The mountain that has inspired poets, pilgrims, scientists, and mountaineers for thousands of years has received one of the world’s highest heritage distinctions. Mount Olympus, Greece’s highest peak and the legendary home of the Twelve Olympian gods, has officially been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a site of Outstanding Universal Value.

The decision was adopted unanimously during the 48th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, recognizing the wider area of Mount Olympus as a mixed cultural and natural property – one of the organization’s most prestigious and demanding categories, and the only such case on this year’s list. The inscription acknowledges not only the mountain’s extraordinary biodiversity but also its enduring influence on human culture, mythology, and literature.

With Olympus, Greece now has 21 UNESCO World Heritage properties, three of them recognized as mixed sites combining exceptional cultural and natural significance, alongside Meteora and Mount Athos.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hailed the decision as “a national achievement of the highest order.”

“From today, the mythical Mount Olympus becomes a mountain belonging to all humanity, one that must be protected forever,” he said, describing the inscription as both international recognition of Greece’s natural and cultural heritage and “an opportunity for the development of the wider region surrounding this unique ecosystem.” He continued by congratulating the Ministries of Culture and Environment, “whose quiet but determined work secured this distinction.”

The inscription follows Greece’s recent UNESCO successes with Zagori (2023) and the Minoan Palaces of Crete (2025). 

For Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, the designation reflects the inseparable relationship between Greece’s landscape and its cultural identity.

“The inscription of Mount Olympus on UNESCO’s World Heritage List reaffirms Greece’s enduring commitment to the protection, promotion and sustainable management of its cultural and natural heritage,” she said.

Mendoni also highlighted the mountain’s unique place in world culture through the works of Homer.

“Homer described Olympus as polyptych (“many-peaked”), makros (“lofty”), nifoeis (“snow-clad”), and polydeiras (“rich in ravines”). These descriptions became the starting point for centuries of inspiration. The image of Olympus captured by Homer’s poetic genius nearly three thousand years ago remains unchanged today, evoking the same admiration and reverence in modern visitors.”

That literary legacy has taken on renewed relevance amid global interest in Homer’s epics following the recent release of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” Long before it became one of Greece’s most iconic hiking destinations, Olympus occupied a central place in the ancient Greek imagination as the celestial seat of Zeus and the Olympian gods, appearing in both Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” Hesiod’s “Theogony,” and countless later works that helped shape Western literature.

An Ark of Biodivesity

Rising to 2,918 meters at Mytikas, the highest peak, Olympus is equally remarkable for its natural heritage. Designated Greece’s first National Park in 1938, the mountain encompasses an extraordinary range of ecosystems, from Mediterranean forests to alpine meadows and sheer limestone cliffs. Its dramatic topography and proximity to the Aegean Sea have created one of Europe’s richest biodiversity and endemism hotspots.

The massif is home to nearly 2,000 recorded plant taxa – more than a quarter of Greece’s flora – including 27 endemic plant species found nowhere else on Earth. According to UNESCO’s criteria, the region “features striking landforms, including glacial cirques, limestone cliffs, karstic sinkholes, and olistolith fields, while sharp ridges like the Mytikas-Stefani complex and deep gorges such as the Enipeas illustrate ongoing neotectonic activity.” Its forests and high peaks also provide refuge for brown bears, chamois, golden eagles, and numerous other protected species.

Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou described the inscription as the culmination of a decade-long effort that began in 2014.

“Mount Olympus is a global symbol, linking the ancient myth of Greece’s highest mountain as the home of the gods with our country’s environmental future,” he said. He added that more than 10 million euros will now be invested in projects to protect the mountain’s natural environment, improve accessibility, and support the sustainable development of the surrounding region.

Greece’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, George Koumoutsakos, whose office supported the nomination throughout the process, was thanked by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni for his steadfast support during the lengthy inscription process. Mendoni also paid tribute to Dr. Dionysia Hatzilakou, Director of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA), who led the decade-long nomination effort, along with the agency’s staff and the many officials, scientists, and specialists from the Ministries of Culture and Environment whose collaboration made the inscription possible.

At the foot of the mountain lies the archaeological site of Dion, where the ancient Macedonians worshipped Zeus and the Olympian gods before setting out on military campaigns. Together with the mountain itself, the sanctuary illustrates the profound connection between Olympus’ physical landscape, ancient religious practice, and the mythology that continues to shape its global identity.

For visitors today, that identity remains as compelling as ever. Whether climbing towards its summit, wandering through ancient forests, or exploring the sanctuary of Dion below, it is still possible to encounter the same mountain that Homer immortalized nearly three thousand years ago – a landscape where myth, history, and nature continue to meet.

With information in Greek from kathimerini.gr.