Ierissos 2.92

Ierissos is a small town on the east coast of the Akti peninsula in Chalkidiki, Greece. It is located 160 km from Thessaloniki, and 10km from the border of the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, or Mount Athos. It is the site of Ancient city and former bishopric Hierissus, and as such remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Ferries run from Ierissos to the east coast of Mount Athos.Since the 2011 local government reform Ierissos has been the seat of the municipality of Aristotelis, and of the municipal unit of Stagira-Akanthos.NamesThe name of Ierissos is derived from the Latin Ericius, a translation of Akanthos, the name of the ancient city (also Latinized as Achantus) located 0.6km north west of the modern town.HistoryAchantus, near mount Athos, was an Ancient Greek city in the Roman province of Macedonia Prima (civil diocese of Macedonia)) During the Byzantine era Erissos was the seat of a bishopric, evidenced from 883 (see below). From the 10th century onwards, the town's history is indissolubly linked with that of Mount Athos. In 942 there were disputes between Ierissos and the monks of Mount Athos over the borders between Ierissos and the monastic community's lands and, the following year, the differences were settled in person by a large commission of major politicians and church officials.