Polygyros ( Greek: Πολύγυρος) is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is the capital of Chalkidiki.

Geography

Polygyros town (pop. 6,121 at the 2011 census) is built in the shape of an amphitheatre on a plateau on the south west side of the mountain

Cholomontas Cholomon or Cholomondas ( el, Χολομών, Χολομώντας, sometimes transliterated as ''Holomontas'') is a mountain in Central Macedonia, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in South ...

. It is south of

Greek National Road 16 Greek National Road 16 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 16, abbreviated as EO16) is a single carriageway road (throughout most of its length) in northern Greece. It connects Thessaloniki with Ierissos in Chalkidiki. At its beginning in Thessaloniki, ...

(Thessaloniki - Arnaia). Polygyros is located SE of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, NE of Nea Moudania, NW of

Sithonia Sithonia ( el, Σιθωνία), also known as Longos, is a peninsula of Chalkidiki, which itself is located on a larger peninsula within Greece. The Kassandra Peninsula lies to the west of Sithonia and the Mount Athos peninsula to the east. Sithon ...

and SW of Arnaia. The municipal unit (the municipality before 2011) has a population of 10,721 inhabitants and a land area of 470.933 km². Other large villages in the municipal unit are Kalýves Polygýrou (1,333), Ólynthos (1,111), Taxiárchis (903), and Vrástama (700).

Climate

Polygyros has a temperate climate with relatively cold winters and pleasant summers due to its elevation.

Name

There are different speculations about the origin of Polygyros' name. Some claim that it comes from the combination of ''poly'' (much) and ''geros'' (strong), because of the healthy climate. Others believe that the words ''poly'' and (sacred) have given the present name, because of an ancient temple in the area. Also an old landowner, named ''Polyaros'', offers a possible etymology. According to another possible etymology, the name derives from ''poly'' and ''gyros'' (round), possible due to the town's amphitheatric position.

Municipality

The municipality Polygyros was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *

Anthemountas Anthemountas ( el, Ανθεμούντας) is a former municipality in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality of Polygyros Polygyros ( Greek: Πολύγυρος) is a town and municipality ...

Ormylia Ormylia ( el, Ορμύλια) is a town and a former municipality in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Polygyros Polygyros ( Greek: Πολύγυρος) is a town and municipality in Central ...

*Polygyros *

Zervochoria Zervochoria ( el, Ζερβοχώρια) is a former municipality in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Polygyros Polygyros ( Greek: Πολύγυρος) is a town and municipality in Central ...

The municipality has an area of 947.417 km², the municipal unit 470.933 km².

History

Belfry of Saint Nicholas Church in Polygyros

Antiquity

Some situate in the broader area of modern Polygyros the ancient city of Apollonia. Apollonia was one of the 32 cities, which, under the leadership of the Olynthus, constituted the ''Koinon ton Chalkideon'' (

Chalkidian League The Chalcidian League ( el, Κοινόν τῶν Χαλκιδέων, ''Koinon tōn Chalkideōn'', "League of the Chalcidians"), also referred to as the Olynthians or the Chalcidians in Thrace (, ''Chalkideis epi Thrakēs'') to distinguish them fr ...

). The ''Koinon'' was destroyed in 379 BCE by the

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

ns, while in 348 BCE Philipp II of Macedon annexed the whole Chalcidice into the

Macedonian Kingdom Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

. In 168 BCE Chalcidice was subjected by the Romans.
D. C. Samsaris, Romans and Chalcidice (in Greek), Μακεδονικά 25 (1985-86) 33-46 = Πρώτο Πανελλήνιο Συμπόσιο "Ιστορία και Αρχαιολογία της Χαλκιδικής", Πολύγυρος, 7-9 Δεκεμβρίου 1984, σ. 113

Byzantine and Ottoman Era

The town of Polygyros is first mentioned in a medieval imperial document, ''chryssovoulon'' (with golden stamp), of Eastern Roman Emperor

Nikephoros III Botaneiates Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates ( el, Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general du ...

about 1080 CE. In 1430, as the rest of the Eastern Roman Empire, Polygyros was conquered by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

and belonged to the

Sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι� ...

. On 17 May 1821 the people of Polygyros rose against the Ottoman authority and managed, temporarily, to expel the Ottoman guard. Polygyros, such as other villages of the peninsula, were burned by the Ottomans. Many residents of Polygyros also took part in the 1854's unsuccessful revolutionary movement against the

Modern Era

Finally, on November 2, 1912 the

Greek army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

, as one of the victors of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

, entered Polygyros and incorporated the town in the Greek State.

Culture

Polygyros is famous for its

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

celebrations, which attracts visitors from all over

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 ...

. A nearby location called Panagia (Virgin Mary) is the setting of a famous religious celebration on August 15. Also, cultural societies are active in the fields of folk music and dance. Classic and modern music is cultivated in the municipal conservatory. There is a Folklore Museum in the town, opened in 1998.

Sports

''Niki'' (victory) is the name of Polygyros' football club, which participates in the Greek National Fourth Division Professional League. ''AOP'' (Athletic Club of Polygyros) is the local

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team, participant in the Third National Basketball Division.

Landmarks

The Archaeological Museum of Polygyros has exhibits containing findings from all over Halkidiki and referring to

paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

age,

geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

archaic Archaic is a period of time preceding a designated classical period, or something from an older period of time that is also not found or used currently: *List of archaeological periods **Archaic Sumerian language, spoken between 31st - 26th cent ...

, classic,

hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

period. *

Archaeological Museum of Polygyros The Archaeological Museum of Polygyros is a museum in Polygyros, Chalkidiki, in Greece. The museum is located in Iroou Square in the town centre and displays representative archaeological finds from all over Chalkidiki. More specifically, they cove ...

Historical population

People

Margaritis Schinas Margaritis Schinas (Greek: Μαργαρίτης Σχοινάς; ; born 28 July 1962) is a Greek politician and former civil servant. He took office in December 2019 as a vice-president in the Von der Leyen Commission with the portfolio of Europea ...

, politician * Christos Zabounis, editor

References

External links

Official website

Official website of the Prefecture of Chalkidiki
{{Authority control Municipalities of Central Macedonia Greek prefectural capitals Populated places in Chalkidiki