Athitos / History |
|
The history of the Aphtos area in Chalkidiki
|
|
Here in Chalkidiki, in 492 B.C. the Persian fleet was defeated. In 480 B.C. Xerxis constructed the canal of Athos . After the end of the Persian wars, all the cities became members of the Athenian Confederation and during the Peloponnese war, Chalkidiki became a battle field. In 348 B.C. Olinthos was conquered by Philippos II and made Chalkidiki part of the Macedonian Kingdom . Cities such as Antigonia, Kassandria and Ouranoupolis were built later on. In 168 B.C. Chalkidiki was conquered by the Romans. Apostle Paul visited Apollonia and he brought Christianity to Chalkidiki. During the Byzantine times, Chalkidiki went through a decline due to the invasions of the Goths, Huns and Catalans. In the 10 th century the famous monastic state of Mount Athos came into being. Mount Athos became the Ark of the Orthodox religion. It became a spiritual lighthouse for the Greek Orthodox culture and aided our nation greatly through the difficult times. In 1430 Chalkidiki was conquered by the Turks and absolute decay followed. The inhabitants, however, worked laboriously so we have the great development of Chalkikidiki during the 16 th - 17 th centuries with the famous Mandemohoria. This development was a result of the exploitation of the silver mines of the mineral corporation called "the Kino of Mademia". In May, 1821, Chalkidiki rebelled alongside Emm. Pappas and the monks of Mount Athos , but it suffered the vengeful retaliations of the Turks. Chalkidiki also participated in the revolutionary movements of 1854 and 1878 as well as in the Macedonian struggle creating small corps against the Bulgarian guerillas. It was liberated by the Greek Army, in October 1912. In 1922-23, thousands of Greek refugees from Asia Minor , Pontus and eastern Thrace came and settled in Chalkidiki, especially along the coastal areas. They gave the names of their homelands to their new places of residence adding the prefix "new", and also seriously contributed to the financial and cultural development of Chalkidiki. |
|
     |
Brief history of Aphitos Since about 3000 B.C. many people came and settled in the area where Aphitos is presently situated. And this is obvious from the prehistoric settlements that have been found here. This took place throughout the whole of Chalkidiki and till Archaic Times we observe the passage of various Thracian and Pelasgian tribes. From the 8 th century onwards, many colonists from Evia came to settle in this area. People from Chalkida and Eretria created a large number of small colonies throughout Chalkidiki. This migration of people went on till the 6 th century B.C. It is estimated that Aphitos was established during this period (Thoukidides 4, 109). The reason that the Ancient city was established in that particular place is that it was by itself a natural fortress, which was a very important factor for a colony to be established. The crag would protect the city against any attacks from the sea. Also, the little lake that existed till 1963, and which was very close to the sea, would serve as a small bay, a natural harbor for the mooring of ships. Stefanos the Byzantine, refers to the Ancient city with the names: Aphiti, Aphitis, Aphitos. The name "Athitos", which became prevalent in the later years, is a linguistic phenomenon (see Athina 45, page 341, Pantelides phonetics 39). According to Stefanos the Byzantine, Aphitos got its name from a local. Many ancient authors consider Athitos as a very important place due to the oracle of Ammona Jupiter and the temple of Dionysos . The Temple of Dionysos , that is chronically connected to the settlement of the people of Evia and the development of Aphitos, is mentioned for the first time by Xenophon in his "Ellinika". In 381 B.C. the King of Sparta Agisipolis laid siege on Toroni. During that time he was seriously burned by the sun and he asked to be transferred to the Temple of DIonysos which was situated in a shadowy place and there was clear and cool water. According to Xenophon, Agisipolis died a week later. The dead body was put in an earthenware jar full of honey, and transferred to Sparta for the official burial. During the archaic and classical times, Aphitos was a very prosperous city which minted its own currency bearing the head of its patron god, Ammon Jupiter. This prosperity was mainly due to agriculture and viniculture. Aristotle mentions the "Agricultural Law" of Aphitos, that constitutes a specially interesting and unique chapter in the history of ancient Greek finance affairs. Shipping must have played a great role in the financial situation of Aphitos, taking into consideration the size of its harbor, which is to be found today in the seaside park with the pine trees. |
 |
|
     |
According to Herodotus, during the Persian wars (5 th century B.C.), Athitos was forced to reinforce the Persians with soldiers and ships, just as the other cities of Chalkidiki had to do. But after the battle of Platees (479 B.C.) they left the Persians and took part in the Athenian Alliance. As a member of this alliance they used to pay the treasury of Delos three talents yearly, which was then a very significant sum of money. Based on the Athenian "monetary resolution" which was found in Athitos, we can have an idea concerning the relationships between Aphitos and Athens . This resolution of 423 B.C., gave directions in connection with the minting of coins and monetary transactions in general. As a result of its participation in the Athenian Alliance, Aphitos was besieged by the general of the Spartan army (Lissandros) during the Pelopponese war. According to Paphsanias, Ammon Jupiter the patron god, appeared in Lissandro's dream and advised him to stop the leaguer, which Lissandros did. It is possible that Aphitos had also been destroyed by Philippos, in 348 B.C. as were the rest of the cities of Chalkidiki. Nevertheless, the construction of Jupiter's temple in the latter half of the 4 th century B.C., presupposed financial prosperity for the city. There is also another aspect that has been suggested which is that the Macedonian Kings contributed to the construction of the above-mentioned temple. Anyway, during the Hellenistic and Roman times, Athitos was monetizing again, a fact that is related to the luster and reputation of Jupiter's Temple . Stravon mentions Athitos among the five cities of Pallini, that existed in the 1 st century A.D. (Cassandria, Aphitis, Mendi, Skioni and Sani). A long period of time for which we have no information about Aphitos interceded. The ruins of the mediaeval wall of the citadel, where Koutsomilos is found today, as well as the preservation of its name testify that life in Athitos never stopped. The first written information comes from documents from Mount Athos , from the 14 th century, where we find Athitos as "Aphetos". In 1307-1309, the village was destroyed by Catalan invaders and the inhabitants settled, for a period of time, in their scattered farm houses. The 1647 murals on the walls of the Taxiarhes chapel (which was demolished in 1954) is evidence that Athitos prospered in that period of time. During the Revolution in 1821, Athitos made its presence felt by offering many fighters and having many victims. But it was also set on fire as was the whole of the Cassandra peninsula. After the devastation its inhabitants went away to several other areas such as Skopelos, Skiathos and Atalanti. Around 1827, part of the refugees returned to Athitos, due mainly to its location, it seems that it was the capital of Cassandra for many years. Captain Anastasis came to live in Athitos. Captain Anastasis ruled the peninsula up to 1834. |
In 1859, the church of St. Dimitrios was rebuilt. It had a wooden roof, three-aisled basilica, with a dome and a built-in steeple. Later on in 1867 St. George's Church was built in Lavriotiko, in 1885 the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, a little later St. Athanasio's Church and St. Nichola's Church in Liosi (on the ruins of an ancient Christian temple). During the second half of the19 th century, there was intensive building activity. The architecture of the houses of the village is very distinctive, since the houses are built with local porous stone. The only old houses that still exist are those of Katsani (1860), Papavasilios (1864), Galanis (1876), Aletras (1889), K. Athanasiades (1898). Apart from these, all the old stone houses of Aphitos, with epigraphs of ownership and excellent lithographies, show the skill and the desire of the old craftsmen. Today's Aphitos remains faithful to its tradition, and exhibits remarkable folkloric architecture with its stone houses. During the last few years, all the residents have been making big efforts, led by an inspired President of the village council who has managed to present a well maintained traditional village. Today Aphitos is able to satisfy all the visitors by organizing many festivals of high artistic standards, which are organized by the present Cultural Association, and meet the demands of every tourist who visits it. |
|
The history of Chalkidiki begins many years ago. Mythology reports that the giant of earthquakes, named Egelados, is buried in the Cassandra Peninsula . Sithonia has taken its name from Poseidon's son "Sithonas". The Cave of Petralona where we can see fossils of various animals and plant species testifies that the history and life of Chalkidiki is over 700 000 years long.