Explore Cretan

History

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.

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Keritis Bridge

The Bridge on the River Keritis is made of stone with three arches and was built in 1908. Adjacent to it, on 1 August 1941 the Germans executed 118 men (with disabled among them) under the despicable charge of resistance against the German invasion in Crete.

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Castel Malvicino (Malevizi Fort)

The fort Malvicino or Malvesin is located on a hill near the village Keramoutsi at a position that now is named Castel Malevizi. It occupied an excellent position in the inner land, which offered great views over almost the entire province of Malevizi (getting its name after the castle).

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German Bunker at Drapanokefala

Like dozens of places in Crete, also the area of Kokkino Horio was chosen by the German Nazis during the Second World War to construct several tunnels. The location they chose for the most important of these tunnels was the hill of Drapanokefala that offers panoramic inspection of the entire bay of Souda.

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Pera Galini Minoan settlement

At the eastern edge of Pera Galini beach, the small cape of Kefali is formed. The ruins of a Minoan settlement, which is thought to have been an important port in the region, have been discovered there.

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Ancient Falanna

The ancient town Falanna was located at the position of the abandoned settle Onithe, near Goulediana. It covers a large plateau in a naturally fortified site. The first use of the site is dated in the Neolithic Age, but the town flourished during the archaic times (7-6th century BC). It was a small town depended on city Rithimna.

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Roustika Melathron

Roustika Melathron hosts the Greek Community of Folk Dance and Song, the Dancing Association Parthenon and the museum of traditional costumes from all over Greece, from the collection of Katie Karekla and Andreas Fragiadakis.

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Potamianos Wax Museum

The museum is one of two wax museums that exist in Greece and is an idea of the sculptor Dionysis Potamianos. It is located at Zoniana, at the northern foothills of Psiloritis Mount.

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Piskokefalo Minoan Mansion

At the road connecting Piskokefalo and Sitia we meet the remains of an excavated two-storey Minoan mansion. We can still discern the remnants of rooms, stairs and the protective boulders coming from the neighbouring river of Pantelopotamos or the sea.

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