Tradition has it that Virgin Mary, accompanied by John the Evangelist, on their way to visit Lazarus in Cyprus, encountered rough seas that forced them to temporarily disembark in the port presently occupied by Iviron Monastery. Marveling at the wild landscape Virgin Mary asked her Son to offer her the entire Mountain as a gift. Then the voice of our Lord was heard saying: “Let this place be your lot, your garden and your paradise, as well as a salvation, a haven for those who seek salvation”. Since then Mt. Athos, the Holy Mountain, is considered the plot and garden of Virgin Mary. Human activity reappeared in the 5th century, when the first monks settled here, frustrated at the futility and boredom of everyday life and finding here a beautiful yet uninhabited place, ideal for them to worship God.