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Civilization has not intruded into the Holy Mountain, which is inhabited solely by monks. Rising majestically out of the Sea to a height of 2,033 m, Athos is covered with virgin forests; its physical beauty is almost overwhelming. The magnificent peninsula has been the sole province of men dedicated to the work ship of God and the Virgin for well over a thousand years. In 885, the Byzantine emperor Basil I, proclaimed it the exclusive domain of monks and hermits.

In 963, the first organised monastery was founded. A century later it was decreed that "no smooth faced person" be permitted to violate its sanctity. This prohibition is still enforced, and no female may set foot on Mt. Athos. Centuries of isolation and devotion to the Orthodox religion have endowed the Holy Mountain with a unique mystical atmosphere.

In its prime, in the 15th century, Athos boasted 40 monasteries and about 40,000 monks. Nowadays the number of functioning monasteries has dwindled to 20 with a population of approximately 1,700 brethren. Surrounded by an incalculable wealth of ecclesiastical treasures, rare icons and libraries stocked with precious manuscripts, they live simply according to a strict regime of prayer and labour untouched by modern frivolities. Men wishing to visit the Holy Mountain are admitted by special permit only. The rest must be content to end their journey at Ouranoupolis, Heaven's City, where they can be consoled with a cruise around the extraordinary peninsula. Known for its aquamarine waters and delightful beaches, Ouranoupolis may be as close to paradise as we will ever get Ruins of an ancient civilization have been found 3 km of the township of Arnea and many believe it is the site of ancient Arne, mentioned by Thoukididis. Its acropolis and parts of walls have been discovered on the hill of Profit Ilias. Arnea is privileged because of its important traditional background. For this reason it has been proclaimed as a "Historical Site" and "Traditional Settlement" by the Cultural Ministry. The campaigns of Alexander the Great signaled some momentous events in world history.

For one thing Europe was decidedly alleviated from an Asian threat as the vast Persian superpower met its end once and for all. Also the expansion and eventual predomination of the Greek language as the international instrument of communication, with its concomitant knowledge, as well as the opening to Greek philosophy, art, and civilization in general, were extraordinary events of immense consequence for the future course of the entire world. We have to agree with H. Bengston, who mentioned, “Neither the Roman empire, nor the triumphant route of Christianity - whose communities, at the end of ancient times, extended from Ireland to India - nor even the Byzantine Empire nor the Arabian civilization would have been created without Alexander the Great and his cosmogony works. Nevertheless, anyone with rudimentary historical knowledge is aware what Macedonian Hellenism and its genuine representatives Philip, Alexander and Aristotle stand for. In history and in thought it is high civilization an inseparable segment of the grand Greek miracle”.