Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; el, Υμηττός, translit=Ymittós, pronounced ), is a mountain range in the Athens area of

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...

, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as ''Trellós'' (crazy) or ''Trellóvouno'' (crazy mountain); the latter originates from the French "très long" (very long) in awe of its winding length of 16 km, as used by French travelers during the occupation of Greece by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. Hymettus was assigned the status of a protected area in the EU's

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respecti ...

ecological network.

Geography

The highest point of the mountain range is Evzonas (Εύζωνας) with an elevation of and the length of Hymettus is from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

to the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of ...

and 6 to 7 km from east to west. In ancient times, the highest point was known as Megas Hymettos and the southern peaks as Elattona (Ελάττονα) and Anydros Hymettos (Ἄνυδρος Ὑμηττός, "waterless Hymettos"). Today the southern peaks are called Mavrovouni (Μαυροβούνι, "black mountain") and Kontra (Κόντρα). It was noted for its thyme

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

has been quarried since antiquity. The neighboring communities that surround the mountain are

(municipality), Zografou,

Kaisariani Kaisariani ( el, Καισαριανή) is a suburb and a municipality in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration in Greece. Geography Kaisariani is located about southeast of Athens city centre, and of the Acropolis of Athens. The muni ...

, Vyronas,

Ilissia Ilisia ( el, Ιλίσια ) is a neighborhood of Athens, Greece, named after the river Ilisos. A portion of the neighborhood, Ano Ilisia (Upper Ilisia), is in Zografou and is near the Theology, Philosophy and Scientific faculties of the Univers ...

(a region of Zografou),

Ymittos Ymittos ( el, Υμηττός), is a suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dafni-Ymittos, of which it is a municipal unit. With a land area of 0.975 km², it was the second-smallest m ...

, Ilioupoli,

Argyroupoli Argyroupoli ( el, Αργυρούπολη) is a suburb in the southern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Elliniko-Argyroupoli municipality, of which it is the seat a ...

Elliniko Elliniko ( el, Ελληνικό, meaning "Greek") is a coastal suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Elliniko-Argyroupoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Elliniko is known for the Helli ...

, Glyfada, Voula and Vouliagmeni in the west,

Varkiza Varkiza (Greek: Βάρκιζα), also Alianthos (Αλίανθος), is a suburb of greater Athens forming part of the municipality of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni in southern Attica of the Megalo Daktylo (''Large Finger''). It lies approximately 2 ...

, Vari, Markopoulo and Paiania to its east, and Papagou,

Cholargos Holargos ( el, Χολαργός, also: ''Cholargos'') is a suburb of Athens, Greece, located northeast of the city center and about away from Syntagma Square. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Papagou-Cholar ...

Agia Paraskevi Agia Paraskevi ( el, Αγία Παρασκευή, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the ...

, Gerakas and Glyka Nera. Most of the forest is in the north, and much of the mountain is rocky, deforested, grassy and made out of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

. The flanks of Hymettos are dotted with caves. The largest and most notable is , which has its entrance on the east flank of the mountain, near Paiania. The smaller Liontari cave has its mouth at the north end of the mountain, west of Glyka Nera and is named after the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

of Hymettos which is said to have lived on the mountain in the past and to have terrified the inhabitants of the surrounding area.

Monuments

In antiquity there was a sanctuary to ''

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

Ombrios'' ("Zeus rain bringer") on the summit with numerous offerings dating especially to the 8th-7th centuries BC; they are on the site of a military base and not currently accessible. There is also an ancient quarryman's hut on the western slopes of the mountain, one of two buildings in ancient Attica which preserves its roof. There are several notable

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

monasteries on the mountain, including: *

Kaisariani Monastery The Kaisariani Monastery ( el, Μονή Καισαριανής) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery built on the north side of Mount Hymettus, near Athens, Greece. History The monastery was probably established in Byzantine times in ca. 1100, wh ...

, founded in the 2nd century AD and built into the flank of the mountain, incorporating the ruins of an ancient church. The monastery reached its peak in the 12th and 13th centuries, when it was a political and spiritual centre. * Monastery of St. John the Theologian, located between

and Papagou. * , established on the northern peak of Hymettos in the 12th century. * , located on the west flank of Hymettos near the village of .Αρχαιολογία της πόλεως των Αθήνων
Ιερά μονή Αγίου Ιωάννη Προδρόμου Καρέα. Για όλες αυτές τις μονές του Υμηττού βλ. Κουτελάκης Χαρ., Φραγκοκρατούμενη Αθήνα και Τήνος (1204-1689), Αθήνα 2013. * , located on the northwestern flank of Hymettos, to the west of Kaisariani.

Urban uses

Major campuses of the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

and the National Technical University of Athens (collectively called "University Town") are located on the west-facing slope, between the Motorway 64, a ring road connected with the Motorway 6, and the

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

of Athens. A transmitter park for several major TV and radio stations, along with military radar is located at the top of the mountain. Built up urban areas almost surround the entire mountain range. Access to the top of the mountain is restricted to authorized vehicles for maintenance of the towers. Almost all of Athens, its eastern suburbs and the new airport can be seen from the mountain top along with the mountains of

Parnitha Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, an ...

to its northwest,

Penteli Penteli ( el, Πεντέλη) is a village and a municipality in the North Athens regional unit, Attica, Greece. It belongs to the Athens rural area. It takes its name from Mount Pentelicus. Municipality The municipality Penteli was formed at t ...

to its north and

Aigaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( el, Αιγάλεω ) is a suburban municipality in the western part of Athens, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo. Its population was 69,946 at the 2011 census. G ...

to its west. The valley areas that create the lowest passes are to the south and one further south.

Alteration of the mountain

The mountain range features about six to seven landfills in the western part and another in the eastern part.

References

External links

Automatic acoustic Monitoring and Inventorying of BIOdiversity
{{Authority control Landforms of Attica Mountain ranges of Greece Landforms of Central Athens (regional unit) Landforms of South Athens (regional unit) Landforms of East Attica Landforms of North Athens (regional unit) Natura 2000 in Greece Mountains associated with Christian monasticism