Lassea was a harbor of the Roman city Gortys, the capital of crete in Roman Era. Lasea was rich in copper deposits, that was excavated. St Paul mentions the town in his records for his stay on Crete.
Crete’s strategic location at the crossroads of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean is the main reason for the continuous claim of the island by many occupants.
Crete managed to keep its unique and strong character till today. Religion, glorious history and the wild Cretan terrain formed the personality of Cretans, who held their Greek soul after many centuries of slavery. Apart from the scattered archaeological sites and monuments of spiritual wealth, the visitor has the chance to see the rare and priceless findings of excavations at the various museums and collections throughout the island.
Crete is the birthplace of Zeus, the ruler of the gods, people and hospitality. Even today the hospitality of the Cretans is more than a ritual. The first European civilization, the Minoans, emerged here between 2800 BC and 1400 BC. Even today, the palaces of Knossos, Phaestus, Malia and Zakros reflect the splendor of the Minoan civilization through the masterpieces of architecture, pottery, gold, silversmithing and painting. The most powerful fleet in the then known world, as evidenced by the different findings across the Mediterranean, brought wealth to Crete from trading the famous Cretan cypress and its agricultural products. This brilliant course was terminated in 1400 BC when the Achaeans and the Dorians made their presence on the island, founding new towns (eg Lato, Polyrhenea) and gave the baton to the Classical Greek civilization.
After the conquest of Crete by the Romans, the capital moved to Gortys, which subsequently became the capital of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrene. During his journey to Rome, Saint Paul stopped in Crete and proclaimed Christianity, beginning a century-old monastic tradition in more remote areas. The island became an important Christian center as depicted in hundreds of religious monuments, scattered everywhere.
In 824AD Crete was conquered by the Arabs, who turned Candia (today’s Iraklion) to a base for pirate attacks in the Mediterranean Sea. After many failed attempts, the Byzantines managed to release Crete in 961, under the commands of the later emperor Nikiforos Fokas, giving a new impetus in Christian tradition on Crete.
After the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204, the Venetians became the new rulers of Crete until 1669. During this period Crete experienced a great economic and spiritual wellbeing. The big cities were rebuilt, decorated with amazing monuments and fortified with massive walls. Moreover, the art reached its apogee with great personalities from the field of hagiography, as El Greco (Dominikos Theotokopoulos) and Michael Damaskinos. Moreover, literature, music and theater thrived and produced masterpieces, like Erotokritos and Erofili. All these were abruptly interrupted in 1669 when Candia, Crete’s last stronghold, surrendered after the longest siege in history by the Ottomans.
Successive revolutions and bloody battles led to the autonomy of Crete in 1897. In 1913 Crete became part of the Greek territory, honoring the longed dream of all Cretans for the Union with Greece. During the Union of Crete, the politician Eleftherios Venizelos came into foreground, who would later become the greatest leader that ever ruled Greece. The struggles, however, of the Cretans did not end here, as the Cretan glory emerged in the Battle of Crete in 1941 and from the ashes of the dozens of villages burnt by the Germans. Thousands of Cretans were executed with their fearless gaze towards the barrel of the German guns, helping to turn the scales in favor of the Allies.
Vathipetro is a very small settlement located 4km and 20km south of Archanes and Heraklion, respectively, in a location with spectacular views to Jiouchtas Mount and the vineyards south of it. Next to the village and the road connecting Arhanes to Ligortynos, a Minoan mansion has been excavated.
At the east end of the long beach of Vathianos Kambos (Agii Theodori site) there is a rocky peninsula where we still can distinguish the carved rock that hosted a large shipbuilding yard during the Minoan Era. According to researchers this large carving with length of 48 meters and width of 11 meters, could produce 50m long ships, while on the south there is a smaller carving that probably was used for storing lumber. It is worth noting that the area around has sunk over the centuries the sea and there are bases of Minoan buildings inside and out of the sea. The carving probably flooded with water when the ship was ready to get lowered in water.
Over the hill Patella by Prinias village lies the picturesque chapel of Agios Panteleimon with amazing views towards all directions. It is the site of the Minoan town of Rizinia or Apollonia, which prospered till the Roman period.
The collection of the Military Museum of Rethymnon at village Chromonastiri includes military uniforms, weapons of different eras in Greek history, medals, historical relics since 1821 and later, an exhibition dedicated to the Macedonian Struggle, library and meeting rooms.
In the province of Mylopotamos, one more mountainous provinces in Crete, there were two fortresses. The first was built in the seaside village of Panormos, while the second near th village Saint Mamas.
The private museum belongs to Georgios Hatzidakis who met the suffering of the German Occupation.After the war he started with a passion to collect every vestige of the battle to succeed as characteristically telling himself to keep alive the glorious memory of our ancestors and to stimulate younger to deal with their history.
Embrosneros hosted the chateau of one of the most terrible janissaries in Crete, the Turk Ibrahim Alidakis. Alidakis owned a vast property, which he had stolen from the Greeks, and became the greatest aga of the area. In the nearby plateau of Vothonas, Alidakis raised his horses.
