Attica - Hymettos Imittós

The plain of Attica is bounded on the east by the long ridge of Mt Hymettos (1,027m/3,370ft), made up of the bluish-gray Hymettian marble, overlying Pentelic marble, which was worked in ancient times. The hills were then covered with forest, and the honey of the region was renowned.

In recent decades trees have been replanted on the long deforested slopes of the hill, particularly around Kaisarianí monastery. The monastery has an abundant spring, one of themany once found on Hymettos.

On the summit plateau there was a sanctuary of Zeus Ombrios, who was invoked with prayers for rain. Other shrines on Hymettos were the precinct of Apollo Proopsios and, at the southern end of the range, the Grotto of the Nymphs (3km/2mi north of Vári). From the suburb of Kaisarianí, on the east side of Athens, a road leads past the monastery of Kaisarianí to Astéri monastery, with a domed cruciform church (frescoes), and on to the summit plateau (military area, closed to the public). Below the north end of Hymettos is the monastery of Áyios Ioánnis Kynigós, which has a small church of the early 13th century, with later additions.