Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

region in the north and

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

region in the south. It is mainly composed of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and rises to . The north-east side of the range is formed by the mountain

Pastra Pastra () is a village and a community in the southeastern part of the island of Kefalonia, Greece. It was the seat of the municipality of Eleios-Pronnoi. The community consists of the villages Pastra and Kremmydi. Pastra is 2 km northeast ...

. The range was the scene of many events in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and was especially sacred to

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

. In Euripides' ''

Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; , ''Bakkhai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthum ...

'', Dionysus carries out his dances and rites with his bacchants, his priestesses, on Cithaeron.

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

was exposed on the mountain, while

Actaeon In Greek mythology, Actaeon (; ''Aktaiōn'') was the son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, and a famous Thebes, Greece, Theban Greek hero cult, hero. Through his mother he was a member of the ruling House of Cadmus. Like ...

and

Pentheus In Greek mythology, Pentheus (; ) was a king of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave (Theban princess), Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and grandson of the ...

were both dismembered on its slopes. It was also the place where

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

Alcathous Alcathous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκάθοος) was the name of several people in Greek mythology: * Alcathous, a Calydonian prince as the son of King Porthaon and Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas. He was the brother of Oeneus (successor of Porth ...

hunted and killed the

Lion of Cithaeron The Lion of Cithaeron was a lion in Greek mythology which harassed the lands of king Amphitryon and king Thespius or of king Megareus of Onchestus, Megareus. Some myths say that it was killed by Heracles, while others say it was slain by Alcathous ...

. In historic times, the mountain acted as a backdrop to the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

of 479 BC and was the scene of much skirmishing before the battle itself. In later times, fortifications were built both at

Plataea Plataea (; , ''Plátaia'') was an ancient Greek city-state situated in Boeotia near the frontier with Attica at the foot of Mt. Cithaeron, between the mountain and the river Asopus, which divided its territory from that of Thebes. Its inhab ...

and

Erythrai Erythrae or Erythrai () later Lythri(Λυθρί, turk. Ildırı) was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus (modern name: Çeşme), on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of ...

as the mountain formed the disputed natural border between Athens and Thebes. The people of Plataea also personified the mountain as their primal king: "But the Plataeans know of no king except

Asopus Asopus (; ''Āsōpos'') is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the God (male deity), gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina (mythology), Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and ...

and Cithaeron before him, holding that the latter gave his name to the mountain, the former to the river". In one tale, Cithairon was said to have engaged in a singing contest against Helikon, which was judged by the Muses. Cithairon won the contest and was adorned with garlands by the Muses, and Helikon became so angry due to his defeat that he smashed one of the large rocks on his slopes. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the village of Myoupolis on its slopes was the site of a monastery founded by

Meletios the Younger Meletios the Younger (c. 1035 – c. 1105), also called Meletios of Myoupolis, was a Byzantine Greek monk, pilgrim and priest. He is venerated as a saint in Eastern Orthodoxy and his feast is celebrated on 1 September. ...

.P. Armstrong and A. Kirby, "Text and Stone: Evergetis, Christodoulos and Meletios", in M. Mullett and A. Kirby (eds.), ''The Theotokos Evergetis and Eleventh-Century Monasticism'' (Belfast: Belfast Byzantine Enterprises, 1994), p. 153.

References

External links

Theoi Project - Kithairon
Kings in Greek mythology Mountains of Central Greece Mountain ranges of Greece Battle of Plataea Landforms of Boeotia Landforms of Central Greece Landforms of West Attica Landforms of Attica Mythology of Heracles {{greek-myth-royal-stub