By Nicolas Bard

Polygyros is a city of Macedonia, the seat of the Municipality of Polygyros and the capital of the Regional Unit of Halkidiki. It is about 70 kilometers from Thessaloniki and is built at the foot of Mount Cholomon. Today the city has 7,779 inhabitants, and although it is the capital of Halkidiki, it is the second largest city after the New Moudania, which has 16,832 inhabitants!

There are many and various interpretations about the origin of the name “Polygyros”. It may come from the combination of the words “very” and “sacred”, because of a sanctuary that once existed in the area. Another version replaces the “sanctuary” with the word “strong” because of the good climate there, or the word “old man”, because of the large percentage of older people in the area. Others say that the name comes from a landlord in the area of ​​Polyaros, while a fifth theory attributes the name to the slopes of the successive hills on which Polygyros is built.

Polygyros is located almost in the center of peninsula of Halkidiki. It is built at an altitude of 500-560 meters on the southeast side of a basin at the foot of Mount Holomon, which is the second tallest mountain of Halkidiki, after Athos, and is covered by deciduous forests. The basin flows through many small torrents, whose waters find opening and flowing into the sea from the west. The basin is surrounded by the hills sideways to the north-northeast, east of the sunny and the hill of Agios Christoforos, to the south of Kastria and to the west of Castri. South of the city extends the olive grove of Polygyros. Most residents in the area are involved in agriculture and livestock farming, and many are also involved in tourism.

On Kastri Hill, just outside Polygyros, an ancient fortified settlement has been found. From his position he supervised the area of ​​Batonia and Polygyros and controlled the road, which united Zervochoria with the Toroneos Gulf. Silver excavation, which took place at the 6th century BC, were found in the cemetery of the settlement, which are exhibited today at the Polygyros Archaeological Museum. Ancient facilities have also been identified in the Kastria hill, where the most important settlement was the small, strong fortified facility in Bizla. Two more archaeological sites have been identified in the southern foot of the Castle, a Toumpa that has been partially embedded today, and parts of the neoptolemus circular hero were found in Platanoudia, from which inscription in Latin characters were preserved.

In the wider area of Polygyros is also identified and Ancient Apolloniawhich was one of his 32 cities, founded in 432 BC, of ​​the Halkidians. The Halkidiki audience, with the capital of Olynthos, was submitted in 379 BC. to the Spartans. Three decades later, in 348 BC, Philip the Macedonian subjugated the area of ​​Halkidiki in the Macedonian kingdom. Apollonia’s location has been identified with the archaeological site of Palekiorta. The name of the site is due to the broad cut of rock, which was created, to fortify the Acropolis of the city.

Looking at Polygyros you will also see “the garden with the six fountains”. According to legend, single women have to drink water from all 6 taps to be wet. The six fountains, according to the inscription, were built in 1882. In the city you will also find the Archaeological Museum of Polygyros, which includes exhibits from the entire Halkidiki peninsula, from prehistoric times to the Hellenistic and Roman period. There are also the findings from the excavations in the area of ​​ancient Olynthos. Finally, you can take a visit to the Folklore Museum, housed in the Karagani house. There, among other things, you will see traditional costumes, agricultural tools and the representation of the urban house of the early 20th century.

Halkidiki may be widely known for its heavenly beaches and blue waters, but it also has one gorgeous and overgrown mountain inland, full of traditional settlements (Arnea, Aphytos, Nikiti, Parthenon and Paleokastro), great archaeological sites (Ancient Olynthos, Ancient Stagira and Ancient Toroni) and landscapes of unmatched natural beauty. You can find all this with your base in the city of Polygyros. The only sure thing is that by leaving there you will promise to come back!