Mount Olympus: The Home of the Olympian Gods

The Story of Mount Olympus

Rising almost straight from the sea on the border of Thessaly and Macedonia, Mount Olympus is the highest and most famous mountain in Greece. Its peaks are often hidden in clouds, and snow lingers on its summits for much of the year. To the ancient Greeks it was no ordinary mountain. It was the home of the gods, the place where Zeus, king of the gods, ruled from his throne above the clouds, gazing down on the world of mortals.

According to myth, the gods won their home in a great war. Zeus and his brothers and sisters, the children of Cronus, fought the Titans for ten years, with the gods based on Olympus and the Titans on Mount Othrys to the south. With the help of the Cyclopes, who forged his thunderbolts, and the hundred handed giants, Zeus finally triumphed and imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus. Olympus became the seat of the new rulers of the universe.

There the twelve Olympians lived in palaces built by Hephaestus, the divine smith. Zeus ruled with his queen Hera, joined by Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes and either Hestia or Dionysus, depending on the version. The gods feasted on ambrosia and nectar, served by the goddess Hebe and the young Ganymede, and listened to the songs of the Muses, who were said to have been born in Pieria, at the mountain's foot.

Olympus also appears in stories of challenges to the gods. In Homer's Odyssey, the giant brothers Otus and Ephialtes tried to reach heaven by piling Mount Ossa on top of Olympus and Mount Pelion on top of Ossa, but they were killed by Apollo before they could succeed. Homer describes Olympus as a place untouched by wind, rain or snow, bathed in cloudless light, a vision of perfect peace above the troubles of the earth.

For most of history, no one is known to have climbed to the very top. The first recorded ascent of Mytikas, the highest summit at 2,918 meters, took place on 2 August 1913. It was achieved by two Swiss climbers, Frédéric Boissonnas and Daniel Baud-Bovy, guided by Christos Kakkalos, a local hunter from Litochoro, who went on to guide many later climbers. Nearby peaks include Stefani, known as the Throne of Zeus, a dramatic rock summit that seems a fitting seat for the king of the gods.

In 1938 Olympus became the first national park in Greece, and in 1981 it was recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. Its slopes rise from Mediterranean scrub through forests of oak, beech and pine to high alpine meadows and bare rock, and they are home to a remarkable variety of plants, including species found nowhere else. Wildlife such as chamois, deer and birds of prey live among its gorges and forests.

Today the town of Litochoro, at the foot of the mountain, is the main gateway to Olympus. From there, a road leads to Prionia, the start of the most popular trail, which climbs through forest to mountain refuges where hikers spend the night before heading for the summits. The final scramble to Mytikas is steep and exposed and should only be attempted with experience or a guide. For a gentler taste of the mountain, walk the beautiful Enipeas Gorge from Litochoro, and visit nearby Dion, where the ancient Macedonians honored Zeus at the foot of his mountain.