A touch of history

In order to appreciate and fully comprehend the mystique aura of the third peninsula, one should know a few things about the history of this magical place called Halkidiki.

Greek mythology refers often to Halkidiki. The Ancients knew the region as Flegra - the Place of Fire - because it was believed to be the place where an epic battle ground for the fire took place between the Olympian Gods and the Giants, the sons of Gaia (Earth). The Athos peninsula was named after the giant Athos who, during a fierce battle, threw a mountain at the gods, but failed to find his target.

Halkidiki takes its name from "Halkis", a then powerful city state on the island of Euboea (present day Evvia), that colonized it in the 8th and 7th century B.C.

The first monastic communities were established on Mount Athos in the 9th century.

From the 13th century until the beginning of 1900’s, it was under possession of Venetian or Byzantine or Turk rule. In 1912, Macedonia was finally united with the rest of Greece.