[3] During Byzantine times and up until the 19th century, the mountain was also known as Pentadaktylos (Πενταδάκτυλος; Greek for five-fingered, a common name during that period).

The Taygetus Massif is about 100 km (62 mi) long, extending from the center of the Peloponnese to Cape Matapan, its southernmost extremity.

It contains the tallest mountain in the Peloponnese, the Profitis Ilias summit, reaching 2,405 m (7,890 ft);[4] this is probably the classical Mount Taléton mentioned by Pausanias.

The western side of the massif houses the headwaters of the Vyros Gorge, which carries winter snowmelt down the mountain, emptying into the Messenian Gulf in the town of Kardamyli.

The central part of the mountain range is commonly called "Skoteini Plevra", which means "the dark side" because the villages located there do not receive as much sunshine in the early morning and the late afternoon hours.

The average direction is N 21° E. In the islands and southern Greece a fault-block mountain orogeny prevails due to a double set of crustal movements.

[7] The slopes of Taygetus are heavily forested, primarily with Greek fir (Abies cephalonica) and black pine (Pinus nigra).

[8][9] Recent evidence, found by the University of Athens, discovered remains of adult individuals which appeared to confirm that Ceadas was mainly a place of punishment for criminals, traitors and captives.

[10] According to an Open University online course, "The first century CE writer Plutarch explains that Sparta had a ritual by which newborn babies were judged by the elders and those thought unfit to be allowed to live were left at the foot of Mount Taygetos.

In Medieval times, the citadel and monastery of Mystras was built on the steep slopes, and became a center of Byzantine civilization and served as the capital of the Despotate of the Morea.

The highest point, Profitis Ilias, is a popular hiking destination and European walking route E4 runs along the lower slopes of the range.