Ourea

The Ourea (“Mountains”) were the mountains of the world personified as children of Gaia, the Earth. Hesiod is the only early source to list them as a group of offspring, and he does not name any of them: they are simply the long hills, the pleasant haunts of the gods and of the nymphs who live in the wooded glens.

Birth of the Ourea

In the Theogony, Gaia first bore starry Ouranos, equal to herself, to cover her on every side and be a safe home for the blessed gods for ever. “She bore also the tall Ourea, the graceful haunts of the gods, of the Nymphs who live among the wooded mountains”, and then the barren sea, Pontus, “without sweet union of love” (Hesiod, Theogony 126–132). Only after that did she lie with Ouranos and bear Oceanus and the other Titans (Hesiod, Theogony 133–138). The Ourea therefore belong to the first generation of Gaia’s offspring, before the Titans.

Mountains in the Early Epics

Hesiod does not give the Ourea myths of their own, but the mountains play their part in the wars of the gods. When Zeus and the Titans fought, the earth roared, wide heaven groaned and tall Olympus was shaken from its base (Hesiod, Theogony 679–683). When Zeus fought Typhoeus, great Olympus shook under the immortal feet of the king as he rose, and the earth groaned (Theogony 842–843). Hesiod also begins his poem with the Muses of Helicon, who hold the great and holy mountain of Helicon and dance on its summit (Theogony 1–8). Olympus is the dwelling of the gods throughout the poem, and Hesiod speaks of “snowy Olympus” (Theogony 953).

Mountains That Speak and Judge

Ovid gives one mountain a speaking part. Tmolus, in Lydia, is chosen as judge of the contest between Pan and Apollo: the old judge sits on his own mountain, crowned with oak, and frees his ears from the trees to listen. Turning to Apollo, he is followed by his forest, and he bids Pan yield to the lyre (Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.150–171).

Ourea Sources

Hesiod, Theogony 1–8, 126–138, 679–683, 842–843, 953; Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.150–171.

See Also: Gaia, Ouranos, Pontus, Zeus, Typhon, The Muses, Pan, Apollo