Mount Kyllini
Mount Kyllini or
Mount Cyllene (
Greek: Κυλλήνη,
Kyllíni; sometimes in modern times Ζήρια,
Zíria), is a
mountain on the
Peloponnesus peninsula in
Greece. It rises to 2374 m (7789 ft) above
sea level, making it the second-highest on the peninsula. It is located near the border between the historic regions of
Arcadia and
Achaea—in the northeast of Arcadia, and entirely within modern
Corinthia. It is located west of Corinth, northwest of
Stymfalia, north of
Tripoli, and south of
Derveni.
In
Greek mythology,
Hermes was born in a sacred cave on the mountain, and so
Cyllenius is a frequent
epithet of his. The
Homeric Hymn Hymn to Pan recalled that "Hermes ... came to Arkadia ... there where his sacred place is as god of Kyllene. For there, though a god, he used to tend curly-fleeced sheep." In ancient times there was a temple and statue dedicated to him on the mountain's summit.
Hyginus records that it was on Cyllene that the seer
Tiresias changed sex when he struck two copulating snakes.
Much of the mountain is barren and rocky, although the area below 2000 m (6500 ft) is largely forested. There is an
observatory at 908 m (2979 ft), at 22.67 east longitude and 37.97 north latitude.
From the top a large portion of northeastern Peloponnesus is visible, including the eastern part of Achaia and Chelmos, the
Gulf of Corinth and most of Corinthia, the southern part of Corinthia and parts of northeastern Arcadia.
The nearest mountain ranges are
Oligyrtos to the south and
Chelmos/Aroania to the west. Roads pass near the southern and western slopes, but there are not many on the mountain itself, as much of the mountain is part of a park.
The municipal boundary between of
Stymfalia - Feneos - Evrostini and Xylokastro passes through the mountain.
*
Feneos*
Kastania (1,000 m)
*
Kessari, southeast
*
Goura, southwest
*
Mapquest - Kyllini*http://www.pbase.com/dead_poet/ziria
*http://www.gianniskofinas.com/Vouna/ziria/z.htm
*http://www.loizosgroup.com/Greek/M35K.htm
*http://www.mountains.gr/geographia/ziria.html
*http://www.oreivatein.com/page/mountains/q_z/ziria/ziria_f.htm
*http://victorian.fortunecity.com/degas/455/ziria.htm
Cyllene or
Kyllene herself was a mountain
nymph (an
oread) who had taken for her consort
Pelasges in the most ancient times that Greek mythographers could recall.
There was a port in
Elis in Antiquity named
Cyllene near the mouth of the
Alfeios River, where the traveller
Pausanias noted the image of Hermes, "most devoutly worshipped by the inhabitants, is merely the male member upright on the pedestal." Several nearby modern places are also named
Kyllini.
Cyllene is the name given to an Indo-Pacific
genus of
snails (
Gastropoda).
