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Modern Description: The Mountain – Above Steni, the road climbs rapidly and unrelentingly to the watershed through forests of chestnut, pine, spruce, wild cherry and plane. At the top (8.5 km, c. 1000 m a.s.l.) – still heavily forested and scented with pine – the views are magnificent into Boeotia and towards Mt Parnassus, and over the east coast towards Skyros. The bald, conical peak of Mt. Dirfys (1743 m) rises clear to the northwest. The mountain's presiding deity was Hera, who assumed the epithet ‘Dirphya'. A track climbs from the ridge to the northwest above the tree-line to the Fountain of Liri Refuge (36 beds. Information from: E.O.S. Halkidas, 22 Angeli Goviou 22, 34 100 Halkida, tel. 22210 25230). From the refuge a path which is marked all the way leads to the long ridge of the summit in under two hours. The top of Dirfys is largely convex in relief, i.e. it does not have the convoluted form with protected rifts and gorges which characterises the summits of Mt Parnassus and Mt Olympus (the Great) and which create rare microclimates rendering their flora so diverse. Notwithstanding there are several endemic species, such as the rare Minuartia dirphya, a kind of sandwort – which grows on the northern slopes of the mountain around the 900-1000m altitude, in small mat-like cushions – recognisable by its starburst of long, woody stems tipped with the modest, white flower. Also at the higher altitudes and on the escarpments there are fritillaries, aubretia (Aubretia deltoides) and Viola delphinantha.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirfi
Wikidata ID: Q5280742

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

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