Mount Erymanthos
Encyclopedia
Mount Erymanthos is a dense mountain
range south of Patras
in the middle of Achaia prefecture. The mountains is also called Olonos (Ωλονός). Historically it was in northwestern Arcadia
and was the second tallest in the historic Arcadia, the northern portion belonged to the historic Achaea. It is the fourth tallest mountain in the Peloponnese
peninsula with an elevation of 2,224 m and is named Olenos or Olonos. The summit is located by the prefectural boundary of the Ilia. In the south, the Achaia-Ilia prefectural boundary is situated and lasts for about 25 to 30 km.
and Omplos
to the north along with other, several smaller mountains to the east and further east Chelmos which can be seen and more to the south. Its rock colour is brown, butterscotch and tan and several dry streams can be seen at the mountaintop.
(Προφήτης Ηλίας) at 2,124 m, Pyrgakos or Pirgakos (Πυργάκος) at 2,050 m, one at 1,923 m, I Psili Tourla at 1,891 m, Lepida (Λεπίδα) at (1,541) m, Melissovouni (Μελισσοβούνι meaning the mountain of bees) at 1,461 m and Agios Athanasios
(Άγιος Αθανάσιος) at 1,219 m. From the mountain is the source of Pineios
to the southwest, Selinous to the east, Erymanthos
to the south, Peiros
and Parapeiros to the southeast. It is also part of the Oleni
-Pindos
geological zone.
and the hills of eastern Ilia. On clear days, the mountains of southern Central Greece
and the mountains of the islands of Zakynthos
, Kefalonia
and Ithaca
can also be seen.
times, it was famous as the residence of the Erymanthian Boar
. In Greek mythology
, the king of Arcadia, Lycaon, had a boar that was named Erymanthus, after the mountain. Heracles
(Hercules
) captured the Erymanthian Boar and brought it back to Eurystheus
as one of his 12 labors.
Between the Byzantine
and the Greek War of Independence
, several villages were founded, including Skiada and Oreino. After World War II
and the Greek Civil War
, most villages were rebuilt. On February 5, 2008, the mountain was shaken by two earthquakes measuring at 5.5 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was centred in Chalandritsa
, the other in Farres
, outside the ranges.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
range south of Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
in the middle of Achaia prefecture. The mountains is also called Olonos (Ωλονός). Historically it was in northwestern Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
and was the second tallest in the historic Arcadia, the northern portion belonged to the historic Achaea. It is the fourth tallest mountain in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
peninsula with an elevation of 2,224 m and is named Olenos or Olonos. The summit is located by the prefectural boundary of the Ilia. In the south, the Achaia-Ilia prefectural boundary is situated and lasts for about 25 to 30 km.
Places located by the mountain
- DrosiaDrosia, AchaeaDrosia is a Greek village in southern Achaea. Drosia is located south of Patras, west of Kalavryta, northwest of Tripoli, north of Lampeia and northeast of Pyrgos. The GR-33 is to the west. Alpochori had a 2001 population of was 382 for the village and 816 for the municipal district. The...
- Stavrodromi?
- ChalandritsaChalandritsaChalandritsa is a village in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is the seat of administration....
, north - Kato Vlasia, east
- LampeiaLampeiaLampeia is a village and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Archaia Olympia, of which it is a municipal unit. The village is also known as Divri. Its population is presently around 1,000. Lampeia is in a valley...
, southwest
Surrounding the mountain
Erymanthos is surrounded by Mount Skollis to the west and in the middle a valley filled with farmlands, PanachaikoPanachaiko
The Panachaikon or Panachaiko , also known as Vodias in medieval times and until the early 20th century, is a mountain range that spans about 20 km in length from north to south , and 15 to 20 km from east to west...
and Omplos
Omplos
Omplos is a mountain in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. It rises 720 m above sea level. The mountain is shaped like a sugar-loaf, with a 65° slope. The mountain can be reached by three unused roads, one that leads almost to the top of the mountain, one linking to Ovrya in the West, and...
to the north along with other, several smaller mountains to the east and further east Chelmos which can be seen and more to the south. Its rock colour is brown, butterscotch and tan and several dry streams can be seen at the mountaintop.
About the mountain
The mountain are heavily forested around its edges and its elevation ranges from 150 m to the north up to 800 to 1,000 m except for the south and are filled with pine, olives, cedars, birches? and spruce trees. Barren land and grasslands varies from 1,000 m up to 1,600 m and unvegetated portions up to the summit, it is also forested on the other side. Faultlines are rarely located on the mountain. Other mountain ranges connected or included includes Kallifoni and Lampeia (Divri) to the southwest. Other mountaintops includes Moungila or Mougila (Μουγγίλα) at 2,169 m, Profitis IliasProfitis Ilias
Profitis Ilias is a neighborhood of Athens, Greece....
(Προφήτης Ηλίας) at 2,124 m, Pyrgakos or Pirgakos (Πυργάκος) at 2,050 m, one at 1,923 m, I Psili Tourla at 1,891 m, Lepida (Λεπίδα) at (1,541) m, Melissovouni (Μελισσοβούνι meaning the mountain of bees) at 1,461 m and Agios Athanasios
Agios Athanasios
Agios Athanasios is a town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chalkidona, of which it is a municipal unit. In 2001 the population was 14,387....
(Άγιος Αθανάσιος) at 1,219 m. From the mountain is the source of Pineios
Pineios River (Peloponnese)
The Pineiós is a river in Peloponnese, Greece. It is probably not named after the god Peneus. It flows from the mountain Erymanthus , and empties into a bay SW of Gastouni connecting the Ionian Sea. The river flows through the southern half of the Ilia plain...
to the southwest, Selinous to the east, Erymanthos
Erymanthos River
The Erymanthos is a river in the western part of the Peloponnese in Greece, the river flows in the Achaia, Arcadia and partly in the Ilia prefectures. Historically, the river flowed entirely in the region of Arcadia until after the Greek War of Independence....
to the south, Peiros
Peiros
The Peiros is a river in the central and the northwestern parts of the Achaea prefecture. The river can also be known locally with numerous names including Kamenitsa , Mellas or Melas , Pieros , Nezeritiko , Prevedos and Acheloos .-Places within the...
and Parapeiros to the southeast. It is also part of the Oleni
Oleni
Oleni is a village and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pyrgos, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was in Karatoula. It is located about 20 km S of Simopoulo, NE of Pyrgos, SE...
-Pindos
Pindus
The Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m . Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pindus range is often called the "spine of Greece"...
geological zone.
Panorama
The view from the summit includes most of the western and northwestern Peloponnese, northern ArcadiaArcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
and the hills of eastern Ilia. On clear days, the mountains of southern Central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
and the mountains of the islands of Zakynthos
Zakynthos
Zakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ...
, Kefalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
and Ithaca
Ithaca
Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...
can also be seen.
History
In ancientAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
times, it was famous as the residence of the Erymanthian Boar
Erymanthian Boar
In Greek mythology, the Erymanthian Boar is remembered in connection with The Twelve Labours, in which Heracles, the enemy of Hera, visited in turn "all the other sites of the Goddess throughout the world, to conquer every conceivable 'monster' of nature and rededicate the primordial world to its...
. In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the king of Arcadia, Lycaon, had a boar that was named Erymanthus, after the mountain. Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
(Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
) captured the Erymanthian Boar and brought it back to Eurystheus
Eurystheus
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero...
as one of his 12 labors.
Between the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
, several villages were founded, including Skiada and Oreino. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, most villages were rebuilt. On February 5, 2008, the mountain was shaken by two earthquakes measuring at 5.5 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was centred in Chalandritsa
Chalandritsa
Chalandritsa is a village in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is the seat of administration....
, the other in Farres
Farres
Farres is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat of administration was in the town Chalandritsa. It is on a road connecting Patras and Kalavryta...
, outside the ranges.