Olympos: Chimaera's Eternal Flame
On the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, a fire burns on the mountain side of Mount Olympos... eternally. The mountain is shrouded in myth, visited by tourists hoping for a supernatural experience with the eternal flames. The myth tells of a man who called himself Bellerophontes. He had recently slaughtered his brother and sought protection in the Lycian Kingdom for this disastrous deed. Instead of killing this living brother, the King of Lycia decided to have Bellerophontes fight a monster living on Mount Olympos-- the Chimera, a horrible, fire-breathing hybrid of a lion, goat, and snake.
Riding on the back of Pegassos, his noble, winged steed, Bellerophontes and Chimera fought in the sky with lance and flame until the monster was driven underground. Bellerophontes may have won their battle, but the flames from the Chimera underground continue to burn to this day.
As a way of celebrating Bellerophontes’ victory over the monster that had terrorized their town, the people of Olympos held a game: runners would light their torches with the Chimera’s flame and run down to the city. This race is credited as the first Olympic game in Anatolia and is apparently the inspiration for the ceremonial torch-lighting in the Olympics.
We ascended the mountain via a kilometer-long stone and dirt pathway, marked by large trash cans with a spray-painted 50-meter countdown. It’s a bit of a hike that will take between 15-30 minutes depending on your fitness ability, but is home to beautiful foliage sprawling across the rocky hills and mountain sides. The path is well-maintained and doable in most types of shoes, as long as you’re careful not to trip.
The path stops where the sloping soil and stone steps become rocks, signaling the transition from typical woodsy trail to the mythical mountain side of the eternally burning flame. They appear suddenly from the most unsuspecting places; these small fires sway from cracks and indents in the rocks. Where there is a flame, there is a ring of black charcoal and white ash, the quiet crackling resembling a campfire on a summer night.
The flames themselves are extremely hot, and signs around the area explain the scientific side to the mystical mountain: a unique mixture of underground gases and barometric pressure that result in the Chimera’s lingering breath.
The threat of a re-emergence of the hybrid lion-goat-snake isn’t enough to keep away anything living. The mountain side is barren in the one slope of rocks and flame, but green grass, moss, and winding trees cover the rest of the mountain. Tourists crawl over the rocks to take pictures of the flames, and local cats bask in the sun, completely unaware of the monster under their feet. We may have risked turning to barbecue that afternoon, but left with no regrets... except that we didn’t bring marshmallows to roast over the Chimera’s eternal flame.
TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE WEST, KEEP LOOKING EAST!
Maja Thoenes
A girl who grew up a bookworm and blossomed into an outdoor enthusiast, Maja's passions include writing, mountaineering, traveling, running, Netflix-binging, skiing, and baking for her friends. Her education and career has been focused on Japan, where she studied and taught English for three years. Maja is a published author and resides in Colorado with her husband and border collie. You can find her work on Amazon.