SITE DE L'ANTIQUE STAGIRE

This site (Αρχαιολογικός Χώρος Σταγείρων/Archaiologikos Choros Stagiron) enjoys a beautiful setting on the small peninsula of Liotopi, next to the seaside resort of Olympiada. It is home to the remains of Stagira, the birthplace of the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC). The city was founded around 665 BC by Greek settlers from the Cycladic island of Andros, and was later also populated by settlers from Chalcis in Evia. It was razed to the ground by Philip II of Macedon, along with Olynth, in 348 BC, but rebuilt shortly afterwards by his son Alexander the Great, whose tutor was none other than Aristotle. Stagira was abandoned in the ^1st century AD, and around the year 1000, the Byzantines erected the Livasdias fortress here. The visit is pleasant, with paths through the garrigue and splendid views over the uninhabited islet of Kafkanas, the Athos peninsula, the Strymonic Gulf, the Thracian Sea and, in the distance, the island of Thassos. Along the way, you'll be able to see the walls, marble pavements and round tower of the Byzantine fortress, as well as the foundations of ancient monuments: a stoa (gallery) of the agora, dwellings and the complex of Aristotle's tomb where the Stagirites organized the Arsistotelia, an annual festival in honor of the greatest Greek philosopher of antiquity. Artefacts discovered on site since the 1960s are preserved in the Polygyros Archaeological Museum.