To the southeast of Athens,  Mount Ymittos rises to the height 1,206 meters. The mountain is legendary for supplying the city with honey. According to the Roman-era traveler Pausanias, the vegetation of Ymittos was very suitable for bees, with herbs of all species. The ancients described the mountain as 'evvotanos'  (well-flowered).  In addition to beekeeping, the mountain offers the pleasure of exercising in nature (walking, running, cycling) at a relatively short distance from the city.
Pausanias describes that there were temples dedicated to Zeus, Apollo and Aphrodite. Nowadays, there is the Byzantine monastery at  Kaisariani, the monastery Asterios, the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Monastery of St. John the Hunterm, and the Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Kareas.
The vegetation on Ymittos comprises mainly pine trees, with some firs mixed in. Ecological associations and friends of the mountain provide protection and cleaning of the area, performing important work to preserve this remaining greenspace near Athens.  On the eastern slopes above Paiania is the only destination cave of Attiki, Koutouki. The other cave in the region is the ‘Lion Cave’, which got its name from the local tradition that a lion had had his nest there.