- Olympus, Mount
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〚L < Gr Olympos〛1. mountain in N Greece, between Thessaly & Macedonia: c. 9,580 ft (2,920 m): in Greek mythology, the home of the gods2. Mount 〚after the mountain in Greece〛 highest peak of the Olympic Mountains, NW Wash.: 7,965 ft (2,428 m)
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Mountain peak, northeastern Greece.At 9,570 ft (2,917 m), it is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus range, lying on the border between Macedonia and Thessaly, near the Gulf of Salonika. The summit is snowcapped and often has cloud cover. In ancient Greece, it was regarded as the abode of the gods and the site of the throne of Zeus.* * *
Modern Greek Óros Ólimbos,mountain peak, the highest (9,570 feet [2,917 m]) in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Gulf of Thérmai of the Aegean Sea and lies astride the border between Macedonia and Thessaly. It is also designated as Upper Olympus (Greek: Áno Ólimbos), as opposed to Lower Olympus (Káto Ólimbos), an adjacent peak on the south rising to 5,210 feet (1,588 m).Mount Olympus is snowcapped and often has cloud cover. According to Homer's Odyssey, however, the peak never has storms and it basks in cloudless aithēr (Greek: “pure upper air”; thus “ether”). Later writers elaborated upon this description, which may have originated from the observation that the peak is often visible above a belt of relatively low clouds. In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was regarded as the abode of the gods and the site of the throne of Zeus. The name Olympus was used for several other mountains as well as hills, villages, and mythical personages in Greece and Asia Minor.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
