Mount Othrys, Mountain range in Phthiotis Regional Unit, Greece.
Mount Othrys is a mountain range spanning northeastern Phthiotis and southern Magnesia, about 35 km east to west and 25 km north to south. Its highest summit, Gerakovouni, reaches 1,726 m on the border of the two regional units. The slopes carry oak and fir forest, while the peaks rise above the tree line; the rock is mainly ophiolite.
In Greek myth Mount Othrys was the Titans' stronghold in the ten-year Titanomachy against the Olympians, and the birthplace of Cronus and Rhea's children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. On 5 February 1991 a Lockheed C-130H Hercules of the Hellenic Air Force crashed on the mountain, killing all 63 people aboard.
In Greek myth Mount Othrys was the Titans' stronghold in the ten-year Titanomachy against the Olympians, and the birthplace of Cronus and Rhea's children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. The Greek article adds that the Titans hurled giant boulders from the mountain toward Olympus. The name is also recorded in the older form Orthrys.
The range lies between the Pagasetic Gulf to the northeast and the Malian Gulf to the south, with villages such as Anavra, Kokkotoi, Palaiokerasia and Neraida on its slopes. The A3 motorway's Othrys Tunnel, 2.9 km long, runs beneath the southern section between Lamia and Xyniada. The summit Gerakovouni stands 19 km south of Almyros and 27 km northeast of Lamia.
The Natura 2000 site Oros Othrys, Vouna Gkouras kai Farangi Palaio Kerasias (ID GR1430006) covers the eastern range plus two spurs: one south over Palaiokerasia Gorge, one north over Gkouras Hill. It was designated under the Birds Directive chiefly to protect raptors and their nesting habitat.
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