Antartiko

Antartiko, (Αντατρτικό), known in South Slavic as Zhelevo (Желево), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in Macedonia. Nestled in the mountains to the West of Florina the village has suffered a long decline in population and influence. The area has been settled for hundreds of years and there are two old Churches testifying to the villages' age. Antartiko had a population of approximately 2000 people in the early 20th century but starting in the 1920's began a long exodus out of it.

Many people immigrated to Canada, the United States, and Australia and the population of Antartiko is now only slightly over 100 people. During the Ottoman empire it is likely that the village was predominantly Slavic, but throughout the 20th century as the village lost inhabitants due to emigration it is now primarily Greek, with intermingling between the two groups. In more recent decades the area has seen an increase in illegal immigration from Albania, as the border is close by. The main industry of the area for a long time was farming, and a main road only connected the village with Florina in the last 50 years or so.

Желево Ανταρτικό Φλώρινας