Afytos

Afytos, also spelt Athytos or Afitos, is a city on the Kassandra peninsula in Greece.

Understand
Athytos (ancient: Aphytis) is known for its traditional architectural beauty and stunning sandy beaches. It is a picturesque and lively community that has kept all the characteristics of a rural seafront village and also offers excellent dining and entertainment options. Athytos is certainly one of the most beautiful villages in Kassandra peninsula. The village's beautiful stone houses with the distinctive architecture and the inscriptions and reliefs, are very interesting. Athytos is known for its rich cultural tradition. During the summer, you can attend numerous events such as music and dance performances, visual arts events, painting exhibitions and folkloric events.

History
Since about 3000 BCE people came and settled in the area where Afytos is now. The place was a natural fortress, which was a very important factor at the time. The crag would protect the city against any attacks from the sea. Also, the little lake that existed till 1963, and which was very close to the sea, would serve as a small bay, a natural harbor for the mooring of ships.

During the archaic and classical times, Afytos was a very prosperous city which minted its own currency bearing the head of its patron god, Ammon Zeus. This prosperity was mainly due to agriculture and viniculture.

Shipping must have played a great role in the financial situation of Afytos, taking into consideration the size of its harbor, which is to be found today in the seaside park with the pine trees.

In 1307–1309, the village was destroyed by Catalan invaders and the inhabitants settled, for a period of time, in their scattered farm houses. Afytos had been destroyed numerous times by the invaders of the times. The last catastrophe recorded was the one in 1821 during the Greek revolution against the Turkish oppression.

In 1995, the inhabitants of Aphytos, resisting the wide use of concrete in modern villages, and supporting the initiatives of the then president of the village, Vasili Pavli, pushed forward the idea of a traditional village by re-erecting the old stone houses, paving the streets, creating pavements, etc. So the old local porous stone quarries reopened and today every contemporary edifice is built with the local stone.

Get in
It is about a 1 hour drive without traffic from Thessaloniki on the A24. Afytos is also served by the KTEL bus from Thessaloniki on KTEL taking between 65-85 minutes with multiple daily departures. The fare is €8.70 as of October 2022.

Get around
The village is high above the beach and the path steep - you need a vehicle if you are not good on foot

See
Visit the Rock - the "Village Balcony" - and Koutsomylos - the "Village Acropolis" - to admire the fascinating view of the bay of Toroni, Sithonia and Kassandra.