Photographer's Note
In the background you can see the Aphrodite spring in the Vale of Tempe.
The Vale of Tempe (Greek: Tέμπη, T幦pi) is a gorge in northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south. The valley is 10 kilometres long and as narrow as 25 metres in places, with cliffs nearly 500 metres high, and through it flows the Pineios River on its way to the Aegean Sea. In ancient times, it was celebrated by Greek poets as a favorite haunt of Apollo and the Muses. On the right bank of the Pineios sat a temple to Apollo, near which the laurels used to crown the victorious in the Pythian Games were gathered.
The Tempe Pass is a strategic pass in Greece since it is the main route from Larisa through the mountains to the coast. Though it can be bypassed via the Sarantoporo Pass, the alternate route takes longer. Because of this it has been the scene of numerous battles throughout history. In 480 BC, 10,000 Athenians and Spartans gathered at Tempe to stop Xerxes's invasion. However, once there, they were warned by Alexander I of Macedon that the vale could be bypassed and that the army of Xerxes was overwhelmingly large; accordingly, the Greeks retreated.
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Photo Information
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Copyright: Marton Ocskay (ocskaymarci)
(2832)
- Genre: 地方
- Medium: 彩色
- Date Taken: 2013-07-29
- Categories: 自然
- Camera: Pentax K200D, Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II, Sigma WIDE C-PL 52mm DG
- Exposure:f/3.5, 1/30 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version:Original Version
- Travelogue:Athens by bike 2013
- Date Submitted: 2013-09-12 2:33