Tempe (Greece)
Tempe ( Greek Τέμπη , ancient Greek pronunciation Tempē , modern Greek Tembi ) is the name of the steep breakthrough valley of the Peneios river between the Olymp and Ossa mountains in the Greek landscape of Thessaly . Its length is about 8 km. At its narrowest point, the valley is only 40 meters wide. Since 2011, the valley has been in the newly created community of Tembi , named after him .
The valley has an exceptionally beautiful landscape and is green all year round. It's also pleasantly cool in summer. It is therefore a popular destination and sometimes overcrowded.
At the eastern end of the valley there was a sanctuary of Apollo in antiquity. According to legend, Apollon is said to have washed away his guilt here, which he had incurred by killing the python ruling in Delphi . Apollon fell in love with the nymph Daphne , who was turned into a laurel bush. Apollo broke off a branch from this bush and took it to Delphi, where he planted it. In honor of this event, there was a procession from Delphi to the Tempe Valley every eight years. A youth underwent a ritual ablution, then laurel branches were cut and brought to Delphi.
Furthermore, Eurydice is said to have died here of a snakebite.
Even in the archaic period this valley was of great strategic importance, as one of the most important roads between Greece and Macedonia ran here . Several important battles were fought here , the valley was also fought over during World War II .
Even today the valley is the most important connection from Thessaly to Macedonia and the Thermaic Gulf . Both the Greek national road 1 ( European route 75) and the main artery of the Greek railway from Athens to Thessaloniki run through the valley , the latter since 2004 largely in a tunnel due to the expansion of the route. Since the entire road traffic from Athens to Thessaloniki has to squeeze through the narrow valley, serious accidents often happen here. In 2003, 21 students from Imathia died in a bus accident. On December 17, 2009, a landslide occurred in which an Italian engineer from the consortium commissioned to build the tunnel was also killed.
At a place called Agia Paraskevi there is a cave church in the rock with a spring that pilgrims like to visit. It can be reached from the parking lot via a suspension bridge.
Temple Gorge seen from the river
Suspension bridge over the river to the monastery
Agia Paraskevi
literature
- E. anthes: The Tempe Valley. With six illustrations based on original photographs. In: Reclams Universum: Moderne Illustrierte Wochenschrift 27.1 (1911), pp. 538-543.
Web links
- Jona Lendering: Tempe . In: Livius.org (English)
Coordinates: 39 ° 52 ′ 37 ″ N , 22 ° 34 ′ 28 ″ E