This article is about the mountain and peninsula in Greece. For the Eastern Orthodox monastic community and the autonomous region of Greece, seeMonastic community of Mount Athos. For other uses, seeAthos.
Mount Athos[a] is a mountain on theAthos peninsula in northeasternGreece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center ofEastern Orthodoxmonasticism.
The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed as anautonomous region in Greece by themonastic community of Mount Athos, which is ecclesiastically under the direct jurisdiction of theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The remainder of the peninsula forms part of theAristotelis municipality. By Greek law and by religious tradition, women are prohibited from entering the area governed by the monastic community.[2]
Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its long Christian presence and historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 AD during theByzantine era. Because of its long history of religious importance, the well-preserved agrarian architecture within the monasteries, and the preservation of the flora and fauna around the mountain, themonastic community of Mount Athos was added to the UNESCOWorld Heritage List in 1988.[3]
In theclassical era, Mount Athos was calledAthos and the peninsulaActé (in Latin) orAkté (Koine Greek:Ἀκτή). In modern Greek, the mountain isOros Athos (Greek:Όρος Άθως) and the peninsulaHersonisos tou Atho (Χερσόνησος του Άθω), while the designationAgio Oros (Άγιο Όρος), translating to 'Holy Mountain', is also used.[4]
The peninsula, the easternmost "leg" of the largerChalkidiki peninsula in centralMacedonia, protrudes 50 km (31 mi)[7] into theAegean Sea at a width of between 7 and 12 km (4.3 and 7.5 mi) and covers an area of 335.6 km2 (130 sq mi). The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to 2,033 m (6,670 ft). The Athos peninsula, unlikeSithonia andKassandra, is a geological continuation of theRhodope Mountains of northern Greece and Bulgaria.[8]
The surrounding seas, especially at the end of the peninsula, can be dangerous. In ancient Greek history, two fleet disasters in the area are recorded: Herodotus claimed that in 492 BC,Darius, the king ofPersia, lost 300 ships under generalMardonius.[9] In 411 BC theSpartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under the admiral Epicleas.[10]
Mount Athos has an extensivenetwork of footpaths, many of which date back to theByzantine period. Many are typically not accessible to motor vehicle traffic.[11]
Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) is more commonly found in the northern part of the peninsula. Broadleafmaquis is found further south. Deciduous broadleaf forest dominated bysweet chestnut lies above the broadleaf maquis zone. There are also mixed forests consisting of deciduous oak trees, as well aslimes,aspen,hop hornbeam, andmaple.Black pine andstinking juniper can be found at higher elevations. Some herbaceous plants with tubers and bulbs includecrocus,anemone,cyclamen, andfritillary species.[14]
At least 35 plant species are endemic to Mount Athos, most of which are found in the area of the main summit in the south.[15]Isatis tinctoria ssp.athoa, awoad subspecies, andViola athois are named after Mount Athos.[14]
Homer mentions the mountain Athos in theIliad.[25]Herodotus writes that during the Persian invasion ofThrace in 492 BC, the fleet of the Persian commanderMardonius was wrecked with losses of 300 ships and 20,000 men, by a strong North wind while attempting to round the coast near Mount Athos.[26] Herodotus also states thatPelasgians from the island ofLemnos populated the peninsula, then calledAkte, and names five cities thereon,Sane,Kleonai (Cleonae),Thyssos (Thyssus),Olophyxos (Olophyxus), andAkrothoon (Acrothoum).[27]Strabo also mentions the cities of Dion (Dium) and Akrothoon.[28]Eretria also established colonies on Akte. At least one other city was established in the Classical period:Akanthos (Acanthus). Some of these cities minted their own coins.[citation needed]
The peninsula was on the invasion route ofXerxes I, who spent three years[29] excavating theXerxes Canal across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC. After the death ofAlexander the Great, the architectDinocrates (Deinokrates) proposed carving the entire mountain into a statue of Alexander.
Pliny the Elder stated in 77 AD that the inhabitants of Mount Athos could "live to their four hundredth year" due to the fact that they ate the skin of vipers.[30]
The lack of historical accounts shrouds the history of the peninsula during the later ages. Archaeologists have not been able to determine the exact location of the cities reported by Strabo. It is believed that they must have been deserted when Athos's new inhabitants, the monks, started arriving sometime before the ninth century AD.[31]
The peninsula as seen from the summit of Mount Athos
According to the Athonite tradition, theBlessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied byJohn the Evangelist fromJoppa toCyprus to visitLazarus of Bethany. When the ship was blown off course to then-pagan Athos, it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the mountain's wonderful and wild natural beauty, she blessed it and asked her sonJesus for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying,"Ἔστω ὁ τόπος οὗτος κλῆρος σὸς καὶ περιβόλαιον σὸν καὶ παράδεισος, ἔτι δὲ καὶ λιμὴν σωτήριος τῶν θελόντων σωθῆναι" ("Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved"). From that moment, the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women.[b]
Historical documents on ancient Mount Athos history are very few. Monks have certainly been there since the fourth century, and possibly since the third. DuringConstantine I's reign (324–337) both Christians and followers of traditional Greek religion were living there.
Anastasis byDionysius of Fourna Timios Prodromos, Karyes, Mount Athos c. 1711
During the reign ofJulian (361–363), the churches of Mount Athos were destroyed, and Christians hid in the woods and inaccessible places.[32]
Later, duringTheodosius I's reign (379–395), the temples of the traditional Greek religion were destroyed. The lexicographerHesychius of Alexandria states that in the fifth century, there was still a temple and a statue of "Zeus Athonite". After theIslamic conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, many Orthodox monks from the Egyptian desert tried to find another calm place; some of them came to the Athos peninsula. An ancient document states that monks "built huts of wood with roofs of straw[...] and by collecting fruit from the wild trees were providing themselves improvised meals."[33]
^"Mount Athos".UNESCO World Heritage Convention. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved30 October 2022.
^Ganiatsas, K. (2003).I vlastesis kai i chloris tis chersonesou tou Agiou Orous.
^Cosgrove, Denis E.; Della Dora, Veronica (2009).High places: cultural geographies of mountains, ice and science. London: I.B. Tauris & Co.ISBN978-1-4416-2965-4.OCLC503441715.
^S. Dafis, ‘Anthrōpines drastēriotētes kai fysiko perivallon’, in S. Dafis et al. (eds.),Fysekai Perivallon sto Agion Oros, Thessalonica, 1998.
^G. Sideropoulos,Agion Oros: anafores stēn anthropogeōgrafia, Athens, 2000, p. 28.
^O. Rackham, ‘Our Lady’s Garden: the historical ecology of the Holy Mountain’,Friends of Mount Athos, Annual Report (2000), p. 50.
^D. Babalonas, ‘Chlōrida kai endemismos tou Agiou Orous’, in M. Parcharidou and M. Fountoulēs (eds.),Agion Oros: fysē, latreia, technē, Vol. I, Thessalonica, 1999, p. 119.
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