Theologos

(Mainland Greece)

Agios Ioannis the Theologian ("Theologos ") is a tourist resort in a cove on the coast of Opuntian Gulf and is the port of Malesina .

It is part of the Municipality of Lokron and is built on the site of the port of the ancient city of Halae (Ancient Greek: Ἁλαί, 6th century BC). It was founded recently by a few families from Malesina in 1923, which had moved to its beach.

Its naming belongs to the small church of Saint John the Theologian. Its history is long, as next to it are the ruins of the ancient city of Halae, most of which lie on the beach and the sea, houses and tombs, demonstrating that earthquakes were the cause of her destruction.

The area is known as a tourist resort due to its convenient location as a hub to many day-trip destinations, such as Athens, Delphi, Meteora, Mount Parnassons, Thebes, Livadia, Kamena Vourla, Thermopylae, Greek Bahamas Islands (Likhadonisia), Edipso, and Evia to name a few.

The main port of Theologos is located on a large bay, which accommodates private, fishing and commercial boats.

Other than the main beach of Theologos along the cove, there are many other beaches just on the other side of the peninsula, specifically, Vlychada beach, Lekouna beach, Arsanas beach and the beach of the Housing Cooperative of Permanent Officers of the Greek Army (OSMAES). In OSMAES there are other several smaller bays that offer swimming, where the roads are wide and in the summer months visitors can go cycling and various other activities. There are also playgrounds to keep the little ones busy.

The crystal clear waters, the sandy beaches with pine tree forests attract large numbers of tourists, both from Greece and the rest of the world.

There are many restaurants and tavernas, cafes and bars, where one can enjoy tasty meals, drinks and a dance or two. There are also bars and places that play Greek music so you can experience a truly traditional Greek night out.

Historically, the ancient city of Halae owes its name to its salt marshes and extends its presence throughout historical times, while it is considered certain that its area was inhabited continuously from the Neolithic era to the Middle Byzantine period (11th and 12th centuries), so it was deserted until 1923.

Although the references of the ancient writers about the city are rare and very poor, Halae was the safest and closest port to Opuntian Gulf, which had played an important role in the wider area.

The excavations in the ancient city of Halae, on the northern side of the Theologos bay, began in 1911 by the archaeologists H. Goldman and A. Walker - Kosmopoulou, continued until 1914, when they were interrupted due to the First World War and finally continued after in 1935 by H. Goldman.

In the archaeological site where the excavations were carried out, there was the acropolis of Halae with its walls, priestly residences, altars, monuments as well as a four-pillar temple dedicated to Athena .

Riches were the finds that came to light, such as pieces of Doric columns, epistles, metopes from all three building phases of the temple, pieces of clay statues as well as a headless marble statue of Aphrodite, bronze and silver jewelry. Of the finds, others are kept in the warehouses of the archaeological museum of Thebes and some of them are exhibited in the prehistoric finds wing of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.