Descendants of Persians Tour Xerxes’ Canal Site in Greece After 2,500 Years — GreekReporter.com
For the first time since Xerxes’ fleet cleverly navigated the channel carved across the narrow isthmus linking the Mount Athos peninsula to Chalkidiki, a delegation of Persian descendants has officially visited the site. Led by Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, the group traveled to Nea Roda in Chalkidiki to witness the location of Xerxes’ renowned engineering feat.
This visit marked Iran’s first official delegation to the historic Xerxes Canal, a feature that time and sedimentation had largely buried and obscured over the centuries. The Iranian party was accompanied by Dr. Evangelos Venetis, a scholar specializing in Islamic and Middle Eastern affairs.
Xerxes Canal: From a wartime monument to a beacon of peace
The visitors were greeted by Stelios Valianos, the mayor of the Aristotelis Municipality. In a ceremonial gesture, the guests received small busts of Aristotle, and the mayor remarked:
“The Canal of Xerxes stands as Europe’s sole Persian technical project poised to re-enter the map not as a relic of warfare but as a symbol of peace, cultural exchange, and tourism collaboration.”
Herodotus’ account, once met with skepticism, has gained renewed validation through contemporary science
For centuries, scholars questioned the existence of Xerxes’ Canal, sometimes treating it as a myth or exaggeration from Herodotus. Recent scientific work, however, has overturned that view. In his Histories, Book 7, Herodotus described a canal wide enough for two triremes to pass abreast and highlighted that the undertaking served not only a practical purpose but also a powerful imperial demonstration, demanding enormous resources and labor.
Since the 1990s, geo-archaeological, geophysical, and topographical investigations in Nea Roda, with significant support from the British School at Athens, have revealed clear traces of a substantial artificial channel beneath the surface. Boreholes and sediment analyses uncovered a buried trench of considerable width that precisely corresponds to the ancient canal’s course, confirming that the project truly cut through the isthmus from end to end.
Archaeologists anticipate that detailed excavations will yield sensational discoveries that could reshape current understandings of Xerxes’ route and the Persian presence in Greece.
Context and purpose of Xerxes Canal
The canal was constructed during the Second Persian Invasion (480 BCE). Xerxes I aimed to move a large army and fleet with minimal risk, as the Cape of Athos posed a serious navigation hazard following a devastating storm that damaged the Persian fleet a few years earlier (492 BCE). To circumvent the dangerous voyage, Xerxes ordered the creation of a channel across the isthmus at the Athos base, enabling ships to pass safely between the two seas.
Professor Evangelos Venetis underscored the site’s significance for visitors:
“The Xerxes Canal at Nea Roda is the only tangible imprint of the Persians in Europe. It stands as the single major work attesting to their presence, and Iranians regard it with deep respect and awe. After 2,500 years, descendants of the Persians are visiting the place where Xerxes moved his fleet overland.”
Venetis also noted that plans to enhance the Xerxes Canal site are likely to be included in a bilateral Greece-Iran cooperation memorandum.
The canal’s lasting impact
Today, the canal is no longer a visible waterway, yet its influence remains evident in the landscape, detectable via aerial imagery and local topography. Xerxes’ passage through the Nea Roda isthmus preceded later pivotal conflicts, including the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, underscoring the canal’s role as a cornerstone in ancient global history.
