March 29: Eclipse Day
Chimaera
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A hike from the trailhead brings you to the natural phenomenon of Cirali. Known by the local inhabitants as the "burning mountain", it is a result of escaping natural gas, whose flames have been shooting heavenwards for centuries. There are some two dozen vents in the ground, grouped in two patches on the hillside. The vents emit burning methane thought to be of metamorphic origin, which in ancient times sailors could navigate by, and which today is used to brew tea.
Homer' s Iliad tells the tale of Chimaira as well. It tells the story of how Bellerophon, who had been exiled from Argos, was sent to Lykia riding on Pegasus and how, after coming to Olympos, he killed the lion-headed, goat-torsoed, and snake-tailed Khimaira with his arrow. Bellerophon then threw the monster into the mouth of Mount Olympos, which is said to be the reason why there is an eternal flame in Cirali.
Chimaera in antiquity, in addition to being the name of a monster, was the name of a volcanic site which was held , by euhemerizing geographers, to have inspired the myth.