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Sierra Club Bulletin 



we struck snow and slowly toiled toward the peak until 

 about noon we were on the snow-mantled top. We had 

 done better than the old traveler Pausanias in the second 

 century, A. D. He had only gone as far as the Korykian 

 Grotto. "From this place," he says, "to the peaks of Par- 

 nassus is a long and hard climb even for a light man. And 

 the peaks rise above the clouds and on them Bacchantes 

 lead on their orgies with Dionysius and Apollo." 



Wonderful things are not strange to Parnassus even to- 

 day. The people of the surrounding districts, who call the 

 mountain Liakoura — a transformation of an ancient word 

 meaning "Range of Light" — have still many secrets to tell 

 about it. Thus the people of Arachova told us of a won- 

 derful well near the top, which is dry most of the time, but 

 once in seven years is filled with water issuing from seven 

 hidden springs. In ancient times, too, the people dwelling 

 about Mt. Parnassus had a different name for it ; they called 

 it Ternessus, a word of unknown origin. 



The general formation of the mountain is somewhat simi- 

 lar to that of Mt. Olympus. The summit ridge bends in a 

 half-round curve running from east to west, forming a large 

 amphitheatre facing north. Around this the five highest 

 peaks of the mountain stand, mantled in snow for the greater 

 part of the year. The highest summit, which reaches an 

 altitude of 8,070 feet, or 2,459 meters, is at the southern 

 end of a spur that runs from north to south joining the 

 eastern end of the amphitheatre. We climbed the two 

 westernmost peaks, which are nearly as high, and would 

 have gone on had not the clouds that enveloped the rest 

 of the summit rendered any further advance useless. The 

 southeastern view was entirely hidden from our sight. 

 Against that face of the mountain the wind had swept great 

 clouds which rose and sank in their struggle to encompass 

 the precipitous cliffs. The mountains of Euboea closed 

 the view to the east; the lofty range of Korax rose to the 

 west; to the south were dimly seen the Peloponnesian 

 mountains of Cyllene, Aroania, Erymanthus and Panach- 

 aicon, bordering on the sapphire spaces of the Corinthian 

 Gulf. A light blue haze wound round us: a mystic veil. 



