Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, in the northeastern part of

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on the border of Phthiotis and Magnesia, is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The population density in the mountains is low: there are a few small villages, including

Anavra Anavra () is a village and a former community in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Almyros, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 121.859 km2 ...

in the northwest, Kokkotoi in the northeast,

Palaiokerasia Palaiokerasia () is a Greek village on Mount Othrys, in the Echinaioi municipal unit of the Stylida municipality, Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. ...

in the south and Neraida in the southwest. The length from west to east is about and the width from north to south is about . The

Pagasetic Gulf The Pagasetic Gulf () is a rounded gulf (max. depth 102 metres) in the Magnesia regional unit (east central Greece) that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with the Euboic Sea. The passage into the Euboic Sea is narrow an ...

lies to the northeast, and the

Malian Gulf The Malian or Maliac Gulf () is a gulf in the western Aegean Sea. It forms part of the coastline of Greece's region of Phthiotis. The gulf stretches east to west to a distance of , depending on the definition, and is very shallow, with a maximum ...

lies to the south. The summit Gerakovouni lies south of

Almyros Almyros or Halmyros (, ) is a town and a municipality of the regional units of Greece, regional unit of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia, modern regions of Greece, region of Thessaly, Greece. It lies in the center of prosperous fertile plain know ...

, northeast of

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

and southwest of

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

. The peaks of the range are above the tree line. The main mineral constituent of the rock is

ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is ...

. A

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, respectiv ...

protected area has been defined over much, but not all, of the range according to the

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dir ...

. Of interest to the government is the protection of the raptors and the prevention of clear-cutting and other settlement measures that would destroy their traditional habitat. The area, named Oros Othrys, Vouna Gkouras kai Farangi Palaio Kerasias, ID GR1430006, includes the eastern range, a spur to the south to cover Palaiokerasia Gorge, and a spur to the north to cover Gkouras Hill. On February 5, 1991, a Lockheed

C-130H Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designe ...

748 crashed into the mountain, killing 63 people.

Greco-Roman Mythology

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 ...

, Mount Othrys was the base of

Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...

and Rhea and the other Titans and Titanesses during the ten-year war with the

Olympians Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

known as the

Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; ) was a ten-year war fought in ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Twelve Olympians, Olympians (the younger generati ...

. It was also the birthplace of the gods and goddesses who are children of Cronus and Rhea:

Hestia In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; ) is the virgin goddess of the hearth and the home. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and one of the Twelve Olympians. In Greek mythology, newborn Hestia, alo ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. It was assaulted by the Olympians against the Othrysians, led by Cronus and Rhea's six sons and daughters. The Olympians later overthrew and restored the Othrysians and both gained dominion in all of heaven and earth.

Tunnel

Othrys Tunnel () is a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

long located in the southern section of the A3 (Central Greece) motorway, between

and

Xyniada Xyniada () or Xynias (Ξυνιάς) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land b ...

. It passes underneath

Othrys Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

mountain. Work began in 2008, along with the rest of the motorway, but stopped in 2011 because of the

Greek government-debt crisis Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family ** Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kn ...

. Construction resumed in 2019, along with the rest of the southern section. Its construction has faced challenges. It is the longest road tunnel of the A3, and it will be one of the longest in

. The tunnel has already been excavated on both sides, as of October 2021.

References

External links

Minerals database

Structural Pertology of Plagioclase Peridotites in the West Othris Mountains

{{in lang, el Places in Greek mythology Landforms of Phthiotis

Landforms of Magnesia (regional unit)

Natura 2000 in Greece