Mount Athos or Agion Oros, as it is locally known, is the oldest surviving monastic community in the world. A thickly forested, mountainous ridge thirty miles long and two to five miles wide, Athos is the easternmost of the three promontories of the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece. Known as Agion Oros, or the 'Holy Mountain' in modern Greek, Athos is a semiautonomous republic of the Greek Orthodox church. Many hundreds of monks inhabit twenty large monasteries, smaller monastic houses and remote mountain caves. The religious history of Athos goes back long before the birth of Christianity however. The great marble peak of Mt. Athos (6670 feet, 2033 meters) was mentioned as early as Homer and Aiskhylos as being the first home of the Greek gods Zeus and Apollo before they moved to Mt. Olympus. Pre-Christian hermits have lived in the deep forests since time immemorial for it was known then, as it has been forgotten now, that places where the ancient gods had lived still held great powers for humans.

With the emergence of Christianity as an aggressive and dominant force in Greece the old legends of Mount Athos were forgotten and a new myth created.
According to legends told by the monks of the Athonite monasteries, the Christian history of Mt. Athos begins with the Virgin Mary. So say the monks, in 49 AD, Mary set sail for the island of Cyprus to visit her friend Lazurus. During her journey a great storm arose and Mary's ship, blown far off course, was guided by divine signs to a protected bay on the eastern coast of Athos. Gazing upward at the towering mountain and its beautiful forests Mary declared, "This mountain is holy ground. Let it now be my portion. Here let me remain." Mooring her boat near the site of the present day monastery of Iveron, Mary came upon an ancient temple and oracle dedicated to Apollo. As she stepped ashore a great crashing sound resounded across the peninsula and all the idols and pagan statues came crashing to the ground (it is interesting to note that a well documented earthquake occurred in northern Greece in 49 AD). The great stone statue of Apollo spoke out, declaring itself a false idol and calling the forest hermits of Athos to come and pay homage to the Panaghia, the true mother of God. So the legend goes, Mary baptized the hermits and thus began the Christian myth of Mt. Athos.

According to historical sources , Athos first became a refuge for Christian hermits and anchorites in the 6th and 7th centuries, and during the 8th and 9th centuries these hermits began to gather together into small monastic communities. The era of the great monastic establishments began with the founding in 963 AD of the first and most renowned of the monasteries, the Great Lavra, on the southeast coast of Athos. Under the protection of the Byzantine emperors, the building of monasteries flourished until, at its zenith in the 15th century, Mt. Athos harbored 40 monasteries and some 20,000 monks. Great Lavra is the leading monastery on the Mountain today. It was founded by Athanasios, who although from a very rich family, entered the Mountain as a peasant, intending to loose his identity. Up to that time the few monks who had already settled there were living either in communities or as hermits.

Today there are 20 monasteries on the peninsula. The daily lives and religious practices of the monks are according to strict Eastern Orthodox Byzantine rules. The moment one steps his foot on the Holy Mountain he finds himself back in time, literally. The Julian calendar is still being used so the date is fourteen days behind the rest of the world. Which means that Christmas is celebrated fourteen days late. At sunrise the clocks point to one o'clock and at sunset to twelve o'clock.

An edict of the Emperor Constantine Manomachos in the year 1060, enforced to this day, forbids women from setting foot on the peninsula. This stringent exclusion of females applies to domestic animals as well. While some readers may deem the original edict foolish and its continued enforcement to perpetuate anachronistic patriarchal attitudes, it is important to note that Athos is one of the very few remaining places on the entire planet that has resisted the relentless culture-destroying machines of 'modernization' and 'social liberty'. Furthermore it is interesting to note that the entire peninsula of Athos has preserved a richness and luxuriance of vegetation unique in Greece and all of Europe. For nearly ten centuries the fields have lain ungrazed by cattle, the trees have escaped the ravages of goats, and the flowers have been unpicked. In a world so rapidly being destroyed and homogenized by the 'culture of progress' it is refreshing to know that at least a few ancient human ecosystems are left intact and relatively undisturbed. The so-called 'enlightened' attitudes of science and democracy have neither promised nor provided this. Greek Orthodox monasticism, on the other hand, has done so and, in the process, has protected a place with a rare, enchanting and powerful presence of peace.

When someone enters Mount Athos with the view to becoming a resident monk he usually chooses a monastery and presents himself to the authorities. The applicant must not be less than eighteen years old, he must belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, and must be applying in his own free will. Foreigners automatically acquire the right of residence and Greek nationality. If he is accepted he is appointed to some humble post such as kitchen help or helping to cultivate the land. The initiation period which usually lasts for three years is to test the new recruit's strength of faith, resilience and suitability. Taking the vows is not a decision to be taken lightly. From the moment he is ordained as a monk his entire life is dedicated to the quest of reaching for god, a life of continuous prayer and contemplation. Only when the new recruit feels ready and the Abbot agrees he is ordained and is allowed to wear the monastic gown and hat.

He has now died to the outside world and has been re-born into the holy world of Mount Athos. He gives up his past life, his name, his status and property. He takes up the name of one of the saints with the same initial as his original name. Instead of a surname he uses the name of the monastery where he lives. All monasteries are now communal so he is given a sparse room and habits to wear. He is also appointed to a particular job, when he is not in church. To exit Mount Athos he needs the permission of the head Abbot. Following their ordination many monks have never visited the secular outside world.

The life of the monk is divided into three equal parts, one for praying, one for working and one for resting. He is waken by the repetitive beat of the symantron ( a long wooden symbol hit by a mallet ) at 11 p.m. for an hour of private prayer. Counting the knots of the rosary he repeats the Kyrie Eleison "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". Then back to sleep until 4 a.m. when the sounds of the symantron fill the courtyards and the dark corridors once more, inviting everybody to the church for prayer and chanting. The Liturgy follows, timed to be celebrated at sun-rise, when the gates of the monastery are opened. At the end of the Liturgy, at about 10.30 a.m., the head Abbot leads his monks to the refectory for the main meal of the day and from there everybody goes to their allotted tasks. One more service is celebrated in the church during the afternoon, depending on the time of year either at 3 p.m. or at 5 p.m. There is the supper at 7 p.m. and then the monk is free to retire. On certain occasions a vigil is celebrated which calls for a continuous service throughout the evening, night and the following morning.

The monks have two main meals a day, one at half past ten in the morning and supper at about seven in the evening. The food is basic: a seasonal salad, baked beans or lentils cooked in plenty of water like soup, a dish made of all the seasonal vegetables cooked together in one pot, salted fish, olives, fetta cheese, brown bread, fried potatoes and always the delicious local red wine. At festivals fish is served but never meat. The Head Abbot sits at the top table and marks the start and the end of the meal with the ringing of a bell and a prayer. A single meal without oil is eaten at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Neither meat, fish, cheese, butter, nor eggs are permitted during the forty days of Lent ending in Easter. The most reverent monks eat nothing during the last days of the fast. A similar abstinence takes place during the Lent of the Apostles Peter and Paul, (from Monday after All Saints Day to June 28), during the fourteen day Lent of the Mother of God, (from the 1st of August to the 14th) and during the Christmas Lent, beginning on 15th of November and ending on the night of Christmas Eve.

An ancient law exist which forbids a "road upon which a wheel can run" to be built on the Mount. Mount Athos treasures it's isolation and is only accessible by boat, Women are never admitted into Mount Athos, a permit is required for anyone entering the territory and overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven religious or scientific interests and are over 18 years old.

Inside the monasteries and the numerous churches there is an unimaginable wealth of unique treasures; religious frescoes decorate every wall, rare mosaics, libraries stacked with ancient publications and Imperial Chrysobulls (Edicts), ancient icons many of them adorned in gold, many of them miraculous, precious art miniatures, ecclesiastical artifacts covered in gold and precious stones, the presents from pious Byzantine Emperors. The remains of many saints, and the largest piece of the Holy Cross. For Mount Athos has preserved the largest collection of Christian art in the world, a rich heritage amassed over many centuries, the donations of successive Byzantine, Russian and Slav emperors. They are unique works of art and each monastery is proud of it's own heritage.