Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is a low hill to the west of the modern village of Pélla. To the north of the road, at the
main site, stand the low remains of a grand official building, probably a government
office; it is divided into three large open courts, each enclosed by a
peristyle
, or portico
(the columns of the central one have been re-erected), and bordered by wide streets
with a sophisticated drainage system.
In the third court three late fourth-century BC
mosaics
have been left
in situ
under sheltering canopies; one, a stag hunt, is complete, and astounding in its
dynamism and use of perspective. The others represent, respectively, the rape of
Helen by Paris and his friends Phorbas and Theseus, and a fight between a Greek
and an Amazon.
The museum
Same hours and admission as site •
T
23820 32963
The excellent new
museum
, designed on the rectangular model of the ancient
dwellings, stands up at the back of the modern village of Pélla. It showcases more
spectacular
pebble mosaics
taken from the site, as well as rich grave finds from the two
local necropolises, delicately worked terracotta figurines from a sanctuary of Aphrodite
and Cybele, a large hoard of late Classical/early Hellenistic coins, and - on the rarely
seen domestic level - metal door fittings: pivots, knocker plates and crude keys. The
finds are all set within the context of life in the ancient capital, with detailed contextual
displays, all well translated.
4
Mount Olympus and around
The highest, most magical and most dramatic of all Greek mountains,
MOUNT
OLYMPUS
- Ólymbos in Greek - rears straight up to 2917m from the coast and, when
pollution allows, is visible from Thessaloníki, some 100km away to the northeast. Its
summit was believed by the ancient Greeks to be the home of the gods and it seems
that quite a few locals still follow the old religion. Dense forests cover its lower slopes,
and its
wild flowers
are without parallel even by Greek standards.
Climbing the mountain
requires an early start (certainly pre-8am) for the 3hr ascent to
Mýtikas, the highest peak, so it's best to stay overnight at one of the
refuges
. he peaks
frequently cloud up by midday and you lose the view, to say nothing of the danger of
catching one of Zeus's thunderbolts. Besides, nights at the refuge are fantastic: a log fire
blazes, you watch the sun set on the peaks and dawn break over the Aegean, and you
can usually see a multitude of stars.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION MOUNT OLYMPUS
To make the most of the mountain, you need to allow two to three days' hiking. You should go equipped with decent boots
and warm clothing. No special expertise is necessary to get to the top in summer (mid-June to Oct), but it's a long hard pull,
requiring a good deal of stamina; winter climbs, of course, are another matter, with heavy snowfall adding to the
challenge. At any time of year Olympus is a mountain to be treated with respect: its weather is notoriously fickle, with
sudden fogs or storms, and it regularly claims lives.
By car and on foot
To reach alpine Olympus, you've a
choice of road or foot routes via Litóhoro (see p.282), the
main village nearby. With your own vehicle, you can drive
deep into the mountain along a fairly decent road, the first
11km of which is paved.
Maps and guides
The best and most easily available
commercial trekking map is Road Editions'
Olymbos
at
1:50,000, available from specialist map shops abroad
or in
Athens or Thessaloníki; a good alternative is one of the
same scale that is co-produced by
Korfes
magazine. One or
other is usually available at local shops in Litóhoro, but they
sometimes run out. Two organizations, EOS and SEO (see
p.282), can provide limited advice, as can 2917 in
Thessaloníki (
T
2310 914 654,
W
2917.gr) but their
website is in Greek only.
