| Mount Kyllini | |
|---|---|
 Mount Kyllini as seen fromStymfalia | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,376 m (7,795 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,870 m (6,140 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 37°56′23″N22°23′49″E / 37.93972°N 22.39694°E /37.93972; 22.39694[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Kyllini Location in Greece | |
| Location | WesternCorinthia,Greece |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | YDS class 2 |
Mount Kyllini orMount Cyllene (/sɪˈliːniː/;Ancient Greek:Κυλλήνη[kylˈlːɛːnɛː],Modern Greek:[ciˈlini]), also known asMount Ziria (Ζήρια,Modern Greek:[ˈzirja]), is amountain on thePeloponnese inGreece famous for its association with the godHermes. It rises to 2,376 m (7,795 ft) abovesea level, making it the second highest point on the peninsula. It is located near the border between the historic regions ofArcadia andAchaea—in the northeast of Arcadia, and entirely within modernCorinthia. It is located west ofCorinth, northwest ofStymfalia, north ofTripoli, and south ofDerveni. Several modern places are also namedKyllini.
Much of the mountain is barren and rocky, although the area below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) is largely forested. There isan observatory at 908 metres (2,979 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, theGulf of Corinth and most of Corinthia, the southern part of Corinthia and parts of northeastern Arcadia. The nearest mountain ranges areOligyrtos to the south andChelmos/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 ofStymfalia–Feneos–Evrostini andXylokastro passes through the mountain.
Cyllene (or Kyllene) herself was a mountainnymph who had taken for her consortPelasges in the most ancient times recounted by Greek mythographers.There was a port inElis in antiquity namedCyllene near the mouth of theAlfeios, where the travelerPausanias noted the image of Hermes, "most devoutly worshiped by the inhabitants, is merely the male member upright on the pedestal."
InGreek mythology,Hermes was born in a sacred cave on the mountain, and soCyllenius is a frequentepithet of his. TheHomeric HymnHymn 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, which by the time of Pausanias had fallen into ruins:[2]
This temple was said to be of the oldest temples ever built:
ThePleiades were born on Mount Kyllini.[4]Gaius Julius Hyginus records that it was on Cyllene that the seerTiresias changed sex when he struck two copulating snakes.[5]
