Aphytis ( grc, Ἄφυτις), also Aphyte (Ἀφύτη) and Aphytus or Aphytos (Ἄφυτος), was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region ...

. Around the middle of the 8th century BC colonists from

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poi ...

arrived. The city became well known for its Temple of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, which appears to have been built in the second half of the 8th century BC. At Aphytis,

Ammon Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...

was worshipped, at least from the time of the Spartan general

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...

, as zealously as in Ammonium, sanctuary in Libya. According to Pausanias, the patron of Aphytis, Ammon Zeus, appeared in a dream to Lysander and urged him to raise the siege, which he did. The Temple of Ammon Zeus, whose few remaining ruins date to the 4th century BC structure. During archaic and classical times Aphytis was a prosperous city, minting its own coins, which depicted the head of its patron, Ammon Zeus, the city's economy appears to have been mainly based on farming and vine-culture.

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

(Politics V,VI 1319 a14) mentions the "agricultural law" of the Aphytians, a special, singular and interesting chapter in the history of ancient Greek public finances. The city became a member of the

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 ...

; it previously paid tribute under the Thracian phoros of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pla ...

. During Hellenistic and Roman times the city minted coins again; an event possibly related to the fame of the Temple of Ammon Zeus. Strabo mentions Aphytis among the five cities, which existed in Pallene in the first century B.C. ( Cassandreia, Aphytis, Mende,

Scione Scione or Skione ( grc, Σκιώνη) was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice, on the southern coast east of the modern town of Nea Skioni. Scione was founded by settlers from Achaea; the Scionaeans claimed ...

and Sane). After the founding of the Roman colony of Cassandreia (43 BC), Aphytis was a vicus of this colony, dependent administratively on it.
D. C. Samsaris, The Roman Colony of Cassandreia in Macedonia ''(Colonia Iulia Augusta Cassandrensis)'', Dodona 16(1), 1987, p. 386 Afytos is a village in the modern Kassandra peninsula.

References

*Gerakina N. Mylona 'Aphytos tourist pamphlet' (1994).

External links

Ancient Coinage of Aphytis ΑΦΥΤΑΙΩΝ
Populated places in ancient Macedonia Geography of ancient Chalcidice Greek colonies in Chalcidice Euboean colonies Members of the Delian League Former populated places in Greece {{AncientMacedonia-geo-stub