Olympos

Mount Olympos is the great massif on the ancient border of Thessaly and Macedonia, whose highest summit, Mytikas, rises to nearly three thousand metres, the highest peak in Greece. In Greek belief it was the home of the Twelve Olympian gods and the throne of Zeus above the clouds.

Pilgrims climbed the peaks to sacrifice, and pottery, coins and ashes dated to around 400 BC have been found on the summit. At the eastern foot lay Dion, the sacred city of the Macedonians, dedicated to Zeus and the Twelve, which flourished from the fifth century BC to the fifth century AD.

Under Ottoman rule the mountain became a refuge of klephts and armatoloi, and in the sixteenth century the chapel of Prophet Elias was built on one of its high peaks.