The town of Olympiada, named after King Alexander's mother, is mostly famous due to the historically significant ancient site of Stagira. Located on the north-eastern side of Halkidiki, it lies only 95 kilometers from Thessaloniki. Believed to be the birthplace of the philosopher Aristotle as well, the ancient site of Stagira is embedded deep in history.
Excavations at this site started in 1990, and a lot of artifacts were retrieved from here and are kept in a special exhibition area in Olympiada. In 655 BC, Ionians from Andros founded this town. The brought to light many Paleolithic tools, bones and fossilized animals that have been extinct thousands of years ago. Findings are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Polygiros.
At the beautiful village of Stagira, the birthplace of Aristotle is a beautiful park dedicated to the life and the works of this great ancient philosopher. The Aristotle Park is a superb example of a theme park, located amidst the lush forest, on the southern slopes of Stratonikos Mountain and overlooking the gulf of Ierissos.
At the centre of the park stands the statue of the philosopher. The park hosts a series of important instruments which show the phenomena of nature. Created in 2004, some of the instruments available in the park are the solar clock, lens, compass, optical discs, pendulum, water turbine, inertia spheres and parabolic reflectors. Aristotle Park is an excellent place to learn about activities and interactive games. When the weather is clear, you can see some of the monasteries on Mouth Athos using the telescopes.
