Listed 10 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "LITOCHORO Small town PIERIA" .
MONI AGIOU DIONYSSIOU (Monastery) PIERIA
(Following URL information in Greek only)
OLYMPOS (Mountain) GREECE
Olympus (Olumpos). One of the loftiest mountains in Greece, of which the southern
side forms the boundary of Thessaly, while its northern base encloses the plains
of Macedonia. Hence it is sometimes called a mountain of Macedonia (Strab. vii.
p. 329; Ptol. iii. 13. § 19), and sometimes a mountain of Thessaly. (Herod. vii.
128; Plin. iv. 8. s. 15.) It forms the eastern extremity of the Cambunian range,
and extends to the sea as far as the mouth of the Peneius, being separated by
the vale of Tempe from the heights of Ossa. Xenagoras, who measured the perpendicular
height of Olympus from the town of Pythium, ascertained its elevation to be ten
stadia and nearly one plethrum (Plut. Aemil. 15); which Holland, Dodwell, Leake,
and others regard as not far from the truth, since they estimate its height to
be between six and seven thousand feet. But these writers have considerably undercalculated
its elevation, which is now ascertained to be 9754 feet. Herodotus relates that
Mt. Olympus was seen by Xerxes from Therma (vii. 128); and we know from modern
travellers that in clear weather it is visible from Mt. Athos, which is 90 miles
distant. (Journ. Geogr. Soc. vol. vii. p. 69.) All travellers, who have visited
Mt. Olympus, dwell with admiration upon its imposing grandeur. One of the most
striking descriptions of its appearance is given by Dr. Holland, who beheld it
from Litokhoro at its base:--We had not before been aware of the extreme vicinity
of the town to the base of Olympus; but when leaving it, and accidentally looking
back, we saw through an opening in the fog, a faint outline of vast precipices,
seeming almost to overhang the place; and so aerial in their aspect, that for
a few minutes we doubted whether it might not be a delusion to the eye. The fog,
however, dispersed yet more on this side, and partial openings were made, through
which, as through arches, we saw the sunbeams resting on the snowy summits of
Olympus, which rose into a dark blue sky far above the belt of clouds and mist
that hung upon the sides of the mountain. The transient view we had of the mountain
from this point showed us a line of precipices of vast height, forming its eastern
front toward the sea; and broken at intervals by deep hollows or ravines, which
were richly clothed with forest trees. The oak, chestnut, beech, planetree, &c.,
are seen in great abundance along the base and skirts of the mountain; and towards
the summit of the first ridge, large forests of pine spread themselves along the
acclivities. Behind this first ridge, others rise up and recede towards the loftier
central heights of Olympus. Almost opposite the town of Litokhoro, a vast ravine
penetrates into the interior of the mountain, through the opening of which we
saw, though only for a few minutes, what I conceive to be the summit,--from this
point of view, with a somewhat concave ascending line on each side. (Holland,
Travels, vol. ii. p. 27.) Though the lower sides of Olympus are well wooded, the
summit presents a wide extent of a bare light-coloured rock. (Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. i. p. 434.) The broad summit of Olympus is alluded to by Homer, who
gives to it the epithet of makros more frequently than any other. Next to that,
is aganniphos (Il. i. 420), from its being covered with snow during the greater
part of the year. Hesiod (Theog. 118) also gives it the epithet of Wiphoeis. Below
the summit its rugged outline is broken into many ridges and precipices, whence
Homer describes it as poludeiras. (Il. i. 499, v. 754.) The forests, which covered
the lower sides of Olympus, are frequently alluded to by the ancient poets. (poludendros,
Eurip. Bacch. 560; Ossae frondosums involvere Olympum, Virg. Georg. 281; opacus
Olympus, Hor. Carm. iii. 4. 52.) The mountain is now called Elymbo, i. e. Elumpos,
by the surrounding inhabitants, which name Leake observes is probably not a modern
corruption, but the ancient dialectic form, for the Aeolic tribes of Greece often
substituted the epsilon for the omicron, as in the instance of Orchomenos which
the Boeotians called Erchomenos. (Dodwell, Tour through Greece, vol. ii. p. 105;.
Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 341, 407.) Olympus was believed to be the
residence of Zeus and the other gods; and as its summit rose above the clouds
into the calm ether, it was believed that here was an opening into the vault of
heaven, closed by a thick cloud, as a door. (Il. v. 751.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIMBLIA (Ancient city) PIERIA
A place in Pieria, where Orpheus was said to have been born, and from which the
Muses obtained their epithet of Pimpleides and Pimpleiades among the Alexandrian
poets. (Orph. Fragm. 46; Pimplea dulcis, Horat. Carm. i. 26. 9; Stat. Silv. i.
4. 26.) Leake (Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 422) identified it with the elevated
situation of Litokhoro and its commanding prospect.
OLYMPOS (Mountain) GREECE
(Olumpos). A mountain situated in Thessaly, the summit of which
(nearly 10,000 feet above the sea) rises from the region of the earth's atmosphere
into the sky, and was, according to the earliest popular belief of the Greeks,
the abode of the higher (hence named Olympian) gods. Below the summit, which,
according to Homer's description, is never ruffled by winds or drenched with rain,
but is always radiant in cloudless splendour, comes the region of clouds, which
Zeus at one time gathers together and at another dispels; it forms the boundary
between the celestial region and that of the earth, and, accordingly, Homer elsewhere
implies that the clouds are the gates of heaven, which are guarded by the Horae.
On the highest peak Zeus has his throne, and it is there that he summons the assemblies
of the gods. The abodes of the other gods were imagined to be placed on the precipices
and in the ravines of the mountain. When the height of the vault of heaven came
to be regarded as the abode of the gods, the name Olympus was transferred to the
sky.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIMBLIA (Ancient city) PIERIA
(Pimpleia). A town in the Macedonian province of Pieria, sacred to the Muses, who were hence called Pimpleides. Horace uses the form Pimplea in the singular, and not Pimpleis.
Perseus Project index. Total results: 558 for Olympus & 94 for Olympos (more than one title).
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!