Amphipolis – Alistratis Cave – Aggitis Cave (Maara)

Amphipolis

THE Amphipolis was an ancient city built in eastern Macedonia, on the banks of the river Strymonas, on the site of a city formerly called Nine Streets or very close to it. Amphipolis was founded by Athenians in 437 BC. aiming to control the mines of Thrace, but it fell into the hands of the Spartans during the first phase of the Peloponnesian war, in the period 431-421 BC.

The Peace of Nicaea in 422 BC provided for the return of Amphipolis to the Athenians, a promise that was not fulfilled. Amphipolis then fell under the influence of the Spartans. A last attempt to recover it by the Athenians in 358 BC. it failed and the following year it was captured by Philip, the father of Alexander the Great and became part of the Macedonian Kingdom. With the fall of the Macedonian Kingdom from the Romans, Amphipolis became part of the Roman Empire. The famous Egnatia road passed through the city. In the later Roman years, it had significant economic growth, which is evidenced by the impressive size and decoration of the city's churches of the 5th and 6th centuries AD.

After the invasions of the Slavs at the end of the 6th century AD. Amphipolis gradually fell into disrepair only to be completely abandoned in the 8th century when most of the inhabitants fled to the nearby seaside town of Iona, renamed Chrysopolis by the Byzantines. Today, the homonymous modern settlement is built in the area, located approximately 60 km southeast of Serres.

Alistratis Cave

The Alistratis cave it is one of the largest caves in Europe. Its rich decoration includes, in addition to huge stalactites and stalagmites in various colors and the rare eccentrics. The eccentrics the elictites they are rare formations that are created by "defying" the laws of gravity and following irregular paths. The main feature of this cave – which makes it unique in the Greek area – is the very wide variety of eccentrics. It is also characterized by the unique microscopic organisms (3 mm) found within it, such as Alistratia Beroni, a unique species of isopod. The accessible corridors are approximately 3 km long. The cave belongs to the network of caves of the Aggitis river canyon along with four other known caves. The Alistratis cave is 6 kilometers southwest of the town of Alistratis Serres, at the location "Petroto" and is accessible both from Drama and Kavala, as well as from Thessaloniki (via Serres or Asprovalta). It has been used and can be visited since 1998.

At a breathing distance from the technical entrance of the cave, there is the gorge of the river Agitis.

Agiti Cave (Maara)

The Aggitis springs cave is the largest river cave in the world (with a length of 21 kilometers) and is located in Prosotsani in the prefecture of Drama. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the Aggitis river flows on its floor. Its rich decoration includes huge stalactites. The cave can be visited in a length of 500 meters while in total it extends over a length of more than 21 kilometers. The exit of the river through the mountain is impressive. Among other things, the waters of the basin of Kato Nevrokopi end up in the underground river of the cave. The cave belongs to the network of caves of the Aggitis river gorge along with four other well-known caves, including the famous Alistratis Cave

The cave is also called Maara, a name whose etymology is either from Arabic and means small cave either from the Hebrew meaning water from the mountain. A very small part of the cave at the exit of the river was known from antiquity. Many archaeological findings have been found in the area as well as a mammoth tusk, which are kept in the archaeological museum of Drama. Unique fish species have also been found in the cave, such as briana and tulinaris at depths of 6,500 meters, as well as a unique species of translucent rock crayfish at a depth of 7,100 meters from the surface of the cave. Transparent fish have been reported in the cave.

The cave is located in the Prosotsani Municipality of Drama and is accessible from Drama, Kavala and Thessaloniki. It has been exploited and can be visited since 2001