It is the highest mountain in Greece, known worldwide mainly for its mythological context, as on its summit (Mytikas-2918 m.) lived the Twelve “Olympic” gods, according to the religion of the ancient Greeks. It is also the second highest mountain in the Balkans (after Rila in Bulgaria), but also in the entire region of Europe, from the Alps to the Caucasus.
At the foot of Mount Olympus, 5 km from the sea, is Dion, a sacred city of the Macedonians, dedicated to Zeus and the twelve gods. Its heyday is placed between the 5th BC. and in the 5th AD century. The excavations, which began in 1928 and continue until today, revealed rich finds from the Macedonian, Hellenistic and Roman eras, which are located in the Archaeological Museum of Dion.
The one who first climbed to the top of the mythical mountain, Mytika, was Christos Kakkalos, the Litochorite hunter and luthier, leading two Swiss, the famous photographer Frederic Boissonnas and his companion, Daniel Baud-Bovy, there on August 2, 1913 . “We follow behind him from the blood marks left by his torn legs on the rocks”, Frederic Boissonnas tells about Christos Kakkalos, the key-crator of Mytikas. “Olympus has been calling us for so long”, notes the Swiss Boissonas, in his chronicle. “Its beauty is not only in nature. Its beauty is spiritual beauty. It expresses the divine”. The road to the peaks was now open.
Every year thousands of nature lovers visit Mount Olympus, to admire the charm of its nature up close and enjoy touring its slopes. There are even more mountaineers and climbers who flock from every corner of the planet to conquer its peaks, especially “Mytikas”, the residence of the 12 Olympian gods.
