Yes, it's a real place. And it's really in Greece. In fact, it's the highest mountain in Greece (and one of the highest in Europe).
According to Wikipedia, the highest peak is Mytikas, meaning "nose" 9,570 ft).
Mytikas PeakIt played a major role in Greek mythology as the home of the gods (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, hades, Demeter, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus.)
They moved there after it formed itself, and it only formed itself after the gods defeated the Titans in the Titan war. I'm not sure where the gods lived before then, though. One presumes somewhere, but apparently it wasn't as nice as the nose...er...mountaintop. (Suddenly I have the theme from "The Jeffersons" running through my head. "Movin' on up" indeed!) There was much to recommend it as "it was not shaken by winds nor ever wet with rain, nor did snow fall upon it." (Homer: The Odyssey, 6.41)
I think Homer may have exaggerated the "no snow" thing, but it certainly looks lovely in the summer:
It's supposed to be a relatively easy hike until you get near the top and it's all rocky. Still, it might be worth scaling, just to say you were in the nose...er...home of the gods.
