Mountain, northern Greece.
Reaching a height of 6,670 ft (2,033 m), it occupies Aktí, a promontory of the Chalcidice Peninsula. It is the site of a semiautonomous republic of 20 monasteries and dependencies (skítes). Organized monastic life began there in 963, when St. Greek Orthodox Church , it was declared a theocratic republic in 1927. Its churches and libraries house a rich collection of Byzantine art and ancient and medieval manuscripts.