Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus: View from Litochoro
Elevation	2,919 m (9,577 ft)
Prominence	2,355 m (7,726 ft)
Listing	Country high point Ultra
Location
Mount Olympus Location of Mount Olympus in Greece
Location	Greece
Range	Macedonia and Thessaly, near the Gulf of Salonika
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike, some rock scramble

Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος ; also transliterated as Ólympos, and on Greek maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 km away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks.^[1] The highest peak Mýtikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,919 metres high (9,577 feet).^[2] It is one of the highest peaks in Europe in terms of topographic prominence.^[3]

Mount Olympus is noted for its very rich flora with several endemic species.

In Greek mythology the mountain was regarded as the "home of the gods", specifically of the Twelve Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the Classical Greek and Hellenistic worlds.^[4]

Climbing

Olympus' highest peak, Mýtikas or the "Throne of Zeus"

Mount Olympus with Stefani Peak (2009m) and Mytikas peak behind it - view from Olympic Beach of Katerini.

Climbing Mount Olympus is a non-technical hike, except for the final 30 minute section from Skala summit to Mitikas summit, which is YDS class 3 rock scramble. It is estimated that 10,000 people climb Mount Olympus each year, most of them reaching only the Skolio summit (which does not involve rock scramble). Most climbs to Mount Olympus start from the town of Litochoro, which took the name City of Gods because of its location on the roots of the mountain. From there a road goes to Prionia, where the hike begins at the bottom of the mountain.

Coin

Mount Olympus and the national Park around it were recently selected as the main motif for a high value euro collectors' coin: the €10 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", while on the bottom of the coin, close to the edge, is the issuing year.

See also

• Heaven

References

External links

• Mount Olympus
• Greek Mountain Flora
• Management Agency of Olympus National Park

National parks of Greece Mainland Olympus • Parnassus • Parnitha  • Samaria  • Vikos–Aoös • Ainos • Sounio • Oeta • Pindus • Prespes Marine Parks Alonissos • Zakynthos