The history of Halkidiki is inextricably linked with the legendary Greek city of Halkida, since it was from here that the colonialists moved here. This area - a peninsula in southeastern Greece - was mentioned by Herodotus when he described the Persian Wars. Also, these places are known as the birthplace of the great Aristotle. The peninsula itself goes out into the Aegean Sea, forming at its tip three more small peninsulas, known as Athos, Sithonia and Kassandra.
Athos
Athos is a special place, the abode of monks, where there is no access not only to women, but even to female pets. And no matter how funny it sounds, the Holy Mother of God protects these hermitages and monasteries. There are several Orthodox monasteries and one Russian monastery - St. Panteleimon. Only men can get here and only with special permission.
Ancient capital
But whatever the history of these Orthodox holy places, it does not exhaust the history of Halkidiki briefly. If you return from the mountains to the seaside, you can see the excavations that are being carried out in the village of Kallithea, where archaeologists have discovered a pagan temple, supposedly existed here in the 5th century BC. There is also the village of Olynthos, which has not lost its name since ancient times. But excavations carried out here have shown that once the status of this settlement was much higher. It was the capital of Halkidiki. However, the once mighty city was wiped off the face of the earth by King Philip. We do not know as much about this ruler as about his famous son, Alexander the Great.
Sithonia
On this peninsula there is the village of Toroni, which was once also a famous city, so it passed into the hands of various conquerors: it was the subject of a dispute between the Athenians and Spartans; conquered by the Macedonian king Philip II; was under the rule of the Roman Empire.
However, at the same time, the city was still preserved as an administrative-territorial unit, and was not spared by the Greek revolution that took place in the 19th century. Today, historical buildings are represented here only by ruins, because during that revolution, the Turks dismantled many structures into stones for pavements.
