Antiquity and Byzantium (5th c. BC – 14th c.)
The settlement was founded around 430 BC by ancient Greek colonists, most likely Athenians, in the era of Pericles. In the Roman period the town was known as Perontikos and flourished as a port. After the barbarian invasions of the 5th–7th centuries, it was rebuilt by the Byzantine general Agathon, hence the name Agathopolis. In 1306, under Emperor Michael IX, the fortress walls were strengthened; sections of them, up to 8 m high and 3.5 m thick, are preserved to this day.
Ottoman period and Bulgarian Revival (1453 – 1878)
In the 18th and 19th centuries Ahtopol grew as a fishing and trading hub; in 1796 the Church of the Ascension was built, and in the early 20th century the Greek School was erected by Bulgarian craftsmen to a design by Greek architects, funded by Greek emigrants in the United States.
Bulgarian Ahtopol (1913 — today)
After the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), Ahtopol became part of Bulgaria. A great fire in 1918 destroyed almost the entire town — only the Church of the Ascension and one house on the seafront promenade survived. Following the Greco-Bulgarian population exchange of 1925, the Greek inhabitants left for Greece, and their place was taken by Bulgarian refugees from Eastern Thrace (around 150 families from the Bunarhisar area). Today Ahtopol is a fishing town and summer destination, and a gateway to the Strandzha Nature Park.