Mount Erymanthos

Erymanthos received its own protected area named oros Erymanthus and identified with the ID of GR2320008.[3] Official interest began with the first compilation of its Natura 2000 Standard Data Form in 1995. It was proposed to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (Greece) as a "Site of Community Importance (SCI)" in 1997, but was not confirmed as such until 2006. With the 2011 reorganization of community structure it was made a "Special Area of Conservation (SAC)." These designations are legally binding by Law 3437, March 29, 2011. GR2320008 was placed under the management of the Management Body of Ygrotopoi Kotychiou-Dasous Strofylias, which manages mainly coastal wetlands in Elis.[4]

Meanwhile, this classification was becoming distressingly inadequate. The region has an area of about 19,332.14 ha (74.6418 sq mi), totally on land (neglecting streams). The perimeter is about 80.9 km (50.3 mi). A representative north–south distance is 15.42 km (9.58 mi). A representative east–west distance is 26.67 km (16.57 mi).[4] The periphery is dotted with small villages placed at the ends of access roads slightly up on the base of the mountainous terrain. The protected region is generally free of roads and villages, except for two, Platanista and Lechourion. The terrain is mild compared to the precipitous heights of the Alps. Rock- and cliff-climbing is not necessary if not desired, yet the region is cut by ravines everywhere, making the trails rough going.

The problem is that GR2320008 is located predominantly in nomos Achaïas, with only a small portion extending into Elis, and yet about half the mountainous terrain is in Elis. The border divides Mount Erymanthos into a north half and a south half The whole south drainage was omitted from protection. The answer of course was to expand the protected area to cover the whole mountain in both Achaea and Elis, but once legal entities have been created, they cannot be easily changed. A new area was required.

The new area was proposed in a Natura 2000 Standard Data Form in 2009. It was coded GR2320012, and has the same name, Oros Erymanthus.[5] This area included GR2320008, but reached into Elis to embrace the rest of the massif, approximately doubling the protected region. GR2320012 has an area of about 39,020.94 ha (150.6607 sq mi), also on land. The perimeter is about 120.6 km (74.9 mi).[5] A representative NE-SW distance is 28 km (17 mi). A representative NW-SE distance is 16 km (9.9 mi); that is to say, the mountainous terrain is approximately ovoid with the long axis NW-SW. The protected area is extended to the SW in GR2320002, Oropedio Folois, "Plain of Foloi," comprising Foloi Forest, protected for its birds. It is not part of the mountain.[6]

GR2320008 as a legal entity did not vanish away, which it could not do without a change in law. Whem GR2320012 became a "Special Protection Area (SPA)" in 2010 (for its birds, same as Foloi Forest), it incorporated GR2320008, which now had a double status, a SAC as 0008, and an SPA as 0012. The mountain thus remained politically divided into its northern and western slopes, primarily in Achaea, and its southern slopes, primarily in Elis. Some sources erroneously refer to the southern slopes alone as GR2320012. The stage was thus set for the popular distinction "Erymanthos in Achaea" versus "Erymanthos in Elis." The government, however, manages them both under the same agency in the same way, as Federal distinctions supersede regional and municipal.

In 2011 the Prefecture of Elis vanished away in favor of the Region of Elis (same territory) comprising seven new municipalities. The southern area of 012 fell to the new municipality of Ancient Olympia. The legal complexity was not necessarily matched by administrative chaos. Both 008 and 012 came to be moved to a different management unit with a jurisdiction more suitable to the mountains of north Peloponnesus, which is in Western Greece: the Management Body of Chelmos-Vomaikos, which had an office in downtown Kalavrita, Achaea. The location makes no legal difference. The protected areas are under Federal jurisdiction, not municipal, although the officials of the latter can always advise. That 008 is mainly in Achaea, or that 012 is often attributed to Achaea, though as much is in Elis, is irrelevant to the management of the park. The "Feds" can work with supporting services of either with equal facility, nor does the difference in classification between 008 and 012 make any difference, as the whole area is managed by the same body according to the same rules. Transgressors cannot "escape" over any borders, unless those are national ones, and if the transgression is serious enough, perhaps not then.

Below is a summary of the peaks in the Natura 2000 protected area. The altitudes and locations are mainly from the GR2320008 dataset, which is given precedence. These may vary slightly from source to source. PeakVisor is used as a back-up source, and also gives the prominences. The etymologies are mainly of Greek names. Other possible ethnic sources of names are Turkish and Slavic, once minority populations of the region. The translation of a Greek name is often a matter of opinion; if there is any disagreement, refer to any Greek dictionary, or to the large English dictionaries, such as Merriam-Webster International, or American Heritage.

The Erymanthos massif has two main watersheds, one to the north, which drains water exuding from the northward-facing cols into the Gulfs of Patras and Corinth, and water from the southward-facing cols into the Alfeios river basin, where water that is not utilized by man empties into the Gulf of Kyparissia. There is a smaller drainage to the west directly into the Gulf of Kyparissia. Drainage to the east is pre-empted by the higher mountains of Arcadia, which also drain to the west into the Alfeios.

• 
  The village of Skiada on the side of Mount Erymanthos
• 
  Asteri Dam or Parapiros Dam. View of the dam lake. The temporary islet with Saint Theodores' chapel of Mitopolis village is sinking. The numerous peaks of Mt. Erymanthos can be seen in the background.
• 
  Natura 2000 sign in Erymanthos.
• 
  Olonos (on the right), as well as the second highest peak of Erymanthos, Mougila (on the left). View is from the north, showing the col between them.
• 
  View looking north-west from Olenos Peak of Mount Erymanthos. Visible on the horizon are the islands of Zakynthos (left) and Kephalonia (right). Distance from Olenos peak to the Kephalonia's Ainos peak is about 64 miles.
• 
  View of Olenos Peak from just below the summit.
• 
  Greek Fir (Abies cephalonica) on the lower slopes of Erymanthos.
• 
  View of Olenos Peak on the climb upwards showing the Alpine ecosystem.
• 
  The summit marker at the top of Olenos Peak.
• 
  The three peaks of Erymanthos from left to right: Mikre Mouggila, Mouggila and Olenos.

Erymanthos appears once in the supposed works of Homer, the legendary author traditionally credited with the two epic poems, Iliad and Odyssey, as well as some others. The Odyssey dates to the 7th or 8th century BC. The works of Homer are believed to be the oldest surviving literature in Europe, not counting Linear B as literature. There is scant mention of Erymanthos in these poems,[9] only that Artemis "goes among the mountains (ourea), ridged Taygetus or Erymanthus, delighting in the boars (kaproi) and the swift deer (elaphoi) with the Nymphs." One legitimate instance is enough to prove the existence of a ridged mountain, Erymanthus. Artemis and the Nymphs are mythical, but the boars and deer appear ordinary.

The stage is set for the myths of the Erymanthian boar, one of the Labours of Hercules, and of the centaur, Folus. These are collaborative myths, or running stories on a theme, written by generations of classical authors in ancient Greek times, and continued by the Roman authors. It cannot be said that they ever ceased, as, like the Iliad and Odyssey, the myths are current today with modern innovations. The footnotes on Homer far exceed the lengths of the original works. Similarly, the continuations of the Hercules myths would fill modern libraries. The cut-off point for genuine reflections of the ancient myth is about the year 1000. Any author before then might have access to previously lost information, and is considered fair game for hunting old stories of Hercules.

Archaeologically, the poetic time of these myths of heroes and cities is termed the Bronze Age, when the chief hard material, especially of arms and armor, was bronze. In the Aegean, this predominance ended at the beginning of a period of social disorder called the Greek Dark Ages. A cause, or symptom, depending on the historical model, was the southward migration of people armed with iron weapons. A conventional date for this victory of disrupting, better-armed northerners is about 1000 BC, but of course the period began before and ended after. Subsequently, the civilization of the Mediterranean was called the Iron Age, which preferred iron to bronze. The classical civilizations belonged to it. All the mythographers of stories about the Bronze Age were Iron Age.

The latest phase of the Bronze Age proper is the Late Bronze Age (1750-1050 BC), also called the Mycenaean Age (There was an "improper" Bronze Age, the Submycenaean, representing an extension of unsuccessful Mycenaeans into the disorder.) Politically it was characterized by the dominance of Argolis, one of the regions of Ancient Greece, especially of one citadel in it, Mycenae, the home of high king Agamemnon, who led the Achaeans against Troy in the Trojan War. His brother, Menelaus, ruled Lacedaemon, and his trusted advisor, Nestor, ruled Pylos. Palaces have been found at these places (and more), while the Linear B script, found extensively at Pylos, demonstrates that Mycenaean Greek was spoken there, and in the south of Greece, including Crete and the islands.

Between the Byzantine Empire and the Greek War of Independence, several villages were founded, including Skiada and Oreino. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, most villages were rebuilt. On February 5, 2008, the mountain was shaken by two earthquakes measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale. One epicenter was in Chalandritsa, and the other was in Farres, outside the range.

• List of mountains in Greece

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erymanthos mountain.

• Greek Mountain Flora
• Mount Erymanthos on GTP Travel Pages
• Mount Erymanthos at oreivatein.gr
• Erymanthos at the Municipality of Fares' homepage (in Greek)