Mount Oeta
| Oete | |
|---|---|
 Mount Oeta | |
| Elevation | 2,152 m (7,060 ft)[1] |
| Location | |
| Location | Phthiotis and Phocis, Greece |
| Range | Pindus |
| Coordinates | 38°49′43″N 22°17′19″E / 38.82861°N 22.28861°ECoordinates: 38°49′43″N 22°17′19″E / 38.82861°N 22.28861°E |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hiking |
Mount Oeta (/ˈɛtə/; Greek: Οίτη - Oiti, also transcribed as Oite; older name: Καταβόθρα - Katavothra) is a mountain in southern Phthiotis and northern Phocis, Greece. A southeastern offshoot of the Pindus range, it forms the boundary between the valleys of the rivers Spercheios to the north, the Boeotian Cephissus to the southeast and the Mornos to the southwest. It is 2,152 m (7,060 ft) high.[1] To its east is the mountain Kallidromo, which comes close to the sea, leaving only a narrow passage known as the famous pass of Thermopylae. There was also a high pass to the west of Kallidromo leading over into the upper Cephissus valley. The Oeta is southwest of Lamia, the nearest large town.
Mythology
In mythology Oeta is chiefly celebrated as the scene of Heracles' death. Prepared to die, he ascended Mount Oeta, where he built a funeral pyre of trees, gave his bow and arrows to Poeas, father of Philoctetes, and laid himself down on the pile, his head resting on his club, and his lion's skin spread over him, and commanded Philoctetes to apply the torch to the pyre.
Milton thus alludes to the frenzy of Hercules:
As when Alcides (i.e., Hercules) from Oechalia crowned
With conquest, felt the envenomed robe, and tore,
Through pain, up by the roots Thessalian pines
And Lichas from the top of Oeta threw
Into the Euboic Sea.
External links
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oiti. |
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