Mount Parnassus

Mount Parnassus (; Greek: Παρνασσός, Parnassós) is a mountain range in Central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially culturally and religiously valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states. It is a major destination on a domestic and international level for athletic and cultural tourism. The mountain is also the location of historical, archaeological, and other cultural sites, such as the Oracle of Delphi perched on the southern slopes of the mountain in a rift valley north of the Gulf of Corinth. Parnassus has an abundance of trails for hiking in the three warm seasons. In the winter, the entire range is open to skiing, especially from the resorts of Arachova. Its melting snows provide a source of municipal water for the surrounding communities. The mountain is composed of limestone, but also contains bauxite aluminum ore, which is mined and processed. The mountain is mentioned in early Ancient Greek literature, and many of its ancient communities are cited in Homer's Iliad. It was home to the Dorian states in the region of Phocis, populated by speakers of Phokian, a Doric dialect of ancient Greek. The mountain was considered deeply sacred in ancient Greek religion, specifically to Dionysus and the Dionysian mysteries, to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs, and was also the home to the Muses, as well as the site of the "navel (omphalos) of the world" at Delphi.