Platamon and Castle Platamon lies in an area of long-standing strategic importance, controlling the coastal passage between Macedonia and Thessaly at the foot of Mount Olympus. From antiquity, this corridor linked southern and northern Greece by land and sea, making the wider area significant for movement, trade, and defence. Although the modern settlement developed much…
View of Stomio waterfront In antiquity, the wider area was connected with the territory of the ancient city of Eurymenae, known from historical sources and strategically placed to control the passages between the Thessalian hinterland and the sea. Proximity to the mouth of the Pineios offered a natural anchorage, access to fertile land, and control…
The 14 km long beach of Agiokambos Prehistory and Early Settlements Although modern Agiokambos is a 20th-century creation, the eastern Thessalian coastline has been inhabited since very early times. On the slopes of Mavrovouni and around the former Lake Karla, important prehistoric sites have been identified, such as the Neolithic settlement of Palioskala, organised with…
Chorefto beach and fishing harbour Zagora, built amphitheatrically on the eastern slopes of Mount Pelion, shows continuous human presence even though the first clear references under its present name appear in the 13th century. Archaeological finds point to habitation since antiquity, while in the medieval period the area was organized around monastic nuclei, most notably…
View of the harbour in Damouchari The history of Mouresi and its small harbor Damouchari forms one of the most characteristic mountain–sea pairings in East Pelion. For centuries the village on the high, forested slopes supplied the maritime cove below, while the cove sustained the village by linking it to wider trade networks. Their stories…
View of the town of Skyros, from NE Prehistoric Era and Early Communities Skyros shows continuous habitation from the Neolithic period (5th–3rd millennium BC), as evidenced by finds around Magazia and nearby uplands. Its position between Euboea, the Cyclades and Asia Minor placed it early within Aegean exchange networks. The presence of obsidian from Milos…
Vasiliko bay, Peristera Peristera lies just east of Alonnisos, a long, narrow island whose quiet surface hides one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of the Aegean. Although today it is uninhabited save for seasonal shepherds and Marine Park personnel, Peristera played an unexpected but crucial role in the maritime history of Classical Greece. A…
Planitis bay, Kyra Panagia Kyra Panagia Kyra Panagia occupies a unique position in the history of the Northern Sporades: it is almost certainly the island referred to as “Alonisos” in antiquity, a name transferred only in modern times to today’s main island. This identity shift explains why ancient references to Alonisos often seem inconsistent unless…
Returning to port Prehistoric Beginnings Alonnisos enters the historical landscape surprisingly early. Although the most famous Mesolithic sites lie on neighbouring islets, the main island shows signs of prehistoric activity from the Neolithic onward. Small-scale surveys across the south and southeast coastlines—particularly above Megalos Mourtias, Vrysitsa and near Kokkinokastro—have yielded stone tools and pottery fragments…
View of Skopelos town, from NE The western coastline of Skopelos—stretching from Loutraki in the north to the broad, serene bay of Panormos and the sheltered inlet of Agnontas—forms a distinct historical landscape shaped by maritime life. Unlike the main urban centres of the island, which were typically positioned on elevated ground for defensive reasons,…