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Mount Athos is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed as an autonomous region in Greece by the monastic community of Mount Athos, which is ecclesiastically under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The remainder of the peninsula forms part of the Aristotelis municipality. By Greek law and by religious tradition, women are prohibited from entering the area governed by the monastic community.
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 the Byzantine Empire. 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, the monastic community of Mount Athos was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988.
Some languages of Orthodox tradition use names that translate to 'Holy Mountain', including Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian language (Света Гора, ), and Georgian (მთაწმინდა, ). However, not all languages spoken in the Eastern Orthodox world use this name: in the East Slavic languages (Russian language, Ukrainian, and Belarusian) it is simply called Афон (, meaning 'Athos'), while in Romanian it is called 'Mount Athos' (Muntele Athos or Muntele Atos).
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 of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius.Herodotus, Histories, book VI ("Erato"); Aeschylus, The Persians. In 411 BC the lost a fleet of 50 ships under the admiral Epicleas.Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica XIII 41, 1–3.
Mount Athos has an extensive network of footpaths, many of which date back to the Byzantine period. Many are typically not accessible to motor vehicle traffic.
Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis) is more commonly found in the northern part of the peninsula. Broadleaf maquis shrubland is found further south. Deciduous broadleaf forest dominated by sweet chestnut lies above the broadleaf maquis zone. There are also mixed forests consisting of deciduous oak trees, as well as Tilia, aspen, hop hornbeam, and maple. Pinus nigra and stinking juniper can be found at higher elevations. Some herbaceous plants with tubers and bulbs include crocus, anemone, cyclamen, and Fritillaria species.
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.Ganiatsas, K. (2003). I vlastesis kai i chloris tis chersonesou tou Agiou Orous. Isatis tinctoria ssp. athoa, a woad subspecies, and Viola athois are named after Mount Athos.
Mount Athos is also home to 350 species of mushrooms. (2025). 9781441629654, I.B. Tauris & Co. ISBN 9781441629654S. 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.
Birds include the black stork ( Ciconia nigra), short-toed snake-eagle ( Circaetus gallicus), golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos), lesser kestrel ( Falco naumanni), capercaillie ( Tetrao urogallus), eagle owl ( Bubo bubo), yelkouan shearwater ( Puffinus yelkouan), and Audouin's gull ( Larus audouinii).Grimmett, R. & Jones, T. (eds) (1989). Important Bird Areas in Europe. Technical Publication #9, ICBP, Cambridge, U.K.Heath, M. & Evans, M. (eds) (2000). Important Bird Areas in Europe: Priority Sites for Conservation Vol.2. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Other bird species include swifts, swallows, martins, , and .
Homer mentions the mountain Athos in the Iliad.Homer, Iliad 14,229. Herodotus writes that during the Persian invasion of Thrace in 492 BC, the fleet of the Persian commander Mardonius 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.Herodotus, Histories 6,44. Herodotus also states that Pelasgians from the island of Lemnos populated the peninsula, then called Akte, and names five cities thereon, Sane, Kleonai (Cleonae), Thyssos (Thyssus), Olophyxos (Olophyxus), and Akrothoon (Acrothoum).Herodotus, Histories 7,22. Strabo also mentions the cities of Dion (Dium) and Akrothoon.Strabo, Geography 7,33,1. 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.
The peninsula was on the invasion route of Xerxes I, who spent three yearsWarry, J. (1998), Warfare in the Classical World, Salamander Book Ltd., London, p. 35 excavating the Xerxes Canal across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great, the architect Dinocrates (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.Pliny the Elder. [2] , Retrieved on 30 October 2021.
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.
Historical documents on ancient Mount Athos history are very few. Monks have certainly been there since the fourth century, and possibly since the third. During Constantine I's reign (324–337) both Christians and followers of traditional Greek religion were living there. During the reign of Julian (361–363), the churches of Mount Athos were destroyed, and Christians hid in the woods and inaccessible places.
Later, during Theodosius I's reign (379–395), the temples of the traditional Greek religion were destroyed. The lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria states that in the fifth century, there was still a temple and a statue of "Zeus Athonite". After the Islamic 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."Biography of Saint Athanasius the Athonite
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