Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of

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 ...

, in the

geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

region constitutes the easternmost part of the peninsula, but not of the regional unit. The capital of Chalkidiki is the town of Polygyros, located in the centre of the peninsula, while the largest town is Nea Moudania. Chalkidiki is a popular summer tourist destination.

Name

''Chalkidiki'' also spelled ''Halkidiki'' () or ''Chalcidice'' () is named after the ancient Greek city-state of

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

in Euboea, which colonised the area in the 8th century BC.

Geography

Chalkidiki consists of a large peninsula in the northwestern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, resembling a hand with three 'fingers' (though in Greek these peninsulas are often referred to as 'legs'). From west to east, these are Kassandra (highest peak 345 m), Sithonia (highest peak Mt Itamos 817 m), and

, a special polity within Greece known for its monasteries and its highest peak reaching 2,033 metres above sea level. These 'fingers' are separated by two gulfs, the

Toronean Gulf The Toronean Gulf or Toroneos Gulf () and Toronaic Gulf (), also known as the Kassandra Gulf (), is a gulf of the Thracian Sea, part of the northern Aegean Sea, in Chalkidiki, Greece. It lies between the Kassandra, Chalkidiki, Kassandra peninsul ...

and the Singitic Gulf. Chalkidiki borders on the regional unit of Thessaloniki to the north, and is bounded by the

Thermaic Gulf The Thermaic Gulf (, ), also called the Gulf of Thessaloniki and the Macedonian Gulf, is a Gulf (geography), gulf constituting the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. The city of Thessaloniki is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pie ...

on the west, and the Strymonian Gulf and Ierissos Gulf on the east (which are separated by the Brostomnitsa peninsula). The Cholomontas mountains lie in the north-central part of Chalkidiki, with the highest peak reaching 1,165 metres above sea level. Chalkidiki has a few rivers running from Mt Cholomontas south to the sea, these include the Havrias, Vatonias (Olynthios) and Psychros rivers. Chalkidiki also has a few islands including the inhabited Ammouliani and Diaporos both in the Singitic Gulf. Its largest towns are Nea Moudania (), Nea Kallikrateia () and the capital town of Polygyros (). There are several summer resorts on the beaches of all three fingers where other minor towns and villages are located, such as at Yerakini (Gerakina Beach) and Psakoudia in central Chalkidiki,

Kallithea Kallithea (Greek language, Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a suburb in Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration and a municipality in South Athens (regional unit), south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth larges ...

, Chanioti and Pefkochori in the Kassandra peninsula, Nikiti and Neos Marmaras ( Porto Carras) in the Sithonia peninsula, and Ouranoupolis at Mount Athos. A popular village in winter is Arnaia for its architecture and mountain scenery.

Climate

The climate of Chalkidiki is mainly

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: ''Csa'') with cool, wet winters and hot, relatively dry summers. Snowfalls are possible but not long-lasting during the winter months, while occasional thunderstorms may occur during the summer. Few areas such as Neos Marmaras have a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSh'').

History

The first Greek settlers in this area came from

and

Eretria Eretria (; , , , , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers ...

, ancient ionian cities in Euboea, around the 8th century BC who founded cities such as Mende, Toroni and

Scione Scione or Skione () 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 their ancestor ...

. A second wave came from

Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...

in the 6th century BC who founded cities such as Akanthos. The ancient city of

Stageira Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( or ) was an ancient Greek city located near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, which is now part of the Greek province of Central Macedonia. It is chiefly known for being the birthplace of ...

was the birthplace of the great philosopher

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. Chalkidiki was an important theatre of war during the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

between

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

. Later, the Greek colonies of the peninsula were conquered by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

and Chalkidiki became part of

Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The History of ...

. After the end of the

wars War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

between the Macedonians and the Romans, the region became part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, along with the rest of Greece. At the end of the Roman Republic (in 43 BC) a Roman colony was settled in Cassandreia, which was later (in 30 BC) resettled by Augustus. During the following centuries, Chalkidiki was part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

(East Roman Empire). On a

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

of Emperor

Basil I Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...

, dated 885, the ''Holy Mountain'' (

) was proclaimed a place of monks, and no laymen or farmers or cattle-breeders were allowed to be settled there. With the support of

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...

, the Great Lavra monastery was founded soon afterwards. Today, over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other Orthodox Christian countries, such as Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. Athos with its monasteries has been self-governing ever since. After a short period of domination by the Latin Kingdom of Thessalonica, the area became again Byzantine until its conquest by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in 1430. During the Ottoman period, the peninsula was important for its gold mining. In 1821, the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

started and the Greeks of Chalkidiki revolted under the command of Emmanouel Pappas, a member of

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

, and other local fighters. The revolt was progressing slowly and unsystematically. The insurrection was confined to the peninsulas of Mount Athos and Kassandra. One of the main goals was to restrain and detain the coming of the Ottoman army from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, until the revolution in the south (mainly

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

) became stable. Finally, the revolt resulted in a decisive Ottoman victory at Kassandra. The survivors, among them Papas, were rescued by the Psarian fleet, which took them mainly to Skiathos, Skopelos and

Skyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as ...

. The Ottomans proceeded in retaliation and many villages were burnt. Finally, the peninsula was incorporated into the

Greek Kingdom The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

in 1912 after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. Many Greek refugees from

East 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

Anatolia 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 ...

(modern Turkey) were settled in parts of Chalkidiki after the 1922 Greco-Turkish war, adding to the indigenous Greek population. In the 1980s, a tourism boom came to Chalkidiki and took over agriculture as the primary industry. In June 2003, at the holiday resort of Porto Carras located in Neos Marmaras, Sithonia, leaders of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

presented the first draft of the European Constitution (see History of the European Constitution for developments after this point).

Ancient sites

* Acanthus (near Ierissos) * Acrothoi *

Aege Aege or Aige () was a town of the Pallene peninsula in the Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia. It is mentioned by Herodotus as one of the cities of the peninsula of Pallene where at 480 BCE Xerxes recruited troops and ships in his Second Persi ...

* Alapta *

Aphytis Aphytis (), also Aphyte (Ἀφύτη) and Aphytus or Aphytos (Ἄφυτος), was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice. Around the middle of the 8th century BC colonists from Euboea arrived. The city became ...

( Afytos) * Apollonia (near Polygyros) * Cleonae (Chalcidice) * Galepsus * Mekyberna * Mende * Neapolis, Chalcidice * Olophyxus *

Olynthus Olynthus ( ''Olynthos'') is an ancient city in present-day Chalcidice, Greece. It was built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, Cha ...

* Palaiochori "Neposi" castle * Polichrono *

Potidaea __NOTOC__ Potidaea (; , ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, Chalcidice, Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at t ...

* Scolus * Sermylia ( Ormylia) *

* Spartolus *

Thyssus Thyssus or Thyssos () was a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedon, situated on the west or south side of the peninsula of ''Acte'' or ''Akte'' (Ακτή) peninsula (now Mount Athos), the easternmost of the three peninsulas forming the ancient Chal ...

Torone Toroni (, ''Toróne'', modern pronunciation ''Toróni'') is an ancient Greek city and a former municipality in the southwest edge of Sithonia peninsula in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipalit ...

* Treasury of the Acanthians * Xerxes Canal

Archaeology

In June 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of a poorly preserved single-edged

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

among the ruins of a monastery on the coast of Chalcidice. Alongside the curved sword, excavators revealed evidence of a fire, a large cache of 14th-century glazed pottery vessels, as well as other weapons, including axes and arrowheads.

Economy

Agriculture

The peninsula is notable for its

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and its green

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s production. Also various types of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

are produced.

Tourism

Chalkidiki has been a popular summer tourist destination since the late 1950s when people from

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 ...

started spending their summer holidays in the coastal villages. In the beginning tourists rented rooms in the houses of locals. By the 1960s, tourists from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

started to visit Chalkidiki more frequently. Since the start of the big tourist boom in the 1970s, the whole region has been captured by tourism. In the region there is a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, with plans for four others in the future.

Mining

Gold was mined in the region during antiquity by

and the next rulers. Since 2013, a revival of

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and other minerals has occurred, and a number of concessions have been granted to Eldorado Gold of Canada. Critics claim that mining adversely affects tourism and the environment.

Administration

The Chalkidiki regional unit is subdivided into five

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

(numbered as in the infobox map): *

Aristotelis Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

(2) * Kassandra (4) *

Nea Propontida Nea Propontida (, "New Propontis") is a municipality in the Chalkidiki regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsul ...

(3) * Polygyros (1) * Sithonia (5)

Prefecture

As a part of Greece's 2011 local government reform, the Chalkidiki regional unit (, ) was created out of the former Chalkidiki

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

(, ); the regional unit has the same territory as the former prefecture. As part of the reforms, Chalkidiki's five municipalities (, ) were created by combining former municipalities, which were in turn demoted to municipal units (, ), according to the table below.

Provinces

Before the abolishment of the

provinces of Greece The provinces of Greece (, "eparchy") were sub-divisions of some the country's prefectures of Greece, prefectures. From 1887, the provinces were abolished as actual administrative units, but were retained for some state services, especially ...

in 2006, the Chalkidiki prefecture was subdivided into the following provinces:

Population

The autonomous monastic state of

which is often considered to be geographically part of Chalkidiki recorded an additional 1,746 people in the 2021 census. The population is mostly Orthodox Christian monks.

Television

* TV Halkidiki – Nea Moudania * Super TV – Nea Moudania

Transport

*Motorways: ** A24 motorway connects

and "Macedonia" Airport with Nea Moudania and

in Kassandra. *Chalkidiki has no

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such ...

. *A bus system, KTEL, serves major towns. In September 2018 it was announced that Line 2 of the

Thessaloniki Metro Thessaloniki Metro (, ) is an underground Rapid transit, rapid-transit system in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. The system consists of a single line with List of Thessaloniki Metro stations, 13 stations; a further 5 stations are ...

could be extended in the future in order to serve commuters to and from some areas of Chalkidiki.

Notable inhabitants

* Paeonius of Mende (late 5th century BC), sculptor *Philippus of Mende,

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's student, astronomer *

Nicomachus Nicomachus of Gerasa (; ) was an Ancient Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from Gerasa, in the Roman province of Syria (now Jerash, Jordan). Like many Pythagoreans, Nicomachus wrote about the mystical properties of numbers, best known for his ...

's father *

Aristobulus of Cassandreia Aristobulus of Cassandreia (; 375 BC – 301 BC), Greek historian, son of Aristobulus, probably a Phocian settled in Cassandreia, accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. He served throughout as an architect and military engineer as ...

(375–301 BC), historian, architect *

(384 BC in

–322 BC), philosopher * Andronicus of Olynthus (), Phrourarchus of Tyre, appointed by Antigonus *

Callisthenes Callisthenes of Olynthus ( /kəˈlɪsθəˌniːz/; Greek: Καλλισθένης; 360 – 327 BCE) was a Greek historian in Macedon with connections to both Aristotle and Alexander the Great. He accompanied Alexander the Great during his Asiati ...

(360–328 BC), historian * Crates of Olynthus, Alexander's hydraulic engineer *Bubalus of Cassandreia (304 BC), ''keles'' (horse) competing in the flat race of the Lykaia * Poseidippus of Cassandreia (–240 BC), comic poet *Erginus (son of Simylus) from Cassandreia,

citharede A kitharode ( Latinized citharode) ( and ; ) or citharist, was a classical Greek professional performer (singer) of the cithara, as one who used the cithara to accompany their singing. Famous citharodes included Terpander, Sappho Sappho ...

winner in Soteria * Konstantinos Doumbiotis (1793-1848), revolutionary of the

* Stamatios Kapsas, revolutionary of the

* Xenophon Paionidis (1863–1933), architect * Manolis Mitsias, singer * Sokratis Malamas (1957 in Sykia), singer * Paola Foka (1982 Sykia), singer

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Peninsulas of Greece Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Central Macedonia Geography of ancient Macedonia Wine regions of Greece