Buzzing from the rooftops: Athens’ urban apiarists

From the rooftop of an apartment building in Ilioupoli, on the slopes of Mount Hymettus (Ymittos), you can see the whole of Athens from one end to the other. For bees, though, this sea of concrete is a vast garden brimming with flowers of every kind. From this very rooftop, amid clotheslines and solar water heaters, bees take off daily from the two hives placed there by beekeeper Nikos Chatzilias. They venture into gardens, courtyards, flower beds, median strips, vacant lots, nurseries, squares and parks – making stops on the rocky slopes of Hymettus for thyme – before returning to their hives to produce golden, fragrant, multi-floral honey, 100% urban and named after its place of origin, “Ilioupoli.”

These two rooftop hives are just a small part of the 120 colonies Chatzilias has scattered across various neighborhoods in Athens, each producing its own distinct honey: “Glyfada,” “Petralona,” “Vyronas,” “Zografou,” “Agia Varvara,” “Kifissia.” Last year alone, his urban beehives yielded 500 kilos of honey. This year, he aims to triple that to 1.5 tons, as more and more people – mainly young city dwellers – offer him their rooftops or balconies. Many of them, through word of mouth, are eager to host two or three hives, hoping to introduce their children to a bit of nature within the city or simply out of sheer curiosity.

Born and raised on the island of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean, Chatzilias has always been drawn to nature in all its seasonal transformations. “I grew up with a forager’s mindset,” he says. In 2020, alongside his wife, Marili Karra, he founded “Astiki Melissa” (Urban Bee), a project dedicated to introducing city residents to the world of urban beekeeping.

Thousands of bees, both wild and managed, live among us in the city. If you listen closely during your next stroll through your neighborhood, you might be surprised by their buzzing presence. The city provides an abundance of food for them, mainly from flowering trees like acacias, bitter orange, eucalyptus and lilacs. “Ilioupoli honey, for example, is predominantly eucalyptus-based, with notes of bitter orange and thyme from Mount Hymettus, as well as mimosa,” Chatzilias explains. “Kifissia honey is darker, with a deep forest flavor from conifers. Glyfada honey carries the essence of bitter orange and eucalyptus, but in different proportions than Ilioupoli’s, and with the sea nearby, its flavor is uniquely altered. Agia Varvara honey has an exceptional, mountain-like taste.”

Distinct flavors

Although the distances between neighborhoods may be small, the taste of honey varies noticeably depending on the prevailing vegetation. “Each honey has the flavor of its neighborhood,” says Chatzilias.

Chatzilias, however, is not the first urban beekeeper. He entered the field with the encouragement of Vassilis Paissios, a veteran of urban beekeeping who began 15 years ago by producing honey from hives in various locations in Athens, including Neos Kosmos, Glyfada, Aegaleo and Kifissia. “There are flowers in the city you won’t find in the countryside, such as the bitter orange tree, which produces a very distinctive honey, eucalyptus, and carob, which gives the only honey with calcium, along with a unique flavor and aroma. Athens is full of these!” says Paissios.

Each neighborhood has its own dominant bloom. For example, Paissios, until recently, was harvesting honey from ivy in Kifissia. It is the color of vanilla cream and has strong crystallization that makes it opaque and solid enough to be cut with a knife. A dessert honey with a robust character and a strong aroma that overwhelms the palate.

However, life in the city isn’t always smooth. Paissios’ base is in Nea Penteli, where he had his beekeeping operation, but the devastating wildfire that broke out there last summer caused total destruction. He lost all his equipment, and out of his 100 hives, only 12 survived. These hives have been relocated to Halandri, a small area surrounded by vacant lots, apartment buildings, scrapyards, and business structures. There, Paissios’ friend Nikos Kalyvas also keeps his 10 hives. Kalyvas has set up a small urban farm with chickens, geese, rabbits and a few goats. “I plan to place hives in other urban areas as well,” says Kalyvas. “Since beekeeping isn’t my main occupation, I can’t practice migratory beekeeping outside of Athens due to time constraints. Urban beekeeping suits me because it fits well alongside my other work,” he explains.

The city, however, offers everything the beekeeper needs and helps him produce excellent quantities of honey. The production isn’t affected by weather conditions, and the bees always find an abundant food supply. “In the city, I distribute a few hives in each area. Each one yields small amounts, but overall, the harvest is plentiful and offers a wide variety,” says Paissios. “Moreover, I don’t have the costs of migratory beekeeping in the countryside. Even when I need to move, the distances are short.”

An ancient practice

Modern urban beekeeping in Greece is a relatively new practice, though it has been established worldwide for many years. Bees are found on the rooftops of iconic buildings around the globe. In Paris, visitors can purchase an expensive honey from hives on the roof of the Paris Opera, while after the fire that destroyed the Notre-Dame Cathedral, it was considered a “divine miracle” that 200 hives, also situated at the highest points of the building, were saved. Dozens of hives are located on the rooftop of the Waldorf Astoria in New York, with the honey served to guests at breakfast. Hives can be found in both public and private buildings, from Berlin and Madrid to Montreal, Toronto, Seoul and Istanbul, where the municipality subsidizes urban beekeepers. In Greece, this practice was introduced later, but today, several dozen urban beekeepers are active.

However, beekeeping in urban areas has been known since ancient times. “In Tel Rehov, Israel, excavations uncovered a large beekeeping facility dating back to the 10th century BC, at the heart of a bustling city of that time,” says Georgios Mavrofridis, a beekeeper and archaeologist specializing in ancient beekeeping. He is also a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology in the Geography Department of the University of the Aegean, and a member of the Hellenic Beekeeping-Sericulture Scientific Society’s board of directors. He adds that a similar situation existed in many ancient Greek cities. In 2002, excavations uncovered a large number of hives in the Ancient Agora, dating back to the 5th century BC, supporting the theory that urban beekeeping was likely common practice. 

“Interestingly, even earlier, between the 6th and 7th centuries BC, Solon introduced the first recorded legislation in history regarding beekeeping. Specifically, he established regulations about the distance between beekeeping sites, which had to be at least 300 feet. This demonstrates how advanced the practice was thousands of years ago, to the point that it was subject to legislation,” explains Mavrofridis.

Changing mindsets

However, the obvious question for many citizens is: How safe is it to place a hive on one’s balcony or rooftop? Greek legislation, which has been in place since the 1930s, allows this practice, but with ambiguities and unclear provisions that require immediate revision. Residents who host hives on their properties report that no one is disturbed, and often, people don’t even notice the hives nearby. “On rooftops, the bees fly at different levels from where people are active, so they neither disturb nor are disturbed,” explains Mavrofridis. “This has been the case since ancient times. When bees leave a rooftop, they head to flowers and return directly to their hives without interacting with human activities,” he adds.

Still, many hesitate to embrace this practice. “There is still a lot of fear of insects and a lack of familiarity with them,” says Paissios. “I try to combat this fear by inviting children to visit the hives, so they can see that the bee is a friend – it helps provide our food, and if you don’t harm it, it won’t harm you. Those who love animals, nature and have an open mind are usually the ones who accept hosting hives – often friends who know me and trust what I say.” Chatzilias shares a similar experience: “In recent years, there has been a fortunate shift in perception, with the public now seeing bees as friendly insects due to their immense importance to the environment and human survival through pollination.”

How safe is urban honey?

A key concern regarding urban beekeeping is the safety of honey produced in what is a generally acknowledged polluted urban environment. This raises an important issue, and the only way to ensure consumer safety is through laboratory tests, primarily for detecting heavy metals, which every beekeeper must provide upon request. “If a bee picks up something contaminated, it sacrifices itself and doesn’t bring it back to the hive, in order to protect the colony,” explains Paissios. “However, to be certain, we conduct tests in certified laboratories, and so far, everything has been clean,” he adds.

Mavrofridis emphasizes that “laboratory tests are essential, as everything is relative. If pollution levels are low, it’s not dangerous, but if they are high, then it becomes a problem. It depends on factors such as the area where the bee collects nectar and the type of plant providing the nectar or pollen. Some plants are more resistant to pollution than others, which are more vulnerable. It’s true that cars today produce much fewer pollutants than in the past, and that’s definitely an advantage. However, while the pollen and nectar from flowers might be fine, the bee might have consumed contaminated water in the city,” he explains, concluding: “I recommend urban beekeepers send their honey for testing at the Sericulture and Apiculture Laboratory of the Aristotle University. Their team, led by Dr Chrisoula Tananaki, is recognized as a world leader in the field.”

Where to get it

– “Astiki Melissa” – Nikos Chatzilias (astikimelissa.gr), Kypseli Municipal Market, 42 Fokionos Negri, tel 6997.005.796 (you can find all of his honey and beekeeping products, as well as get information about educational activities such as courses on making beekeeping cosmetics, beeswax cloths and more). Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-8 p.m., Closed Mondays, open on working Sundays.

– Vassilis Paissios – Melissonas. For orders, call 6995.526.267. 

This article first appeared in Kathimerini’s K magazine.