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Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the countryside, being a major international recreational site, with views of montane landscapes. Economically its rolling foothills and valleys host extensive groves of
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
, a cash crop marketed world-wide since prehistory. The mountain is also the location of historical, archaeological, and other cultural sites, such as
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
perched on the southern slopes of the mountain in a rift valley north of the
Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...
. Parnassus is laced with trails for hiking in the three warm seasons. In the winter the entire range is open to skiing, especially from the resorts of
Arachova Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. ...
. Its melting snows are a source of municipal water to the surrounding communities. The mountain is composed of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, but also contains
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
aluminum ore, which is mined and processed. In war, Parnassus has been a center of resistance if need be, providing cover and refuge to partisans. Parnassus is mentioned in early Ancient Greek literature. Many of its ancient communities are cited in Homer's
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
. From a linguistic point of view, it was home to states of the
Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians) ...
, such as the Phokians, who spoke a
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
dialect, Phokian. According to
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, this mountain was sacred to
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
and the Dionysian mysteries; it was also sacred to
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and the
Corycian The Thriae (; grc, Θριαί, Thriaí) were nymphs, three virginal sisters, one of a number of such triads in Greek mythology. They were named ''Melaina'' ("The Black"), ''Kleodora'' ("Famed for her Gift"), and ''Daphnis'' ("Laurel") or ''Cor ...
nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
s, and it was the home of the
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
s. However, there is a significant gap in the proto-history of the name, Parnassos. Mycenaean settlements were abundant to the south and east. They had good views of Parnassus, and climbed some part of it frequently, and yet the name remains unattested in what is known of their language,
Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC), before the hypothesised Dorian invasion, often cited as the ''terminus ad quem'' for the ...
, which is written in
Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
script.


The name of Parnassus

L. Palmer, a philologist, suggested that Parnassus is a name derived from
Luwian language Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...
, one of the
Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia, part of present-day Turkey. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. ...
. In his view, the name derives from ''parnassas'', the possessive adjective of the
Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...
word ''parna'' meaning ''house'', or specifically ''temple'', so the name effectively means the ''mountain of the house of the god''. Such a derivation, being consistent with the reputation of the mountain as being a holy one, where the power of divinity is manifested, has always been considered a strong one, even by critics of the theory. Palmer goes on to postulate that some pre-Greek people were Anatolian, perhaps from an earlier wave of conquest, and that their country and facilities were taken by the proto-Greeks. The consistency, however, ends there. With regard to a possible preponderance of evidence, this one word remains an isolate. There is no historical or archaeological evidence to tie the name to an Anatolian presence. G. Mylonas reviewing the possibilities found nothing at all to tie the archaeology around the mountain to anything Anatolian, and although a probable Cretan connection has been detected, there is nothing to tie the Cretans to the Luwians. Linear A, the script of the Minoans, as the Cretans have been called, remains yet undeciphered. In summary, the ethnicity of the pre-Greek people or peoples after many decades of scholarship remains yet unknown, and there is yet no explanation of how and when this mountain was named with a Luwian name.


Geology and geography

Parnassus is one of the largest mountainous regions of Mainland Greece and one of the highest Greek mountains. It spreads over three municipalities, namely
Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
,
Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...
and
Phocis Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Var ...
, where its largest part lies. Its altitude is 2,457 meters and its highest peak is Liakouras. To the northwest it is connected to
Mount Giona Mount Giona ( el, Γκιώνα, also transliterated as ''Gkiona'', ) is a mountain in Phocis, Central Greece. It is located between the mountains of Parnassus to the east, Vardousia to the west, and Oeta to the north. Known in classical antiquit ...
and to the south to Kirphe. The mountain is delimited to the east by the valley of the Boeotian Kephissus and to the west by the valley of
Amfissa Amfissa ( el, Άμφισσα , also mentioned in classical sources as Amphissa) is a town in Phocis, Greece, part of the municipality of Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 315.174 km2. It l ...
. An unusual geological feature of Parnassus is its rich deposits of
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
, which has led to their systematic mining since the end of the 1930s, resulting in ecological damage to part of the mountain.Racot, A., 1967,"Les Parnassiens, introduction and commentaries by M. Pakenham", presented by Louis Forestier, ''Aux Lettres modernes: collection avant-siècle''


Mythology

Mount Parnassus is named after Parnassos, son of the
nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
Kleodora In Greek mythology, Kleodora or Cleodora () ("Glorious Gift", in reference to her gift of prophecy) was one of the prophetic Thriae, nymphs who divined the future by throwing stones or pebbles and were associated with the Oracle of Delphi. She and h ...
and the man Kleopompus. A city of which Parnassos was leader was flooded by torrential rains. The citizens ran from the flood, following the howling of wolves, up the mountain slope. There the survivors built another city and called it Lykoreia, which in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
means "the howling of the wolves." While
Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
was living with his mother and his eight beautiful aunts on Parnassus, he met
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
, who was courting the laughing muse
Thalia Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to: People * Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name * Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress Mythological and fictional characters * Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...
. Becoming fond of
Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
, Apollo gave him a little golden lyre and taught him to play it. Orpheus's mother taught him to write verses for singing. As the
Oracle of Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
was sacred to the god
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
, so did the mountain itself become associated with
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
. According to some traditions, Parnassus was the site of the fountain
Castalia Castalia ( grc, Κασταλία), in Greek mythology, was a naiad-nymph, a daughter of Achelous who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi. In older traditions, Castalian spring already existed by the time Apollo came to Delphi searching f ...
and the home of the Muses; according to other traditions, that honor fell to
Mount Helicon Mount Helicon ( grc, Ἑλικών; ell, Ελικώνας) is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an altitude of , it is located approximately from the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. ...
, another mountain in the same range. As the home of the Muses, Parnassus became known as the home of poetry, music, and learning. Parnassus was also the site of several unrelated minor events in Greek mythology. *In some versions of the Greek
flood myth A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these Mythology, myths and the ...
, the ark of
Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; grc-gre, Δευκαλίων) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene, Hesione, or Pronoia.A scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (='' Catalogue'' fr. 4) reports that Hesiod called Deucalion ...
comes to rest on the slopes of Parnassus. This is the version of the myth recounted in
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
's ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
''. *
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
spent his time in hiding on Mount Parnassus. *Parnassus was sacred to the god
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
. *The Corycian Cave, located on the slopes of Parnassus, was sacred to Pan and to the Muses. *In Book 19 of
The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', the ...
, Odysseus recounts a story of how he was gored in the thigh during a boar hunt on Mount Parnassus in his youth. Parnassus was also the home of
Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...
, the
winged horse The following is a list of fictional or mythological winged horses. Mythology *The ancient Pegasus is a mythological winged horse. *The Hippalectryon is a half-horse, half-rooster hybrid depicted in ancient Greek art. *Devadatta is the win ...
of
Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...
.


As metaphor

This relation of the mountain to the
Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
offered an instigation for its "mystification" by the poetic-artistic
Parnassism Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French French literature, literary style that began during the Positivism, positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to Symbolism (arts), symbolism. The style was influenced b ...
movement, established in France in the decade of 1866 to 1876 as a reaction to
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. Parnassism was characterized by a return to some classicistic elements and belief in the doctrine of " Art for the Art", first articulated by
Theophile Gautier Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...
. The periodical ''Modern Parnassus'', issued by Catul Mendes and Xavier Ricard, contained direct references to Mt. Parnassus and its mythological feature as habitation of the Muses. The Parnassists, who did not exceed a group of twenty poets, exercised a relatively strong influence on the cultural life of Paris, particularly due to their tenacity on perfection of rhyme and vocabulary. Parnassism influenced several French poets, but it also exercised an influence on
modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
poets, particularly
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
and Gryparis. The name of the mountain (Mont Parnasse) was given to a quarter of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
on the left bank of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...
, where artists and poets used to gather and recite their poems in public.
Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...
is nowadays one of the most renowned quarters of the city, and in its cemetery many personalities of the arts and culture are buried. Parnassus figures earlier in Jonathan Swift's ''
The Battle of the Books "The Battle of the Books" is the name of a short satire written by Jonathan Swift and published as part of the prolegomena to his '' A Tale of a Tub'' in 1704. It depicts a literal battle between books in the King's Library (housed in St James's ...
'' (1697) as the site of an ideological war between the ancients and the moderns.


Cultural change

In 1995, Roland S. Moore, of the Prevention Research Center in the US, conducted a study on how the advent of tourism influenced cultural change in the region. The research focused primarily on changes in alcohol use and the structure of the household. Prior to the 1970s and the boom of Greek tourism, drinking was done primarily by men. As time went on, a greater variety of liquor became available, leading to greater consumption, particularly by women, who were more likely to work in the hospitality sector where drinks were readily available. The role of patriarchal breadwinner diminished, replaced by a more democratic familial structure.


National Park

The National Park of Parnassus was founded in 1938. The idea behind the park was to preserve the natural habitat, for which it was necessary to govern the disposition of its natural resources. However, the park did not include all the terrain considered to be in the range. The highest peaks were omitted. Within a few years the park aspect of the land became dormant as Greece turned its attention toward ending the German occupation, and then after World War II, settling the Greek Civil War. Parnassus was in a unique position to serve as a center for resistance, as it had for the Greek war of independence. Battles were fought in the valleys surrounding the range. When the wars were over and the region went back to being an active park the new science of ecology brought changes to the park administration. Species were inventoried, endemic and endangered ones were identified, and the concept of a protected area was established. Parnassus National Park became a protected area for birds under the "Birds Directive." Subsequently, it acquired other protections under other laws as required by the EU. After 2000 it became Oros Parnassos, "Mount Parnassus," Natura 2000 protected area ID GR2410002. The two are not exactly identical. The national park is about . The Natura 2000 area is about , bringing the terrain not covered by the park under protection.. Among the endemic flora species under protection are the Cephalonian fir tree and the Parnassian
peony The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...
(''Paeonia parnassica''). In the Park are to be found birds of prey, wolves, boars, badgers, and weasels.


Parnassos Ski Resort

The slopes of Mount Parnassus are composed of two
ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...
sections, Kellaria and Fterolakka, which together make up the largest ski center in Greece. A smaller ski center (only two drag lifts) called Gerontovrahos is across a ridge from Kellaria. Parnassus is mined for its abundant supply of bauxite which is converted to aluminium oxide and then to
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
.The Parnassos Ski Centre
The construction of the ski resort started in 1975 and was completed in 1976, when the first two drag lifts operated in Fterolaka. In 1981 the construction of a new ski area was completed in Kelaria, while in winter season 1987–1988 the chair lift Hermes started operating and connected the two ski areas. Both ski resorts continued expanding and in 1993 the first high-speed quad in Greece was installed, named Hercules. In 2014–2015 two new hybrid lifts were installed along with a new eight-seater, replacing the old infrastructure. Today the Ski Center operates with 16 lifts, two hybrid ski lifts which combine an eight-seater Cabin and a six-seater chair, an eight-seater Cabin, a 4-seater chair lift, a 2-seater chair lift, 6 drag lifts and four baby lifts. The ski center boasts 25 marked ski runs and about 15 ski routes of total length while the longest run is .


See also

*
List of mountains in Greece A list of mountains in Greece: See also * Mount Kythnos * Movri * Omplos * Pantokrator (Corfu) * Skollis External linksMaps of mountains in Greeceby Geopsis {{List of mountains in Europe Greece * Mountains Greece Greece,, or , romaniz ...


References


External links


Greek Mountain Flora

"Óros Parnassos, Greece" on Peakbagger
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parnassus Locations in Greek mythology Two-thousanders of Greece National parks of Greece Ski areas and resorts in Greece Mountains of Central Greece Mountains of Greece Sacred mountains Tourist attractions in Central Greece Landforms of Phocis Natura 2000 in Greece