Olympus - the glorious peak of 12 gods

In ancient tales, Mount Olympus is home to 12 gods, who appear in the shrine of the Greeks.

Mount Olympus is Greece's highest mountain with a height of 2,918m. Because the foot of the mountain is almost at sea level, it is listed as the highest mountain in Europe.

Today, visitors to Greece, this sacred mountain peak is one of the destinations they often desire to visit, next to other famous tourist destinations.

Many people today still believe that Mount Olympus is the home of gods.They live in crystal palaces, on the clouds.(Photo: Greeceturkeytours).

According to Greekmythology, this place is known to be home to 12 gods - the main gods of the Greek shrine. The Olympus gods gained dominion after Zeus (often referred to as the God of Zeus) led and won the battle against the Titans.

According to Greek mythology, the 12 named gods atop this Olympus are: Zeus, Hera (marriage and family goddess), Poseidon (sea god), Demeter (goddess of harvest), Athena (wisdom god ), Hestia (fire goddess and family), Apollo (light god), Artemis (hunting goddess), Ares (war god), Aphrodite (love god), Hephaestus (blacksmith god) and Hermes ( the messenger for the gods). Later, Dionysus (god of wine, party and pleasure) replaced Hestia.

However this list is not fixed. Depending on different historical times and places, people replaced some gods with other names. For example, in Koss Island, Heracles (also known as Heroes of the Hundreds) and Dionysus are listed, but Ares, Hephaestus are not. Hebe, Helios, Cupid, Selene, Persephone are also important gods, sometimes included in the group of 12 gods living on Mount Olympus.

Hades (god of hell) is often not on this list. He had no place in the Greek god of electricity because most of the time Hades lived in hell.

The highest peak on this mountain is Mitikas and also the highest peak in Greece.(Photo: En).

Platon, the famous Greek philosopher of the time, contacted 12 Olympus gods with 12 months of the year, and offered the last month a special honor reserved for Hades and the deceased.

With its rich history and legends, Olympus is a mountain that many tourists desire to explore. Many people said, they want to climb to the top of Olympus to somehow feel the life of the previous gods.

The mountain is also known for its rich flora and fauna with 32 mammals, 108 birds, many reptiles and snakes, insects, and butterflies. Thanks to its importance, this is also the first mountain protected by Greek law.

Mount Olympus is about 80 km from Thesaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Most tourists will start climbing from the town of Litochoro - which is known as the city of the gods due to its location right at the foot of the mountain.

Many people are easy to mistake between Olympus and Olympia. Olympus is the name of the mountain, and Olympia is the name of a plain in the ancient Elis region, west of the Peloponnesus, where ancient Olympics take place.