|Elevation:||2,457 m (8,062 ft)|
|Location:||central Delphi, Greece|
|Easiest route:||walk up|
Mount Parnassus is a mountain of barren limestone in central Greece that towers above Delphi, north of the Gulf of Corinth, and offers scenic views of the surrounding olive groves and countryside. According to Greek mythology, this mountain was sacred to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs, and the home of the Muses. The mountain was also favored by the Dorians. The name Parnassos seems etymologically related to the Anatolian languages that made use of *-ssos in placenames (eg. Knossos). *Parna- derived from the same root as the word in Luwian meaning House.
Mount Parnassus is named after Parnassos, the son of the nymph Kleodora and the man Kleopompus. There was a city of which Parnassos was leader, which was flooded by torrential rain. The citizens ran from the flood, following wolves' howling, up the mountain slope. There the survivors built another city, and called it Lykoreia, which in Greek means "the howling of the wolves." While Orpheus was living with his mother and his eight beautiful aunts on Parnassus, he met Apollo who was courting the laughing muse Thalia. Apollo became fond of Orpheus and gave him a little golden lyre, and taught him to play it. Orpheus's mother taught him to make verses for singing. As the Oracle of Delphi was sacred to the god Apollo, so did the mountain itself become associated with Apollo. According to some traditions, Parnassus was the site of the fountain Castalia and the home of the Muses; according to other traditions, that honor fell to Mount Helicon, another mountain in the same range. As the home of the Muses, Parnassus became known as the home of poetry, music, and learning.
Parnassus was also the site of several unrelated minor events in Greek mythology.
The name "Parnassus" in literature typically refers to its distinction as the home of poetry, literature, and learning.
Thus, it receives mention in such works as:
Furthermore, in classical music, there are many works associated with Parnassus. For example, Orazio Vecchi's L'Amfiparnaso (1597), Carolus Hacquart's Harmonia Parnassia Sonatarum (1686), François Couperin's Le Parnasse ou L'Apotheose de Corelli (1725), Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer's Musikalischer Parnassus (c.1738), George Frideric Handel's Il Parnasso in festa (1734), Christoph Willibald Gluck's Il Parnaso confuso (1765). Important didactic and pedagogical works referred to Parnassus, including Johann Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum (1725) which is a classic treatment of counterpoint and fugue; and Muzio Clementi's piano studies Gradus ad Parnassum (1817-26), later satirized in Claude Debussy's Docteur Gradus ad Parnassum (suit Childres's corner No.1, 1908).
In the computer game World of Warcraft, the Night Elf capital is called Darnassus, seen by many as a nod to Parnassus. Night Elves are known for their deep appreciation for learning and the arts.
Parnassus was the name affectionately given to Corsencon Hill near New Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland by the countries national bard - Robert Burns. It now has the longest conveyer belt in Europe - The Python - snaking past it, stretching 12.2km from an opencast mine to a railway junction.
The construction of the ski resort started in 1975 and was completed in 1976, when the first two drag lifts operated in Fterolaka. In 1981 the construction of a new ski area was completed in Kelaria, while in winter season 1987–1988 the chair lift Hermes started operating and connected the two ski areas. Both ski resorts continued expanding and in 1993 the first high-speed quad in Greece was installed, named Hercules. Today the ski center operates with 14 lifts,a 4-seater cable car, a 4-seater high-speed chair lift, four 3-seaters, one 2-seater chair lift and 6 drag lifts, with a maximum capacity of about 5000 people per hour. The ski center boasts 25 marked ski runs and about 12 ski routes of 30km total length while the longest run is 4km.