), while on its southwestern foothills, there are

18544-492: The one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires or Hundred-Handed Ones, who were both thrown into Tartarus by Uranus. This made Gaia furious. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of Gaia 's children") was convinced by Gaia to castrate his father. He did this and became the ruler of the Titans with his sister-wife, Rhea, as his consort, and the other Titans became his court. A motif of father-against-son conflict

18696-473: The only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus. This work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c.  180 BC to c.  125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed

18848-459: The problem of the devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae. The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus , the city's founder, and later with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to

19000-713: The refuges at Mount Olympus is maintained by the Olympus National Park Management Agency. Mount Olympus and the national Park around it were selected as the main motif for the Greek National Park Olympus commemorative coin , minted in 2005. On the reverse, the War of the Titans on Mount Olympus is portrayed along with flowering branches on the lower part of the coin. Above the scene is written, in Greek, "National Park Olympus". Greek mythology Greek mythology

19152-677: The region from the foothills of the mountain to the sea. The Geological Museum of Mount Olympus , located in Leptokarya , provides detailed information about the geological structure of the mountain. The complicated geological past of the region is obvious from the morphology of Olympus and its National Park. Features include deep gorges and lots of smooth peaks, many of them over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), including Aghios Antonios (2,815 metres (9,236 ft)), Kalogeros (2,700 metres (8,900 ft)), Toumpa (2,801 metres (9,190 ft)) and Profitis Ilias (2,803 metres (9,196 ft)). However, it

19304-696: The region – the best known of them the notorious Giagoulas ( el ), while during the German invasion in 1941 the Hellenic Army fought significant battles along with units of New Zealanders and Australians . During the German Occupation (1941–1944) the mountain was one of the centers of the Greek Resistance , while a little later the Greek Civil War (1946–49) started there, in Litochoro. The whole region of Pieria's Olympus

19456-510: The seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god, resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings. In a few cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite , where the goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas . The second type (tales of punishment) involves

19608-593: The ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus , who went to Crete to slay the Minotaur ; Atalanta , the female heroine, and Meleager , who once had an epic cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey . Pindar , Apollonius and the Bibliotheca endeavor to give full lists of the Argonauts. Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC,

19760-483: The society while the beliefs were held. After they ceased to become religious beliefs, few would have known the rites and rituals. Allusions often existed, however, to aspects that were quite public. Images existed on pottery and religious artwork that were interpreted and more likely, misinterpreted in many diverse myths and tales. A few fragments of these works survive in quotations by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps,

19912-615: The stone, which had been sitting in Cronus's stomach all this time. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes (whom Zeus freed from Tartarus), Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in Tartarus . Zeus was plagued by the same concern, and after a prophecy that the offspring of his first wife, Metis , would give birth to

20064-406: The stony hearts of the underworld gods in his descent to Hades . When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes , the first thing he does is sing about the birth of the gods. Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the Muses . Theogony also

20216-468: The strong winds blowing a few inches above them. Many flowering plants of the alpine tundra have dense hairs on stems and leaves to provide wind protection or red-colored pigments capable of converting the sun's light rays into heat. Some plants take two or more years to form flower buds, which survive the winter below the surface and then open and produce fruit with seeds in the few weeks of summer. In various areas of alpine tundra, woody plant encroachment

20368-455: The summit of the same name (Προφήτης Ηλίας Profitis Ilias ), at 2,803 m. It was built in the 16th century by Saint Dionysios of Olympus , who also founded the most significant monastery in the region. The Old Monastery of Dionysios (elevation 820 m) lies in Enipeas' gorge and is accessible by car from Litochoro. It was looted and burned by the Ottomans and in 1943 it was destroyed by

20520-473: The tale known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex ) and later mythological accounts. Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between Greece and Troy , and its aftermath. In Homer's works, such as the Iliad , the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War also elicited great interest in

20672-506: The treeline is roughly constant, between 3,500 and 4,000 meters (11,500 and 13,100 ft). Alpine climate is the average weather ( climate ) for the alpine tundra. The climate becomes colder when reaching higher elevations —this characteristic is described by the lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 10 °C per km (5.5 °F per 1000 ft) of elevation or altitude. Therefore, moving up 100 meters (330 ft) on

20824-482: The villages Sykaminea and Karya . The Agia Triada Sparmou Monastery and the village Pythion lie to the west. Olympus's dry foothills, known as the Xirokampi, are covered in chaparral and provides habitat for animals such as wild boar. Further east, the plain of Dion is fertile and watered by the streams which originate on Olympus. Mount Olympus is formed of sedimentary rock laid down 200 million years ago in

20976-577: The war of the Seven against Thebes and the eventual pillage of that city at the hands of the Epigoni . (It is not known whether the Seven figured in early epic.) As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts seem to have him continuing to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother, and subsequently marrying a second wife who becomes the mother of his children—markedly different from

21128-441: The winter. Higher it is more humid, warm and sometimes severe, with more intense meteorological phenomena; in these locations it often snows throughout winter, while rain and snow is not unusual even in the summer. The temperature varies in winter from −10 °C to 10 °C and in summer from 0 °C to 20 °C, while winds are an almost daily occurrence. Generally the temperature falls 1 °C per 200 m of elevation. As

21280-434: The world" may be divided into three or four broader periods: While the age of gods often has been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes, establishing a chronology and record of human accomplishments after the questions of how the world came into being were explained. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed

21432-513: Was abducted by klephts , who also killed the Ottoman gendarmes that accompanied him. It was just one year after the liberation of northern Greece from Ottoman rule, on 2 August 1913, that the summit of Olympus was finally reached. The Swiss Frédéric Boissonnas and Daniel Baud-Bovy , aided by a hunter of wild goats from Litochoro, Christos Kakkalos , were the first to reach Greece's highest peak. Kakkalos, who had much experience climbing Olympus,

21584-598: Was central to classical Athenian drama . The tragic playwrights Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides took most of their plots from myths of the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of the great tragic stories (e.g. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus , Jason , Medea , etc.) took on their classic form in these tragedies. The comic playwright Aristophanes also used myths, in The Birds and The Frogs . Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus , and geographers Pausanias and Strabo , who traveled throughout

21736-468: Was declared an archaeological and historical site for the preservation of its monumental and historical character. Five kilometres away from the sea is Dion , sacred city of the ancient Macedons, dedicated to Zeus and the Twelve Olympians. Its prosperity lasted from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD. The excavations, continuing since 1928, have revealed numerous findings of the Macedonian,

21888-478: Was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia , by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins. Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods are called upon in poetry, prayer, or cult, they are referred to by

22040-592: Was probably a real man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos . Some scholars suggest the story of Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene , granddaughter of Perseus . His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk-tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. According to Burkert (2002), "He

22192-567: Was regularly visited in religious pilgrimages through antiquity and the early Middle Ages. For instance, ancient Greek pottery, coins, and evidence of sacrificial ashes estimated to be from 400 B.C. have been found on the summit. Plutarch , writing during the Roman Empire , reported that writings and sacrificial ashes left by priests and religious pilgrims on the summit of the mountains of Mount Kyllini and Mount Olympus could be found intact several years later, neither being washed away by rains or scattered by winds. Plutarch cited this as evidence that

22344-511: Was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus . Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was full-grown, he fed Cronus a drugged drink which caused him to vomit, throwing up Rhea's other children, including Poseidon , Hades , Hestia , Demeter , and Hera , and

22496-591: Was searching for her daughter, Persephone , having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and received a hospitable welcome from Celeus , the King of Eleusis in Attica . As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make his son Demophon a god, but she was unable to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand

22648-522: Was the bow but frequently also the club. Vase paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted many hundreds of times. Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule" became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks. In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger. Heracles attained

22800-422: Was the first of the three to climb Mytikas. Afterwards, and until his death in 1976, he was the official guide on Olympus. In 1921, he and Marcel Kurz reached the second highest summit of Olympus, Stefani. Based on these explorations, Kurz in 1923 edited Le Mont Olympe , a book that includes the first detailed map of the summits. In 1928, the painter Vasilis Ithakisios climbed Olympus together with Kakkalos, reaching

22952-431: Was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the ruler of the underworld, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage. Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus , revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to

23104-503: Was the subject of many lost poems, including those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus , Epimenides , Abaris , and other legendary seers, which were used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites . There are indications that Plato was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony. A silence would have been expected about religious rites and beliefs, however, and that nature of the culture would not have been reported by members of

#917082