Mount Olympus is the tallest mountain in Greece at 2,917 metres. It isn’t a single sharp peak but a whole knot of summits - 52 of them, crammed close together in one craggy massif that often disappears into clouds.
That hidden, hard-to-reach top was perfect for myth. Ancient Greeks believed the 12 main gods - Zeus, Athena, Apollo and the rest - lived in palaces above the clouds, throwing thunderbolts and arguing about humans.
Even though it’s not super tall by world standards, no one actually reached the very highest peak until 1913, when two Swiss climbers and a local Greek hunter finally made it. Today around 10,000 people climb it each year, but storms still trap and injure hikers regularly.
