Lake Vistonida ( el, Λίμνη Βιστωνίδα, older form: Βιστωνίς) is a lake in
Porto Lagos,
Xanthi regional unit,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. It encompasses a unique ecosystem and the local climate can be described as mid-
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. It hosts a variety of fauna, which comprise several types of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds as well as flora.
History
In antiquity, the lake was called "Bistonis (Βιστονίς λίμνη), a great Thracian lake in the country of the Bistones, from whom it derived its name. The water of the lake was brackish and abounded in fish. The fourth part of its produce is said to have been granted by the emperor
Arcadius
Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
to the convent of
Vatopedi
The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...
on
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
. The river Cossinites emptied itself into the lake Bistonis, which at one time overflowed the neighbouring country and swept away several Thracian towns."
See also
*
Bistonis
Bistonis is a nymph in Greek mythology who gave birth to a son of Ares, Tereus. Although she is mentioned in several surviving classical texts, she is the main subject of few or none. In at least one poem, written by Moschus in the 3rd century BC ...
, the
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
who lived in that lake with her people
*
Bistoni
Bistones ( el, "Βίστονες") is the name of a Thracian people who dwelt between Mount Rhodopé and the Aegean Sea, beside Lake Bistonis, near Abdera "extending westward as far as the river Nestus". It was through the land of the Bistones ...
, the Thracians who lived near the lake
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Vistonida
Vistonida ( el, Βιστωνίδα) is a former municipality in the Xanthi regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. It was named after Lake Vistonida. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Abdera, of whic ...
Landforms of Xanthi (regional unit)
Landforms of Rhodope (regional unit)
Landforms of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
Natura 2000 in Greece
{{EMacedoniaThrace-geo-stub