Mount Olympus Joins UNESCO World Heritage List as Mixed Site

The news in Greek

1. λίστα  (f.)
   Μια σειρά από ονόματα ή πράγματα γραμμένα το ένα κάτω από το άλλο. ↩︎
2. φυτό  (n.)
   Ένας ζωντανός οργανισμός που μεγαλώνει στη γη και έχει φύλλα και ρίζες. ↩︎
3. αρχαίος
   Κάτι που ανήκει σε πολύ παλιές εποχές, από πολύ παλιά. ↩︎
4. θεός  (m.)
   Ένα υπερφυσικό ον που λατρεύεται από ανθρώπους και θεωρείται πολύ δυνατό. ↩︎
5. επισκέπτομαι
   Πηγαίνω σε ένα μέρος ή σε κάποιον για λίγο χρόνο. ↩︎
6. πληροφορία  (f.)
   Στοιχεία ή γνώσεις για κάτι ή κάποιον. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Why is Mount Olympus considered important, according to the summary?

Question 2: What is said about the number of people who visit the mountain?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
λίστα  (f.)	list
φυτό  (n.)	plant
αρχαίος	ancient
θεός  (m.)	god
επισκέπτομαι	visit
πληροφορία  (f.)	information

Read the full story

Mount Olympus, Greece’s highest mountain and the legendary home of the ancient gods, has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, recognised as a mixed site for both its cultural and natural significance.

Triantafyllos Bitos, head of the Management Unit of the Olympus National Park, described the inscription as the “crowning” of all the recognitions the mountain has received, saying it was something that “was just and has now become reality.”

According to Bitos, what made the case for Olympus as a mixed heritage site was its combination of two distinct dimensions of global value. “On one side there is the myth, inseparably linked to the mountain and recorded in the Homeric epics and the works of Hesiod, which have carried Olympus around the world. On the other, there is an ecosystem with particularly high biodiversity, a significant number of endemic species, and unique characteristics for the region,” he said.

The mountain has recorded 1,983 plant species and 27 endemic species found exclusively in that area. Among the rarest is Jankaea heldreichii, considered a remnant of the glacial period. Olympus also hosts Campanula oreadum, found in rock crevices at altitudes between 1,800 and 2,900 metres, and Genista sakellariadis, a low shrub growing in rocky, sunny spots.

Bitos noted that Olympus functions as a “sky island” — an isolated mountain environment where, at high altitude and under difficult climatic conditions, remarkable biodiversity is concentrated. This characteristic was one of the key elements that strengthened the nomination.

The UNESCO listing also comes with specific obligations. One commitment that must be completed by 1 December 2027 is a landscape mapping study to assess risks in the area, including flooding, landslides caused by seismic activity, and fires, in order to identify where interventions are needed to protect both visitors and the natural landscape.

Bitos highlighted that visitor numbers have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic, and warned that people frequently attempt to cross the mountain with insufficient information about weather conditions and trail status, “something that has on many occasions led to dangerous situations.”