Akanthos (Greece)

Akanthos was an ancient Greek city founded as a colony in the seventh century BCE on the Athos peninsula of Chalcidice, in what is now Central Macedonia, Greece, near the modern town of Ierissos. It grew prosperous through commerce, mining, timber exports and its position on a strategic harbour, and it played a role in classical history through dealings with Persian forces during Xerxes invasion of Greece and later membership in the Athenian Alliance. Excavations begun in 1973 have uncovered an extensive cemetery spanning from the Geometric period to the city abandonment in the sixth century CE.