Ancient Levena
Lendas is built on the site of the ancient city Levena, 74km south of Heraklion, on the southern slopes of the imposing Asterousia Mountains. The name Levina is believed to come from the Phoenician “Lavi” which means Lion. Indeed, on the west of the village, there is a cape reminding of a lion's head from far. According to the legend, this is one of the lions that pulled the chariot of goddess Rhea, the mother of Zeus, which was petrified at this point. Moreover, according to another version, the name comes from the Phoenician word “levina”, which means white and describes the whitish color of the rocks in the area. The current name Lendas comes from the word “Leondas” which means lion in Greek. The cape, which is also called Lion, is protected as archaeological site. You can visit its peak by walking for 15’ and enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Traces of first-minoan graves and a settlement have been extracted. The settlement had connections with Egypt. The ancient city of Levina flourished in the Hellenistic and Roman Era as a harbor of Gortys, which was then the most powerful town of Crete.
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On the east of Lendas, there is a spring of water, which was considered to have healing properties. Even today, studies have shown that water is good for diseases of the stomach, blood, and bleeding tendency. Thus, this spring was the cause for the construction of a huge temple, dedicated to the deified doctor Asclepius and Hygeia Sotira (4th century AC). The temple was renowned as a center of hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, and psychiatry. Patients from distant areas, such as Libya, visited this place. From the temple, you can still see the altar, two marble columns, and the base of a statue of Asclepius. On the site of the Early Christian Basilica of Lendas, a Byzantine church was built using also materials from the sanctuary, dedicated to Agios Ioannis Theologos. Remains of Roman baths have been found in the area of the springs.
Levina seems to have been abandoned in the 7th-8th century, possibly because of constant pirate raids.
