Agios Athanasios () is a town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit,

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the

Chalkidona Chalkidona () is a municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania ...

Municipality, of which it is a municipal unit. In 2021 the population was 13,026. The municipal unit of Agios Athanasios has an area of 155.34 km², and the community of Agios Athanasios has an area of 35.527 km².

Geography

Agios Athanasios is a small town in

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

. It is situated 20 km west of

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

, on the old national road from Thessaloniki to Athens. According to the general population census 2011, the population of Agios Athanasios is 4,932 and the total population of the former Municipality of Agios Athanasios is 14,683. Agios Athanasios is the biggest Greek refugee town in the Thessaloniki regional unit. It is built on the old national road that linked, in the past, Thessaloniki to the

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia (, ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional units of Greece ...

and to the

Southern Greece Southern Greece () is a loosely defined geographical term, usually encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula and varying parts of Continental Greece (Attica is usually included), as well as the islands of the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and Crete. I ...

History

The modern town was founded by refugees from 25 villages of

Eastern Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

and 7 villages of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, the region of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

. The refugees moved in Agios Athanasios from October 1922 till 1924. The first refugees settled in the manoir (chiflik) Kavakli in October 1922. The first 25 families came from Kermeni in Eastern Thrace. Apart from the manoir Kavakli, there were also the manoirs Paliocopi, Tsalkato, Kouloupantza and Tsalikovo in the area. Around 1850, the tenant farmers built the small church of Saint George, which is the oldest building of the town. The first refugees were settled in the few poorly built houses, in the storing places and the stables of the chiflik Kavakli. Till the autumn of 1924 about 600 families, that is about 2,800 inhabitants, settled in. The first name of the town was Perintos, after the ancient town in the Eastern Thrace. In 1928 the town was given the name of Agios Athanasios. The people were farmers and stock breeders and they never forgot the customs of their homeland. Today, Agios Athanasios is a modern, nicely developed town with three nursery schools, two primary schools, a junior high school, a high school and a vocational high school.

Macedonian tombs

In 1994, two small ancient Macedonians tombs were discovered, dated to 4th century BC.

Gallery

File:Banquet, tombe d'Agios Athanasios.jpg, Banquet scene from a tomb File:Agios Athanasios 1 fresco.jpg, Fresco of Macedonian soldiers File:Agios-Athanasios.jpg, Fresco of Macedonian soldiers File:Ancient Macedonian soldiers, from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Greece.jpg, Paintings of

ancient Macedonia Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

, shields and

sarissa The sarissa or sarisa was a long spear or pike about in length. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in his Macedonian phalanxes as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. These longer spears imp ...

References

{{Landmarks of Thessaloniki Populated places in Thessaloniki (regional unit) Chalkidona bg:Каваклиево (дем) el:Δήμος Αγίου Αθανασίου