Psiloritis Mountain
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Mount Psiloritis is a mystical place. It has a rare ecology. It has a particularly interesting geological formation. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is an historical place of great cultural value and weight. It is a symbol, the symbol of Crete, of manliness, of freedom. It is both a settled area and a place of productivity where thousands of people live and work and a place of culture and entertainment, which attracts thousands of visitors each year.
The mountain range of Psiloritis is situated in the center of Crete and includes the highest peak of the island, Timios Stavros, with a height of 2,456 m. It covers the largest part of the Prefecture of Rethymno and the western part of the Prefecture of Heraklio.
Psiloritis, also called Mount Idi, (the name is derived from the Doric “ida” =trees for felling, woods, forest, wooded mountain) is one of the most impressive and beautiful mountain ranges on Crete with profuse geomorphologic, ecological and folklore characteristic. Furthermore it stands as a symbol of Crete and is the source of continuous inspiration.
The reasons why the Cretan people have been so aware of the importance of this mountain range since Minoa times can be found in its rich natural beauty, the magnificence and harshness of its peaks and in the way it towers over and dominates the landscape when viewed by the spectator from almost every point of the island. The fact that Psiloritis was the most important place of worship during Minoa times should not be considered as purely accidental. It was probably the only place where Zeus, the king of gods of ancient Greece was definitely worshipped. According to tradition Zeus’ mother helped him to escape and to hide in a cave on the Ida Mountain (Nidas), until he became a man, thus rescuing him from the wrath of his father Kronos. Small paths, many of which have been preserved up until today, led from various Minoan palaces to the Ideon Antron, where people arrived after having passed through plateaux and gorges in the mountain in order to make sacrificial offerings and to worship Zeus.
This ritual continued to be present in people’s minds in the years to come as they cherished and praised the mountain’ s beauty, its vast woods with their wild life, and its many fountains in their songs and traditions. During the period of Crete’s occupation the precipitous rocks and ravines served as hiding places and shelter for the partisans.
Today, the visitor is still fascinated by the beauty of Mount Psiloritis. Here, the traditions and skills of shepherds and cheese- makers, manifested in the characteristic “mitata”, have been preserved since Minoan times. A rich tradition of folklore and culture flourishes in the beautiful villages, which surround the mountain, through which the genuine and unaltered art, the wisdom and the civilization of the earlier inhabitants of Crete are continued.
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