It is chiefly known for being the birthplace of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and polymath, student of Plato, and teacher of Alexander the Great.

The ruins of the city lie approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of the present-day village of Stagira, and adjacent to the town of Olympiada.

However, Cleon was a poor strategist and his conduct of the siege was very inefficient: so much so that the ancient Greek comedy writer Aristophanes satirised him in the play The Knights.

Tradition has it that the natives of Stageira transferred Aristotle's relics to the city, buried it there, and founded a festival in his honour which was called "Aristoteleia".

[1] Much later, the Danish archaeologist Karl Frederik Kinch made several explorations of Chalkidiki in 1886, and he identified the site of Stagira based on ancient descriptions of it.