Pangaion Hills
{{short description|Mountain range in Greece}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name=Pangaion Hills
| other_name=
| photo=Pangaion from Philippi.jpg
| photo_caption=Snow-covered Pangaion hills from the forests of Kavala
| country= Greece
| subdivision2_type=Regional unit
| subdivision2= {{hlist|Kavala|Serres}}
| parent=
| geology=
| orogeny=
| length_km=
| length_orientation=
| width_km=
| width_orientation=
| highest=Koutra
| elevation_m=1956
| coordinates= {{coord|40|55|01|N|24|04|58|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| map=
| map_caption=
| prominence_m= 1773
| prominence_ref={{cite web |url=http://peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/EuroCoreP1500m.html |title = Europe Ultra-Prominences: peaklist.org}}
| listing = Ultra
}}
The Pangaion Hills ({{Langx|el|Παγγαίο|translit=Pangéo}}; {{Langx|grc|Καρμάνιον|translit=Karmánion}}; Homeric Greek: Nysa; also called Pangaeon, Pangaeum) are a mountain range in Greece, approximately 40 km from Kavala. The highest elevation is 1,956 m at the peak of Koutra. The Aegean Sea lies to the south and the plains of Philippi-Kavala to the north. The mountain range covers the southeastern portion of the Serres regional unit as well as the northwestern part of the Kavala regional unit which includes the bigger part of the hills.
The Ottoman Turks called the hills Pınar Dağ ("Spring Mount"). The Slavic name is Kushnitsa (Кушница) or Kushinitsa (Кушиница).
Description
File:Πανοραμική θέα του δάσους του Παγγαίου όρους ,περίπου στα 1500μ.jpg
The hills are directly across a fertile plain from the ancient city of Philippi known for the Battle of Philippi a Roman-era civil war, which took place in 42 BC. They are located in the ancient country of Sintice, between the Strymon and the Xiropotamos rivers and are covered in the oriental plane and chestnut trees. Towns found in the Pangaion hills include Nikisiani and Palaiochori which are agricultural in nature and grow mainly grain and tobacco. The town of Palaiochori boasts the ruins of an ancient castle on a peak overlooking the town. Gold and silver were mined in the ancient times. The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus was exiled in the middle of the mountain. It was the rich gold and silver available in the region that made the Athenians send out a colony in 465 to an area known as the Nine Roads (Ennéa Hodoí). The colonists were massacred by nearby Thracians and the colony was abandoned, though the Athenians would return to the area with their colony at Amphipolis.
Pangaion is very often referred to by ancient Greek and Latin sources.{{Cite web |title= Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Pangaion |access-date=2025-02-06 | website=Mount Pangaion}} It was famous for silver and gold mines, as well as for shipyard wood and the oracle of Dionysus.D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Eastern Macedonia during the Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1976 (Society for Macedonian Studies), pp. 15, 36–41 ([http://www.ems.gr/analytikos-katalogos-ekdoseon/makedoniki-vivliothiki/049-samsaris.html digitized version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424003106/http://www.ems.gr/analytikos-katalogos-ekdoseon/makedoniki-vivliothiki/049-samsaris.html |date=2017-04-24 }}). {{ISBN|960-7265-16-5}}.
The municipality of Pangaio is named after this mountain range and the seat of the municipality is Eleftheroupoli.
See also
- Zaeelii:Tribe attested from coins that are from the Pangaion hills.
- Panagia Eikosifoinissa Monastery
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{commons category|Pangaion}}
- [https://greekmountainflora.info/pangeo-flora-2/ Greek Mountain Flora]
- [https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/1409643 Pangaio Mountain terrain map] by Geopsis
{{Ultras of Europe}}
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Category:Landforms of Kavala (regional unit)
Category:Landforms of Serres (regional unit)
Category:Mountain ranges of Greece
Category:Geography of Macedonia (region)