Ziria

By car:

Via the Athens / Corinth National motorway, take the exit towards Xylokastro and after, following the signs, drive towards Trikala, which is located 24km. from Xylokastro. The plateau of little Ziria is approx.10km from Lower Trikala. The total distance from Athens is 155km and the duration of the journey is approx. two hours.

ZIRIA

The name ‘Ziria’ is of Slavic origin and means ‘acorn’.

KYLLINI

We come across the name ‘Kyllini’ from antiquity and it is connected to the many cavities that exist below the earth’s crust in the area.

In certain ancient Greek Literature, Kyllini is described as ‘A steep mountain - forest covered - stony and snow beaten - with divine peaks - the highest mountain of Arcadia.’

In fact, it is referred to as a mountain of Arcadia, because during antiquity it was part of Arcadia.

• MYTHOLOGY

Mount Ziria’s wild beauty is closely connected to mythology, as the cave located on the western side of the Flambouritsa valley is considered the birth-place of the messenger of the gods, Hermes. It is located at an altitude of 1.700m and extends to 1.200m2 and has 8 chambers and an impressive lithomatic decoration.

But the same mountain is also considered the birth-place of Hermes’ mother, Maia, one of the Pleiades, whose parents were Atlas and Pleione the Oceanid.

According to mythology, from the day he was born, Hermes wondered the earth in an effort to know the world. One of his first good deeds was the creation of the first lyre made of tortoise shell. Even today one of the peaks of Kyllini, is called Helidorea, which means turtle skinning, in memory of the technique used to build the musical instrument invented by Hermes.