Vale of Tempe
placeA narrow gorge in Thessaly between Olympus and Ossa, sacred to Apollo.
The Myth
The Vale of Tempe was a narrow pass where the Peneus River carved through the mountains, creating a landscape of exceptional beauty — shaded by plane trees and laurels, cooled by the river. Every eight years, a sacred procession travelled from Delphi to Tempe to gather laurel for Apollo's crown. The Romans so admired Tempe that it became a generic word for any beautiful valley.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Tempe, Arizona was named after this valley in 1879 by a settler who thought the Salt River landscape resembled the Greek original.
Explore Further
Peneus
godRiver god of the Peneus in Thessaly, father of Daphne.
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
Olympus
placeThe highest mountain in Greece and the mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods. Olympus was...
Apollo
godGod of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine...
Apollo (Light)
godApollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and...
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...
Argo (Ship)
placeThe Argo was the ship built by Argus for Jason's quest — the first long-voyage ship in Greek myth,...
Athens
placeAthens was the city sacred to Athena, birthplace of democracy, philosophy, drama, and Western...
Aulis
placeAulis was the harbour in Boeotia where the Greek fleet of over a thousand ships assembled before...
Cape Taenarum
placeCape Taenarum (modern Cape Matapan) at the southern tip of the Peloponnese was one of the most...