Greek Gods

 Climbing Mount Olympos

Last October my son-in-law Yiannis and a group of his friends climbed to the top of Olympos, Greece's highest mountain.

 Home of Zeus and the Greek Gods of Mythology

Here's Yianni at the top of Mytikas, the highest peak,  

almost 3,000 metres.

He spent a couple of months training and trying to lose a few kilos in preparation. He ran, and rode a bike up into the Poros hills.

The throne of Zeus

You can see the huge curved back and there's the seat part (level rock) in front .

The throne of a giant

Trekking over barren mountain face 

The boys celebrating their ascent

The last part of the climb before the summit is a rock face. The climbers are roped and ascend hand by hand, careful not to kick rocks onto the climber below. 

The descent is by another route. Not any easier so Yiannis said.  Descending has other hazards. 

Sunrise

From 'The Greek Reporter' -

Many believe that Mount Olympos, like Atlantis, is a myth and does not exist.

However, it is not simply a mountain from Greek mythology. It has inspired stories, movies and television series. It's a mountain with challenging climbs and is scaled by around 10,000 climbers every year.

It is a National Park with a rich array of rare flora and fauna. 

It's lower slopes have steep gorges, caves and waterfalls.

From his home in the misty peaks *Zeus shaped the destiny of the mortals below and hurled his thunderbolts at anyone foolish enough to challenge his power.  Lesser Gods and spirits lived in caves below. 

Nowadays Olympos is known for its extreme sports, trekking, paragliding, rafting, mountain biking and jeep Safari.

*Zeus

Known as Dias

Δίας 

In greek

His name means 

'Sky Father'