Mount Lycabettus

{{Short description|Hill in Athens, Greece}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Lykavittos | native_name = Λυκαβηττός | native_name_lang = el | settlement_type = Neighborhood | image_skyline = Λυκαβηττός - Mount Lycabettus.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Mount Lycabettus | nickname = | motto = | mottoeng = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|37|58|40|N|23|44|30|E|region:GR|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Greece | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Attica | subdivision_type2 = City | subdivision_name2 = Athens | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 114 71, 115 21 | area_code_type = | area_code = | iso_code = | website = [http://www.lycabettushill.com www.lycabettushill.com] | footnotes = }} '''Mount Lycabettus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|l|aɪ|k|ə|ˈ|b|ɛ|t|ə|s}}), also known as '''Lycabettos''', '''Lykabettos''' or '''Lykavittos''' ({{langx|el|Λυκαβηττός}}, {{IPA|el|likaviˈtos|pron}}), is a Cretaceous limestone hill in the Greek capital Athens. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, its summit is the highest point in Central Athens and pine trees cover its base. The name also refers to the residential neighbourhood immediately below the east of the hill.

The hill is a tourist destination and can be ascended by the Lycabettus Funicular, a funicular railway which climbs the hill from a lower terminus on Aristippou Street in Kolonaki. At its two peaks are the 19th century Chapel of St. George, a theatre, and a restaurant.

==Mythical and legendary stories== Lycabettus appears in various legends. Popular stories suggest it was once the refuge of wolves (lycos in Greek), which is possibly the origin of its name (means "the one [the hill] that is walked by wolves"). Another etymology suggests a Pelasgian, pre-Mycenean, origin (''Lucabetu=mastoid hill'').<ref>[http://www.protothema.gr/stories/article/722185/toponumia-dimon-kai-sunoikion-tis-attikis-a-meros/ Τοπωνύμια της Αττικής]</ref>

Mythologically, Lycabettus is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a limestone mountain she had been carrying from the Pallene peninsula for the construction of the Acropolis after the box holding Erichthonius was opened.

{{Wide image|Athens4 tango7174.jpg|700px|Panorama from Mount Lycabettus, with a view of the Panathinaiko Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Hellenic Parliament and the Acropolis of Athens.}}

==Theatre==

The hill has a large open-air amphitheatre near the top, which has housed many Greek and international concerts. In 2008 it closed due to safety concerns. By 2022 the city of Athens suggested renovating and reopening the theatre. After being closed for 15 years, the theatre was reopened in September of 2023. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-18 |title=The Iconic Lycabettus Theater in Athens to Reopen by Summer 2022 |url=https://www.greece-is.com/news/the-iconic-lycabettus-theater-in-athens-to-reopen-by-next-summer/ |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=Greece Is |language=en}}</ref> Among the artists who have performed at the Lycabettus theatre are Arca, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Leonard Cohen, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Paco De Lucia, Evanescence, Al Di Meola, John Mc Laughlin, Gary Moore, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Nick Cave, Bjork, Dead Can Dance, Pet Shop Boys, Deep Purple, UB40, Placebo, Morrissey, Radiohead, Moby, Massive Attack, Faith No More, Faithless, Whitesnake, Tracy Chapman, Nightwish, Slipknot, Patti Smith, Vanessa Mae, Bryan Ferry, Tito Puente, Buena Vista Social Club, Orishas, The Prodigy, Iron Maiden, Nazareth, Blackmore's Night, Scorpions, Mathame, Adriatique Human Rias, Rotting Christ and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> File:Mount Lycabettus.jpg File:Blick vom Lykavittos auf Athen - View from Lykavittos Hill over Athens.jpg|View from Lykavittos Hill over Athens File:The Acropolis of Athens at Night.jpg|View of the Acropolis at night File:Athens Francis Bedford 1862.jpg|View from the Acropolis by Francis Bedford, 1862 File:Lykavittos1880.png|Lycabettus {{Circa|1870}}-80, without St. George's Chapel and before the modern planting of pine trees File:Chapel of Saint George.jpg|Saint George's chapel on top File:Attica 06-13 Athens 46 View from Lycabettus.jpg|Theatre of Lycabettus File:Mount Lycabettus view Athens.tif|View of Athens looking east </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}} * Boguslawski, Alexander (2000). "[http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Greek/lykavitt.html Lykavittos Hill] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20010223095954/http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Greek/lykavitt.html |date=2001-02-23 }}." Retrieved August 30, 2005.

==External links== *[http://www.lycabettushill.com Lycabettus Hill Website] * {{Commons category-inline|Lycabettus}} *High-resolution 360° Panorama of [https://mcid.mcah.columbia.edu/art-atlas/panoramas-world-architecture/lykabettos Mount Lycabettus | Art Atlas]

{{Landmarks in Athens}} {{Geographic location | North = Gyzi | West = Neapoli | Centre = Lykavittos | East = Kountouriotika | South = Kolonaki }} {{Athens}} {{Authority control}}

Lycabettus Category:Outdoor theatres Category:Tourist attractions in Athens Category:Neighbourhoods in Athens Category:Pelasgian words