Neochori (
Greek: Νεοχώρι) is a village and a community situated on the peninsula of
Pelion,
Magnesia, eastern
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
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 was the seat of the former municipality
Afetes. The village is hidden in the embrace of a vast pine forest 480 meters above sea level, and about 35 km southeast of the city of
Volos. The community Neochori consists of the villages Neochori, Agios Dimitrios, Afyssos, Zervochia, Megali Vrysi and Plaka. The community stretches from the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
coast of the
Pelion peninsula to the
Pagasetic Gulf
The Pagasetic Gulf ( el, Παγασητικός κόλπος, Pagasitikós kólpos) is a rounded gulf (max. depth 102 metres) in the Magnesia regional unit (east central Greece) that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with ...
. Agios Dimitrios and Plaka are on the Aegean coast, and the tourist centre Afyssos is on the Pagasetic coast.
A village square is situated in the centre of Neochori, adorned by the centuries-old
plane trees and a roofed fountain dating from 1807. There are two tavernas and also a small kafenion. The Agios Dimitrios church below the square was constructed in 1768 and is truly remarkable. Externally, the church looks pretty simple, but the inside impresses with its wooden carved
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
screen and the
wall paintings by the
Epirote
Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των ...
painter
Pagonis Pagonis is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include:
;surname
*Anastasia Pagonis (born 2004), American Paralympic swimmer
* Kostas Pagonis (born 1985), Greek footballer
*Nenad Pagonis (born 1987), Serbian kickboxer
*Pidgeon P ...
.
Neochori is famous for the slate of its quarries. Furthermore
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
,
apples and
olives are typical products of Neochori and its vicinity.
Population
History
Neochori is, like the name says, a "new" village, (neo chori = new place). In former times, the region was settled completely from the
Aegean side up to the
Pagasitikos Gulf. Neohori however was built in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
by inhabitants of the surrounding settlements as well as by settlers from the
Aegean side and from the north of Greece.
The history of the region around Neochori is very long. It started in the
ancient world; we know about the myths of
Afetai
Aphetae or Aphetai ( grc, Ἀφεταί or Ἀφέται) was a port of Magnesia in Ancient Thessaly, said to have derived its name from the departure of the Argonauts from it. The Persian fleet occupied the bay of Aphetae, previous to the Battle ...
, the myths of the kingdom of Lai and reports talking about
Minoan
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
settlements, as well as settlers at Agios Dimitrios and Cape Klossou, which is named in many old maps as "Knossou". The historians
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
wrote reports about
Afetai
Aphetae or Aphetai ( grc, Ἀφεταί or Ἀφέται) was a port of Magnesia in Ancient Thessaly, said to have derived its name from the departure of the Argonauts from it. The Persian fleet occupied the bay of Aphetae, previous to the Battle ...
.
External links
Neohori - information and picturesNeochori on GTP Travel Pages
See also
*
List of settlements in the Magnesia regional unit
References
{{South Pelion div
Populated places in Pelion