Pelion
Encyclopedia
Pelion or Pelium is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly
in central Greece
, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf
and the Aegean Sea
. The GR-38
runs in the southern portion of the peninsula and the GR-38A runs in the middle.
In Greek mythology
, Mount Pelion (which took its name from the mythical king Peleus
, father of Achilles
) was the homeland of Chiron
the Centaur
, tutor of many ancient Greek heroes, such as Jason
, Achilles
, Theseus
and Heracles
. It was in Mount Pelion, near Chiron's cave, that the marriage of Thetis
and Peleus
took place. The uninvited goddess Eris
, to take revenge for having been kept outside the party, brought a golden apple with the inscription "To the Fairest". The dispute that then arose between the goddesses Hera
, Aphrodite
and Athene resulted in events leading to the Trojan War
. When the giants Otus and Ephialtes
attempted to storm Olympus
, they piled Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa.
Today, Mt. Pelion is part of the prefecture of Magnesia
(capital city: Volos
) and embraces twenty-four villages including:
Most significant:
More:
The mountain is thickly forested, both deciduous and perennial forests, mainly of beech
, oak
, maple
and chestnut
trees, with plane tree groves surrounding places with water. Pelion is considered one of the most beautiful mountains in Greece and is a popular tourist attraction throughout the year: hiking trails and stone paths give access to springs, coves and numerous beaches, sandy or pebbly, set among lusciously green slopes. Pelion is an amply watered mountain, with an abundance of springs, gorges, streams and rivulets, with many streams routed in carved-stone artificial beds to bring the water to the villages and their thriving orchards. The higher elevations of the mountain receive enough snowfall so as to host skiing facilities that operate from Christmas
to Easter
.
Modern Pelion's twenty-four villages retain traditional Pelian architecture and construction, with stone buildings made out of expertly carved local grey, blue, or green slate
and red clay
. They are built on terraces on the slopes and offer stunning vistas of the surrounding slopes and the sea. Houses are usually multi-storied and feature the characteristic Pelian oriel
construction, with tall windows and abundant painted ornamentation. Pelian tradition calls for three-level houses, with the ground floor used for work (tools, kitchen, storage, washing, weaving), the middle floor used for socializing (common rooms), and the top floor for private rooms (bedrooms). Heat is provided by fireplaces, the chimneys of which run through the walls to provide heat to the upper levels, whereas the top level, being well ventilated, provides for summertime cooling. Interior construction is usually of chestnut timber, stained dark brown and often elaborately carved. Many of the larger Pelian mansions (the archontiká or "lordly mansions") have been converted into boutique hotels and hostels. The largest of all the stone buildings and points of reference for the locals are the Pelion Towers. These are huge 300 year old buildings with exquisite visual characteristics that combine building elements of Mountain Pelion of the 17th, 18th and 19th century.
Pelian cuisine specializes in charcuterie
, its most famed dish being spentzofáï, a hearty stew made of sliced pork sausage that is first cooked on its own, then stewed with green and red peppers
, mild or hot as the case may be, and shallot
s or small onion
s. Pelion is also renowned for its orchard fruit, with pride of place going to the firíki, an originally Egyptian apple
varietal of very small, oval-shaped, intensely fragrant, crisp and slightly tart apples that withstand long storage without refrigeration. There is also wide cultivation of plum
s, especially mirabelles and greengage
s.
, dating back to 1892-1903, was the first serious public investment in the area.
Electricity, radio and automobiles were first introduced in the 1950s except for Volos, which had those utilities from earlier times. Television arrived in the 1970s and the 1980s and computers and Internet in the late-1990s. The northern part of the Pelion mountains was struck by a forest fire (see Summer 2007 Wildfires in Greece) on Wednesday June 26, 2007 which started in Siki and damaged its forests, mostly at the middle part of the mountain. The fire lasted for several days and stopped on July 1. Several villages were damaged. As of late August however, a natural rebirth of the forest was already being noticed, with several trees gradually turning green again, as well as bushes appearing on the ground.
, Mega
, ERT
, Star Channel
, Alter
, TRT and more and radio including ERA, ANT1 FM and many more.
, the plain of Thessaly
and its nearby mountains, Mavrovouni, Euboea
, Central Greece
and the northern Sporades
islands.
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
in central Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf
Pagasetic Gulf
The Pagasetic Gulf is a rounded gulf in the prefecture of Magnesia that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with the Euboic Sea...
and the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. The GR-38
Greek National Road 38
Greek National Road 38 is a highway linking the cities of Agrinio, Karpenisi and Lamia. It is the only highway linking Agrinio and Larissa because GR-30 is narrow. The highway passes into the reservoir of the Acheloos river and into the Pindus ranges. It later passes through Karpenisi and into...
runs in the southern portion of the peninsula and the GR-38A runs in the middle.
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Mount Pelion (which took its name from the mythical king Peleus
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Pēleus was a hero whose myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BCE. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeïs, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he was the father of Achilles...
, father of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
) was the homeland of Chiron
Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron was held to be the superlative centaur among his brethren.-History:Like the satyrs, centaurs were notorious for being wild and lusty, overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, given to violence when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents...
the Centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
, tutor of many ancient Greek heroes, such as Jason
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
, Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
and Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
. It was in Mount Pelion, near Chiron's cave, that the marriage of Thetis
Thetis
Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths...
and Peleus
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Pēleus was a hero whose myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BCE. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeïs, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he was the father of Achilles...
took place. The uninvited goddess Eris
Eris (mythology)
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...
, to take revenge for having been kept outside the party, brought a golden apple with the inscription "To the Fairest". The dispute that then arose between the goddesses Hera
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
, Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
and Athene resulted in events leading to the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
. When the giants Otus and Ephialtes
Aloadae
In Greek mythology, the Aloadae were Otus and Ephialtes , sons of Iphimedia, queen of Aloeus, by Poseidon, whom she induced to make her pregnant by going to the seashore and disporting herself in the surf or scooping seawater into her bosom. From Aloeus they received their patronymic, the Aloadai...
attempted to storm Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
, they piled Mount Pelion upon Mount Ossa.
Geography
Magnesia Prefecture
Magnesia Prefecture was one of the prefectures of Greece. Its capital was Volos. It was established in 1899 from the Larissa Prefecture. The prefecture was disbanded on 1 January 2011 by the Kallikratis programme, and split into the peripheral units of Magnesia and the Sporades.The toponym is...
(capital city: Volos
Volos
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
) and embraces twenty-four villages including:
Most significant:
- Agios Georgios Nileas
- Agios Lavrentios
- ArgalastiArgalastiArgalasti is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Pelion, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is built on a fertile plateau, 40 km southeast of Volos. It is an important...
- MakrinitsaMakrinitsaMakrinitsa , nicknamed "balcony of Mt. Pelion," is a village and a former community in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 5 km NE of Volos...
- MiliesMiliesMilies is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Pelion, of which it is a municipal unit. It is a traditional Greek mountain village, at a height of 400 m on Mount Pelion. It is 28 km from...
- MouresiMouresiMouresi is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagora-Mouresi, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population is 3,107 . The seat of the municipality was in Tsagkarada...
- PortariaPortariaPortaria is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located on Mt. Pelion, facing the Pagasetic Gulf, north of Volos and its suburbs...
- Tsangarada
- Vyzitsa
- ZagoraZagora, GreeceZagora is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagora-Mouresi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The biggest village of Mt...
More:
- Agios DimitriosAgios Dimitrios PelioAgios Dimitrios is a village in the municipality of Mouresi, in the eastern part of Magnesia, Greece. It is located about 10 km NW of Tsagkarada and Anilio. It sits on the slopes of the Pelio mountains. Agios Dimitrios is located southeast of Zagora, north of Agios Lavrentios and about 60 km east...
- Anilio
- ArtemidaArtemida, MagnesiaArtemida is a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,583 . The seat of the municipality was in Ano Lechonia....
- Drakeia
- KanaliaKanaliaKanalia is a village in Thessaly, Greece, part of the municipality Rigas Feraios. It is located from Volos and at a height of above the sea level. It is one of the prettiest on the north-west side of Pelion. It is built on the foundation of the Acropolis Voivis in the plains of Metochi...
- KissosKissosKissos is a village that is part of the municipal unit of Mouresi, in the eastern part of Magnesia, Greece. it is located about 6 km NW of Tsagkarada...
- Neochori
- PinakatesPinakatesPinakates is a Greek mountain village located 25 km east of Volos in the Magnesia prefecture. Pinakates belongs since 2001 to the municipal unit of Milies.-Etymology:...
- Vlasios
- Xinovryssi
The mountain is thickly forested, both deciduous and perennial forests, mainly of beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
and chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
trees, with plane tree groves surrounding places with water. Pelion is considered one of the most beautiful mountains in Greece and is a popular tourist attraction throughout the year: hiking trails and stone paths give access to springs, coves and numerous beaches, sandy or pebbly, set among lusciously green slopes. Pelion is an amply watered mountain, with an abundance of springs, gorges, streams and rivulets, with many streams routed in carved-stone artificial beds to bring the water to the villages and their thriving orchards. The higher elevations of the mountain receive enough snowfall so as to host skiing facilities that operate from Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
to Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
.
Modern Pelion's twenty-four villages retain traditional Pelian architecture and construction, with stone buildings made out of expertly carved local grey, blue, or green slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and red clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. They are built on terraces on the slopes and offer stunning vistas of the surrounding slopes and the sea. Houses are usually multi-storied and feature the characteristic Pelian oriel
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
construction, with tall windows and abundant painted ornamentation. Pelian tradition calls for three-level houses, with the ground floor used for work (tools, kitchen, storage, washing, weaving), the middle floor used for socializing (common rooms), and the top floor for private rooms (bedrooms). Heat is provided by fireplaces, the chimneys of which run through the walls to provide heat to the upper levels, whereas the top level, being well ventilated, provides for summertime cooling. Interior construction is usually of chestnut timber, stained dark brown and often elaborately carved. Many of the larger Pelian mansions (the archontiká or "lordly mansions") have been converted into boutique hotels and hostels. The largest of all the stone buildings and points of reference for the locals are the Pelion Towers. These are huge 300 year old buildings with exquisite visual characteristics that combine building elements of Mountain Pelion of the 17th, 18th and 19th century.
Pelian cuisine specializes in charcuterie
Charcuterie
Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire...
, its most famed dish being spentzofáï, a hearty stew made of sliced pork sausage that is first cooked on its own, then stewed with green and red peppers
Capsicum annuum
Capsicum annuum is a domesticated species of the plant genus Capsicum native to southern North America and northern South America. The three species C. annuum, C. frutescens and C. chinense all evolved from a single common ancestor located somewhere in the northwest Brazil - Colombia area...
, mild or hot as the case may be, and shallot
Shallot
The shallot is the botanical variety of Allium cepa to which the multiplier onion also belongs. It was formerly classified as the species A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the correct name...
s or small onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s. Pelion is also renowned for its orchard fruit, with pride of place going to the firíki, an originally Egyptian apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
varietal of very small, oval-shaped, intensely fragrant, crisp and slightly tart apples that withstand long storage without refrigeration. There is also wide cultivation of plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, especially mirabelles and greengage
Greengage
The greengages, also known as the Reine Claudes, are the edible drupaceous fruits of a cultivar group of the common European plum. The first true greengage was bred in Moissac, France, from a green-fruited wild plum originally found in Asia Minor; the original greengage cultivar nowadays survives...
s.
History
The Pelion railwayPelion railway
Pelion railway was a narrow gauge railway line of Thessaly Railways in Greece, connecting the city of Volos with the town of Mileai on Pelion.-History:...
, dating back to 1892-1903, was the first serious public investment in the area.
Electricity, radio and automobiles were first introduced in the 1950s except for Volos, which had those utilities from earlier times. Television arrived in the 1970s and the 1980s and computers and Internet in the late-1990s. The northern part of the Pelion mountains was struck by a forest fire (see Summer 2007 Wildfires in Greece) on Wednesday June 26, 2007 which started in Siki and damaged its forests, mostly at the middle part of the mountain. The fire lasted for several days and stopped on July 1. Several villages were damaged. As of late August however, a natural rebirth of the forest was already being noticed, with several trees gradually turning green again, as well as bushes appearing on the ground.
Communications
The mountain has a telecommunications tower that broadcasts radio and television including ANT1ANT1
Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
, Mega
Mega Channel
Mega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a major television network in Greece. Teletypos S.A. was founded in 1989 under the name Teletypos Television Programmes S.A...
, ERT
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
, Star Channel
Star Channel
Star Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which is currently hosted by Aimilios Liatsos...
, Alter
Alter Channel
Alter Channel better known as Alter, is a private TV network in Greece. It launched in 1994 and is owned by Eleftheri Tileorasi S.A, which is headed by Andreas Kouris. Programming mainly consists of news & current affairs shows and entertainment programmes...
, TRT and more and radio including ERA, ANT1 FM and many more.
Panorama
Its panorama offers a views of the valley, the mountains of western Magnesia, Mount OlympusMount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
, the plain of Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
and its nearby mountains, Mavrovouni, Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
, Central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
and the northern Sporades
Sporades
The Sporades are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea, in the Aegean Sea. It consists of 24 islands, of which four are permanently inhabited: Alonnisos, Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros.-Administration:...
islands.