Mount Parnassus
placeMount Parnassus was the mountain above Delphi sacred to Apollo and the Muses — the symbolic home of poetry, music, and artistic inspiration.
The Myth
Parnassus was where Deucalion and Pyrrha landed after the great flood. Delphi sat on its slopes. The Corycian Cave on its heights was sacred to Pan and the nymphs. The Castalian Spring at its base was where the Pythia purified herself before delivering oracles. Poets drank from the spring for inspiration. The mountain became synonymous with artistic achievement — to "climb Parnassus" meant to reach poetic greatness.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "Parnassian" describes a school of French poetry (1860s-1890s) dedicated to formal perfection — named after this mountain of the Muses.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
Deucalion
heroDeucalion survived Zeus's flood and repopulated the earth by throwing stones.
Pan
godThe goat-legged god of wilderness, shepherds, and rustic music. Pan's sudden appearance caused...
Acheron
placeThe Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some...
Aeaea
placeAeaea was the mythical island home of Circe, the divine sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men...
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...