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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Boutakas Bridge

One of the least known stone bridges of Crete is the bridge of Boutakas located between the villages Vrises, Embrosneros and Vafes at province Apokoronas. It is the newest of two stone bridges of that area (there is also the famous bridge Elliniki Kamara which is more than 2000 years old). The bridge is still in use by cars and was built during the last decade of the 19th century by local craftsmen.

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Hellenistic Town of Arkalochori

West of the town of Arkalohori rises for rock of Prophet Elijah (Profitis Ilias) with the homonym chapel at the top and the Minoan sacred cave of Arkalochori. On the hillside facing Arkalochori an extended settlement that was inhabited from the Minoan to the Ottoman era has been detected.

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Pines Windmills

The villages Ano Pines and Kato Pines hosted two separate sites with windmills. The first site is located at the area called 'Paliomili' high above the villages. The second is located at position Vorina near the village Kato Pines, with incredible views of the lagoon of Elounda.

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Plateau Vathy Lakki

Vathy Lakki was used only during the summer months because it is located at an altitude of over 1600 meters and in winter the whole area is covered by snow. The architecture of mitato houses at Vathy Lakki brings to mind the Minoan domed tombs and no binding material was used for building the walls.

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Kalogerou at Selino

At Selino Province we meet the deserted (two centuries ago) settlement of Kalogerou. The settlement was decimated due to plague and soon totally forgotten. The area is wooded with perennial olive trees and is crossed by the stream that then comes into the gorge of Sassalos. The village, possibly built around a small monastery, still hosts the small chapel of St George that bears important, but damaged, frescoes.

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Prinias Carved Wine Presses

Some meters away from the village Prinias, province Malevizi, at the area called Patitiria a very pleasant surprise awaits us. This area is scattered with medieval wine presses, all carved into the soft limestone of the region. The presses are evidence of ancient winemaking traditions of the region from ancient times until today with wines famous all over the known world. The grounds and the altitude of this region are considered ideal for growing wine grape varieties. The area with the carved presses is within walking distance from the archaeological site of Patela, where ancient city Rizinia is found.

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Settlement Roukaka

At the west slopes of mount Romanati in Sitia Province, there is located the old settlement of Roukaka village (or Hrysopigi) with amazing views to the valley of today’s village Roukaka. The village was abandoned after the villagers moved to the current village of Roukaka. Only the church of Analispi survives in very good condition, next to a spring with fresh water and a small plane tree wood.

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Koules of Vamos

One of the many koules (Turkish towers) built by the Turks in Crete that is completely unknown is that of Vamos. It is located atop Koules hill above the village of Vamos and is very hard to reach and identify. Almost nothing survives from this fort apart from the foundations and some scattered piles of stones that once formed part of the walls. The vegetation has covered the area and in some years there will be nothing visible from the fort of a bygone era.

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