Parnassus

Parnassus, a mountain in Phocis, regarded by the ancient Greeks as the central point of the earth. On its southern slope lay Delphi (q.v.), the seat of the famous oracle, and the fountain of Castalia (q.v.). The highest peak (8036 feet) was the scene of the orgies of the worship of Dionysus (Bacchus); all the rest of the mountain was sacred to Apollo and the Muses, whence poets were said to 'climb Parnassus,' a phrase still thus employed.