DK Travel : Crete : History & Culture

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Diktian Cave (Diktaion Antron)

Said to be the birthplace of Zeus, this cave above the Lasithi Plateau contains an artificial lake.
Dorian City States

Gortys and Kidonia (modern Chania) were among the most powerful.
El Greco

Born in the twilight years of Venetian rule in Crete, Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541–1614) studied the icon painters of the Cretan School; their influence can be seen in the elongated features of his subjects and his vivid use of colour. He trained under Titian in Italy, then moved to Toledo, where he acquired his Spanish nickname of El Greco: “the Greek”.
Eleftherios Venizelos

Born at Mournies near Chania, Venizelos (1864–1936) made his reputation in the 1889 and 1896 uprisings. He led the campaign for union with Greece, and went on to become the Greek premier, dominating the nation’s politics until the 1930s. He then became involved in a failed republican coup d’etat and was forced to flee the country, dying in exile in Paris.
Erotokritos by Vinzentzos Kornaros

Ten thousand lines of epic poetry written in the 15-syllable heptametric style of Byzantium.
Frangokastello

The Venetians built this romantic coastal fortress to defend the south coast from Saracen pirates. In 1821 it was occupied by a small force of Cretan rebels, holding out against a vastly greater Turkish army. The rebels were defeated of course, but, according to legend, once a year their ghosts appear from the sea to reclaim the ruined castle (see The Drossoulites of Frangokastello & Frangokastello).

Frangokastello
Frescoes of Moni Valsamonerou

Variously attributed to Damaskinos and 15th-century painter Konstantinos Rikos.
Gortys

The ruined city of Gortys, with basilica and remnants of a Roman provincial governor’s palace, dates from the early Christian era. The site extends over a wide area, and is usually uncrowded, so it can be explored at leisure (see Gortys).
Gortys

Toppled Roman columns, a ruined Byzantine basilica, post-Minoan fortifications, and an agora, acropolis and remains of temples to Athena and Apollo all hint at the past glories of this large and little-visited archaeological site close to Crete’s south coast. First settled in Minoan times, it became one of the most important cities of Doric Crete. It later allied itself with the Romans to become an important provincial capital, and was one of Crete’s most prosperous cities until it was sacked by Arab invaders during the anarchic years of the 8th century AD (see Gortys).
Gournia

The well-preserved Minoan town of Gournia, a maze of roofless stone walls, makes an interesting contrast with the better-known Minoan palaces. This was a working community, and archaeologists discovered workshops used by potters, smiths and carpenters alongside tiny houses surrounding a small palace (see Gournia).