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Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, renowned worldwide for its mythological significance, as the twelve "Olympian" gods—according to ancient Greek religion—dwelt at its summit (Mytikas, with an exact elevation of 2,917.727 meters). It is also the second-highest mountain in the Balkans, surpassed only by Rila in Bulgaria (a difference of approximately 7 meters).
Its massive mountain range straddles the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, featuring a series of high peaks and deep ravines surrounded by an area of exceptional biodiversity. To protect the region, it was designated Greece's first National Park in 1938, while the Ministry of Culture later declared Olympus an archaeological and historical site due to its scattered monuments. In 2026, Olympus and its surrounding area were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Mythology
The form of Olympus—with the multifaceted, ever-changing allure of its natural landscape and its towering peaks shrouded in mist and low-hanging clouds that frequently herald storms—inspired awe and wonder in the prehistoric people who inhabited its foothills, where archaeological excavations today are unearthing remains of Iron Age settlements. These early inhabitants of the region would give rise to the legends that later came to embody the pantheon of the
Twelve Olympian Gods of the ancient Greeks.
The twelve gods dwell in the ravines—"the folds of Olympus," as Homer calls them—where their palaces are also located. The Pantheon (modern-day Mytikas) is their meeting place. The Throne of Zeus (modern-day Stefani) is reserved exclusively for the leader of the gods, Zeus. In the *Iliad*, Olympus is described as great, long, *aigleeis* (i.e., radiant), and rich in trees.
On the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus, in Pieria, mythological tradition placed the nine Muses—patronesses of the fine arts and daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne.
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