Cassandreia
Encyclopedia
Cassandrea, Cassandreia, or Cassandria was once one of the most important cities in Ancient Macedonia
founded by and named after Cassander
in 316 BC located on the site of the earlier Ancient Greek
city of Potidaea
. The fact that Cassander named it after himself suggests that he may have intended it to be his capital, and if the canal which cuts the peninsula at this point was dug or at least planned in his time, he may have intended to develop his naval forces using it as a base with two harbours on the east and west sides. The territory also at one time comprised the areas of Olynthus
and Mekyberna to the northeast, Bottiaea
to the northwest and the small peninsula of Pallene (now Kassandra) to the east. At the end of the Roman Republic
, a Roman colony was settled around 43 BC by the order of Brutus
, by the proconsul Q. Hortensius Hortatus. The official colonial name was Colonia Iulia Augusta Cassandrensis. The colony enjoyed ius Italicum
. It is mentioned in Pliny the Elder
's encyclopaedia (IV, 36) and in inscriptions.
During the Byzantine period it was briefly important in the 1423–30 period, when the Venetians captured it from the Turks and used it as a naval base. They also captured the castle of Platamon on the western shore of the Thermaic Gulf, and so had complete control of the approaches by sea to Thessalonica, which they had taken over after it had been offered to them by the ruling Despot. Like Thessalonica, it fell to the Ottomans in 1430.
The modern settlement of Kassandra lies to the south of the ancient site. The ancient site of Cassandreia (renamed Nea Potidaia) is not excavated. The peninsula of Pallene, now generally known as Kassandra, stretches to the south. This was the westernmost of the three peninsulas of Chalkidike, the middle one being the Sithone/Torone peninsula and the easternmost Mount Athos.
Its southernmost point is near Paliouri
which is also the prefecture's southernmost point; the promontories include the Kassandreia to the west and the Kanistro to the east. Except for Kanastraio, none of these capes marks the extremities of the peninsula except for the eastern part.
The canal on the northern side of Nea Potidaia to the north divides the peninsula from the rest of Chalkidiki.
The peninsula of Kassandra features picturesque villages, beautiful green nature filled with grasslands and forests, beaches and tourist attractions.
in 1821. Because it managed to stop the Turkish army from fighting the south Greece
rebels it was burnt from edge to edge. The refugees moved with fishing boats to the islands of Skiathos
, Skopelos
, Alonissos
and Evoia. Nobody lived in the peninsula for more than 30 years. Then the population started to gather again. In 1912 it became a part of Greece
.
The peninsula was lined with paved road in the mid-20th century. Tourism also arrived beginning after the war period of World War II
and the Greek Civil War
. More paved roads were added in the 1970s and the 1980s and tourism popped out. Agriculture shifted to tourism and other businesses as its primary industry in the 1980s.
On August 22, 2006, the peninsula was struck by a major forest fire (see also Forest fires in Greece, 2006) that affected the central and the southern parts of the peninsula, the day of the heatwave when temperatures soared nearly 40 °C. Several houses were destroyed including villas, hotels and one campground disappeared as the natural beauty was to be erased. It burnt about 1,000 to 20 square kilometres of forests including some farmlands. Aerial pictures were reported near Sani Beach inland to a point where pastures and mountain roads are located and saw smoke throughout the peninsula. It can be seen across the gulf. The cause of this tremendous fire was dry lightning occurred throughout the evening. Power were cut to all affected villages. The forest fire lasted nearly five days and devastated the economy and the peninsula. All roads in the southern part were closed. Villages that were affected were Chanioti
, Nea Skioni
, Polychrono
, Pefkochori
, Kriopigi, Kassandrino and near the coastline.
, Serbia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
founded by and named after Cassander
Cassander
Cassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty...
in 316 BC located on the site of the earlier Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city of Potidaea
Potidaea
Potidaea was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of Chalcidice in northern Greece....
. The fact that Cassander named it after himself suggests that he may have intended it to be his capital, and if the canal which cuts the peninsula at this point was dug or at least planned in his time, he may have intended to develop his naval forces using it as a base with two harbours on the east and west sides. The territory also at one time comprised the areas of Olynthus
Olynthus
Olynthus was an ancient city of Chalcidice, built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, about 2.5 kilometers from the sea, and about 60 stadia Olynthus was an ancient city of...
and Mekyberna to the northeast, Bottiaea
Bottiaea
Bottiaea was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedonians into Bottike...
to the northwest and the small peninsula of Pallene (now Kassandra) to the east. At the end of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, a Roman colony was settled around 43 BC by the order of Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
, by the proconsul Q. Hortensius Hortatus. The official colonial name was Colonia Iulia Augusta Cassandrensis. The colony enjoyed ius Italicum
Ius Italicum
Ius Italicum was an honour conferred on particular cities of the Roman Empire by the emperors. It did not describe any status of citizenship, but granted to communities outside Italy the legal fiction that it was on Italian soil...
. It is mentioned in Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
's encyclopaedia (IV, 36) and in inscriptions.
During the Byzantine period it was briefly important in the 1423–30 period, when the Venetians captured it from the Turks and used it as a naval base. They also captured the castle of Platamon on the western shore of the Thermaic Gulf, and so had complete control of the approaches by sea to Thessalonica, which they had taken over after it had been offered to them by the ruling Despot. Like Thessalonica, it fell to the Ottomans in 1430.
The modern settlement of Kassandra lies to the south of the ancient site. The ancient site of Cassandreia (renamed Nea Potidaia) is not excavated. The peninsula of Pallene, now generally known as Kassandra, stretches to the south. This was the westernmost of the three peninsulas of Chalkidike, the middle one being the Sithone/Torone peninsula and the easternmost Mount Athos.
Its southernmost point is near Paliouri
Paliouri
Paliouri is a touristic village located in the southeast of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece.-Geography:...
which is also the prefecture's southernmost point; the promontories include the Kassandreia to the west and the Kanistro to the east. Except for Kanastraio, none of these capes marks the extremities of the peninsula except for the eastern part.
The canal on the northern side of Nea Potidaia to the north divides the peninsula from the rest of Chalkidiki.
The peninsula of Kassandra features picturesque villages, beautiful green nature filled with grasslands and forests, beaches and tourist attractions.
Settlements
- Agia Paraskevi (Chalkidiki), Greece
- Athytos
- ChaniotiChaniotiChaniotis , is a tourist town located in the east of the peninsula of Kassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 968, the elevation is 10 m. The population during the summer increases many times. Chanioti is located around 100 km SE of Thessaloniki. Forests dominate the...
or Hanioti - Fourka (Chalkidiki)
- KalandraKalandraKalandra is a small town on Kassandra, the westernmost peninsula of Chalkidiki. In ancient Greece it was the site of the town of Mende, one of the many colonies in Chalkidiki founded by Chalcis, the main city on the island of Euboia...
- Kallithea (Chalkidiki), Greece
- KassandreiaKassandreiaKassandreia It is the seat of the municipality of Kassandra, in the center of the peninsula. Relatively unknown because of its zero tourist attraction but full of life in winter. Known in Greece for being the smallest town with a football team playing for the Beta Ethniki and for the high debt...
- Kriopigi
- Mola Kalyva
- Nea Potidaia
- Nea Fokaia
- Nea SkioniNea SkioniNea Skioni is a tourist-oriented village located in the peninsulas of Cassandreia and Halkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 889 for the village and 910 for the municipal district, the elevation is 10 m. Nea Skioni is located around 110 km SE of Thessaloniki...
- PaliouriPaliouriPaliouri is a touristic village located in the southeast of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece.-Geography:...
- PefkochoriPefkochoriPefkochori is a touristic town located in the southeast of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. Pefkochori is named after the pine trees which are abundant in the mountains of the area. The population in 2001 was 1,668 for the town and 1,655 for the municipal district, the...
- PolychronoPolychronoPolychrono is a tourist town located in the east of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 1,063, the elevation is 10 m. Polychrono is located around 100 km SE of Thessaloniki...
or Polihrono - SaniSaniSani may refer to:*Sani Resort, a resort in the peninsula of Halkidiki, Greece*Sani, Greece, a beach community south of Thessalonike*Sani, Mauritania*Sani Pass, pass in the Drakensberg linking Lesotho to South Africa*Shani, in Hindu astrology, Saturn...
- Siviri
- Paralia Fourkas
- Kassandrino
History
Kassandra was one of the places that rebelled against the OttomansOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1821. Because it managed to stop the Turkish army from fighting the south Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
rebels it was burnt from edge to edge. The refugees moved with fishing boats to the islands of Skiathos
Skiathos
Skiathos is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland, and west of the island of Skopelos.-Geography:...
, Skopelos
Skopelos
Skopelos , ancient Peparethos or Peparethus , is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group. The island is located east of mainland Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea and is part of the Thessaly Periphery....
, Alonissos
Alonissos
Alonnisos , also transliterated as Alonissos or Alonisos, is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. After Skiathos and Skopelos it is the third member of the Northern Sporades. It is 3 km E of the island of Skopelos...
and Evoia. Nobody lived in the peninsula for more than 30 years. Then the population started to gather again. In 1912 it became a part of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
The peninsula was lined with paved road in the mid-20th century. Tourism also arrived beginning after the war period of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
. More paved roads were added in the 1970s and the 1980s and tourism popped out. Agriculture shifted to tourism and other businesses as its primary industry in the 1980s.
On August 22, 2006, the peninsula was struck by a major forest fire (see also Forest fires in Greece, 2006) that affected the central and the southern parts of the peninsula, the day of the heatwave when temperatures soared nearly 40 °C. Several houses were destroyed including villas, hotels and one campground disappeared as the natural beauty was to be erased. It burnt about 1,000 to 20 square kilometres of forests including some farmlands. Aerial pictures were reported near Sani Beach inland to a point where pastures and mountain roads are located and saw smoke throughout the peninsula. It can be seen across the gulf. The cause of this tremendous fire was dry lightning occurred throughout the evening. Power were cut to all affected villages. The forest fire lasted nearly five days and devastated the economy and the peninsula. All roads in the southern part were closed. Villages that were affected were Chanioti
Chanioti
Chaniotis , is a tourist town located in the east of the peninsula of Kassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 968, the elevation is 10 m. The population during the summer increases many times. Chanioti is located around 100 km SE of Thessaloniki. Forests dominate the...
, Nea Skioni
Nea Skioni
Nea Skioni is a tourist-oriented village located in the peninsulas of Cassandreia and Halkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 889 for the village and 910 for the municipal district, the elevation is 10 m. Nea Skioni is located around 110 km SE of Thessaloniki...
, Polychrono
Polychrono
Polychrono is a tourist town located in the east of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. The population in 2001 was 1,063, the elevation is 10 m. Polychrono is located around 100 km SE of Thessaloniki...
, Pefkochori
Pefkochori
Pefkochori is a touristic town located in the southeast of the peninsula of Cassandreia and Chalkidiki in Greece. Pefkochori is named after the pine trees which are abundant in the mountains of the area. The population in 2001 was 1,668 for the town and 1,655 for the municipal district, the...
, Kriopigi, Kassandrino and near the coastline.
Notable people
- AristobulusAristobulus of CassandreiaFor other use, see AristobulusAristobulus of Cassandreia , Greek historian, son of Aristobulus, probably a Phocian settled inCassandreia, accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns...
(4th century BC) historian - PoseidippusPoseidippus of CassandreiaPosidippus of Cassandreia , Poseidippos, 316 BC – ca. 250 BC) son of Cyniscus, a Macedonian who lived in Athens, was a celebrated comic poet of the New Comedy. He produced his first play in the third year after Menander had died, . Cooks held an important position in his list of characters...
(3rd century BC) comic poet
Twin cities
Cassandreia is twinned with the following cities: NišNiš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
External links
- Greek Coinage of Cassandreia, by Moushmov number
- Pictures of Hanioti
- Forest fire rampaged Chalkidiki on August 22, 2006 from the Athens News AgencyAthens News AgencyThe Athens News Agency was one of the two major news agencies in Greece, the other being the Macedonian Press Agency, before they merged together into the Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency .-History:...