Parnassos, situated in Central Greece, derives its name from the legendary figure Parnassus, the offspring of Poseidon and the nymph Cleodora. It was credited with founding a city on the mountain. With a peak elevation reaching 2,457 meters, it stands as one of Greece’s highest peaks and has been declared a national park as part of the Pindus mountain range. Parnassos is intimately intertwined with Greek history and mythology, chiefly renowned for housing the celebrated Oracle of Delphi, constructed at the mountain’s base in the Delphi region. From ancient times to today, Delphi, often called the “centre of the world,” has consistently drawn multitudes of tourists worldwide, further enhancing Parnassos’ prestige and grandeur.
It was the mountain of Apollo and the Muses and, for this reason, has been glorified by poets like no other, giving its name to the 19th-century poetic and artistic movement, “Parnassism”, which was a reaction to Romanticism.
