Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece

Olympus is known worldwide both for its ecological characteristics and unique natural beauty, as well as for its connection with ancient Greek mythology. The variety of its habitats is amazing.

The intense diversity of the relief of Olympus, the different orientation of the slopes, the rock, the great height and the short distance of the peaks from the sea, create a wide variety of types of vegetation and habitats. The importance of the Forest has been recognized not only in Greece, but also in Europe and worldwide.

Olympus is also the first area for which a special protection regime was applied in Greece 50 years ago with its declaration as a National Forest in 1938. The purpose of this declaration was to preserve in perpetuity the natural environment of the area, i.e. the wild flora , its fauna and natural landscape, as well as its cultural and other values. Furthermore, the declaration of the Forest was made in order to strengthen scientific research alongside the environmental education of the public and the development of tourism in the wider region.

By special legislation, any type of exploitation has been prohibited on the eastern side of the mountain in an area of approximately 40,000 acres that represents the core of the Forest. A wider area around the core was designated a “peripheral zone of the Forest”, so that it could be managed and exploited in such a way as not to negatively affect the protection of the core.

Today, after a special study, the Forest has expanded to an area of 234,000 acres. Administratively, Drymos belongs to the Prefectures of Pieria and Larissa, its boundary runs through the areas of the municipalities of Olympus, East Olympus, Petra, Dion, Litochoro, and the municipality of Karya. The lowest altitude is at 600m, while its peak, Mytikas at 2,918m.

Olympus is known both for its ecological characteristics and unique natural beauty, as well as for its connection with ancient Greek mythology. The variety of its habitats is amazing. The intense diversity of the relief of Olympus, the different orientation of the slopes, the rock, the great height and the short distance of the peaks from the sea, create a wide variety of types of vegetation and habitats. The importance of the Forest has been recognized not only in Greece, but also in Europe and worldwide.

In 1981, UNESCO declared Mount Olympus a “Preservable Ecosystem of the World Biosphere”. The European Community has included Olympus in the “Important Bird Areas of the European Community”. It has also been listed in the European NATURA 2000 Network as a “special protection zone” and a “site of Community interest”.

After the proclamation of the Olympus National Park, the Institution of National Parks was expanded. To date, ten National Parks have been declared across the country that stretch from the northwestern tip of the country to the Libyan Sea and include some of the most characteristic landscapes with an extraordinary variety of habitats and wildlife.

Historical review

Olympus has been known since antiquity with the first written mention by Homer in the 8th century BC. According to Homer, who recorded the centuries-old oral tradition, this is a snow-covered mountain with many ravines and gorges, the residence of the gods and the Muses who are daughters of Zeus and are called Olympiades. Cities have been mentioned since ancient times

Dion, the sacred city of the Macedonians in the only area of the Mount Olympus in which extensive excavations were carried out. In Dion, among other antiquities, a theater of the 4th century BC, an impressive mosaic in the palace of Dionysos of the 2nd century AD, have been found. the public baths of 4000m2 built in 200m2 and the sanctuary of Isidos

Levithra, home of the mythical Orpheus, is located between old Leptokarya and Skotina. It has an area of 1500 acres and consists of a walled citadel, a settlement and cemeteries. There are ancient written testimonies that in ancient Levithra is the tomb of the mythical Orpheus.
Other ancient cities located in the area are Pythion (holy place of Apollo), Heraklion, Pieris, Atira, and Petra.

Conquest of Olympus

Since prehistoric times, Man has been climbing Mount Olympus to meet his daily needs and for religious purposes. However, it does not seem that he climbed Mytika, but he reached the opposite peak, Agios Antonios, where he left the offerings to the gods.

The first officially recorded conquest of the summit of Olympus took place, on August 2, 1913, at 10.25 in the morning by the Swiss Frederic Boissonas (photographer and publisher), Daniel Baud-Bovy (writer and technical critic) with the help of Litochori’s Christos Kakalos who he was also the first to step on the top.

Along with Kakalos, on March 7, 1928, the painter Vassilis Ithakisios will also climb Mount Olympus, who will visit Mount Olympus until 1940, using a cave as a workshop, shelter and base, which he named “Asylum of the Muses”.