Εμφανίζονται 100 (επί συνόλου 928) τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΚΡΗΤΗ Νησί ΕΛΛΑΔΑ" .
ΑΙΚΥΡΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ (Οικισμός) ΜΥΘΗΜΝΑ
Βρίσκεται στην ορεινή κοιλάδα του Τυφλού. Περιοχή δασώδης και με πολλά νερά.
ΡΕΘΥΜΝΟ (Νομός) ΚΡΗΤΗ
Κατά την παλαιοχριστιανική εποχή, την εποχή δηλαδή της αρχικής αλλά
εκτεταμένης επικράτησης του Χριστιανισμού στην Κρήτη
ανεγείρονται μεγαλοπρεπείς ναοί βασισμένοι σε μεγάλο βαθμό στην αρχιτεκτονική
της ύστερης αρχαιότητος. Οι ναοί αυτοί, όχι μόνο στην Κρήτη
αλλά και σε ολόκληρη την Ανατολική Μεσόγειο, κατά τον 5ο μέχρι και τις αρχές του
9ου αιώνα, ακολουθούν τον τύπο της τρίκλιτης ξυλόστεγης βασιλικής με νάρθηκα
που επικρατεί σχεδόν ως αποκλειστικός αρχιτεκτονικός τύπος με ελάχιστες παραλλαγές
στη μορφή του. Είναι συνήθως τρίκλιτες με υπερυψωμένη στέγη στο μεσαίο κλίτος
ώστε να εξασφαλίζεται πλούσιος φωτισμός στο εσωτερικό.
Στο Ρέθυμνο έχουν αποκαλυφθεί ίχνη από αρκετούς παλαιοχριστιανικούς
ναούς, (περί τους 17), που είναι διάσπαρτοι σε όλη την έκταση του νομού. Από αυτούς
έχουν ανασκαφεί συστηματικά οι παλαιοχριστιανικές βασιλικές Ελεύθερνας,
Πανόρμου, Γουλεδιανών,
Βιράν Επισκοπής και Βυζαρίου.
Κατά τον 9ο αιώνα διαμορφώνεται και επικρατεί ο νέος αρχιτεκτονικός
τύπος του εγγεγραμμένου σταυροειδούς με τρούλο ναού. Ο ναός αυτού
του τύπου έχει ορθογωνική κάτοψη, στέγη σε σχήμα σταυρού και τρούλο στηριζόμενο
σε κίονες, που συμβολίζει τον ουράνιο θόλο. Η διαμόρφωσή του βασίζεται σε κωνσταντινουπολίτικες
επιρροές που την εποχή αυτή αυξάνουν, μια και η Κρήτη
μόλις έχει απελευθερωθεί από τους Αραβες. Στην ύπαιθρο του νομού Ρεθύμνης μπορεί
να συναντήσει κανείς αρκετές εκκλησίες αυτού του τύπου όπως ο Αγιος Δημήτριος
στο ομώνυμο χωριό (11ος αι.), ο Αγιος Γεώργιος στον Καλαμά
Μυλοποτάμου (11ος αι.), η
Παναγία η Λαμπινή (12ος αι.) κ.ά.
Ο ελεύθερος σταυρός με τρούλο είναι ένας άλλος αρχιτεκτονικός
τύπος που διαφοροποιείται από τον προηγούμενο κυρίως ως προς την απουσία των γωνιακών
διαμερισμάτων. Η Αγία Παρασκευή στους Ασώματους
Αμαρίου (13ος αι.) είναι ένα
χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα αυτού του τύπου. Ακόμα πιο σπάνια εφαρμόζεται ο τύπος
του μονόχωρου με τρούλο ναού που τον αναγνωρίζουμε στις εκκλησίες
του Αγίου Ευτυχίου στο Χρωμοναστήρι
(11ος αι.)και του Σωτήρα στην Αρχαία
Ελεύθερνα Μυλοποτάμου
(12ος αι.).
Από το 13ο αι. και σε όλη τη διάρκεια της βενετοκρατίας κυριαρχεί
ο αρχιτεκτονικός τύπος του μικρού, μονόχωρου, καμαροσκέπαστου
ναού. Τα εκκλησάκια αυτά που τα συναντά κανείς με μεγάλη συχνότητα στη ρεθεμνιώτικη
αλλά και γενικότερα στην κρητική ύπαιθρο, ξεχωρίζουν για τα ξενόφερτα δυτικά χαρακτηριστικά
τους όπως οι ανάγλυφες διακοσμήσεις στα παράθυρα και τις θύρες. Ιδιαίτερο παράδειγμα
αποτελεί ο Αγιος Ιωάννης στο Γερακάρι
όπου η καμαροσκέπαστη εκκλησία επεκτάθηκε με την προσθήκη στη δυτική πλευρά του
τετραγωνικού, τρουλλαίου νάρθηκα, τακτική που ακολουθείται σε ορισμένες περιπτώσεις
κατά το 14ο αι. προκειμένου να διευρυνθεί ο περιορισμένος χώρος της εκκλησίας.
(Κείμενο: Στέλλα Καλογεράκη)
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Ιανουάριο 2004 από τουριστικό φυλλάδιο της Νομαρχιακής
Επιτροπής Τουριστικής Προβολής Ρεθύμνου.
ΧΑΝΙΑ (Νομός) ΚΡΗΤΗ
Ο νομός Χανίων χωρίζεται μέσω των αγέρωχων Λευκών
Ορέων σε δύο τελείως διαφορετικά φυσικά τοπία. Το τμήμα της παραλιακής ζώνης,
με 350χλμ. ακτών, είναι πλουσιότερο και πιο πυκνοκατοικημένο. Η αραιοκατοικημένη
ενδοχώρα, αποτελεί μία από τις πιο αισθησιακές περιοχές της Κρήτης.
Στις περισσότερες βουνοκορφές μετρώνται θερμοκρασίες κάτω από το μηδέν και από
το Δεκέμβρη έως το Μάη είναι σκεπασμένες με χιόνι.
Κρεμασμένα στις βουνοπλαγιές, πολλά παραδοσιακά χωριουδάκια με τα
πέτρινα σπιτάκια τους στραμμένα στον ήλιο, ξεχασμένα από το χρόνο, αποτελούν ενδιαφέροντες
προορισμούς της πράσινης Κρήτης.
Μέρα με τη μέρα, όλο και περισσότεροι περιηγητές προσπαθούν να τα εξερευνήσουν
πηγαίνοντας περπατώντας, με τζιπ, με άλογο ή με ποδήλατο. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση προωθεί
με το πρόγραμμα “Leader” τη διαμονή σε αγροτοτουριστικά καταλύματα.
Σε μέρη όπως ο Βάμος, η Μηλιά,
τα Κεραμιά, το Καστέλι, το Ασκύφου και αλλού, υπάρχει η δυνατότητα να γνωρίσει
ο επισκέπτης μέσα στην απλόχερη φύση την κρητική ζωή στην απλότητα και την ιδιαιτερότητά
της, να απολαύσει την κρητική διατροφή μ’ ένα ποτήρι κρασί ή τσικουδιά,
να συμμετάσχει σε γιορτές και να νοιώσει τις ρίζες του ευρωπαϊκού πολιτισμού.
Φιλόξενα καταλύματα, εγκαταστάσεις για τον ελεύθερο χρόνο και μαγαζιά με χειροποίητα
χαλιά, φίνα κοσμήματα, υφαντά, παραδοσιακά έπιπλα, κεραμικά και σπιτικά προϊόντα
άριστης ποιότητας (τυρί, πάστες, μαρμελάδες κ.ά.) φροντίζουν για μια αξέχαστη
διαμονή.
(Κείμενο: Δρ. Αναστασία Καλπάκη-Γεωργουλάκη)
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται το Δεκέμβριο 2003 από τουριστικό φυλλάδιο της Νομαρχιακής
Επιτροπής Τουριστικής Προβολής Νομού Χανίων (2002).
ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ (Πόλη) ΚΡΗΤΗ
The city was regained by the Byzantine Empire in 961 A.D. after many
unsuccessful attempts. After the Crusaders occupied Constantinople in 1204, they
gave Crete to Boniface of Monferrat who sold the island to Venice for one thousand
pieces of silver. Under Venetian rule the arts flourished and Candia, as the Venetians
renamed it, became a centre of learning. Many scholars and artists took refuge
in Candia after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Venetians began construction
of the city walls in 1462, which were completed more than a century later. The
walls were 4km in length, of a triangular shape and had seven bastions. The Venetians
also built the harbor and various other masterly architectural works. The walls
proved their deterrent strength when the city was besieged for 21 years, one of
the longest sieges in history. The final surrender came in 1669 after 100,000
Turks and 30,000 Venetians had been killed. Turkish occupation was heavily resented
by the Cretans and continuous guerrilla warfare was waged against the Turks and,
in return, the Turks often made reprisals against the Cretan population in the
cities. Iraklion grew in size after the 1913 union with Greece. However, its strategic
location again made it a target for invading forces in 1941. The German bombardment
during the Battle of Crete caused a great amount of damage and after the war the
city was extensively rebuilt. Chania was originally the capital of Crete. The
administrative centre of Crete was transferred to Iraklion in 1971.
Today Iraklion is the biggest city in Crete (and fifth in Greece)
with a population in excess of 130,000. It concentrates most of the economical
activity of the island, and is the main port of entry to Crete for the majority
of visitors. The Iraklion airport receives approximately 15% of the total tourist
traffic of Greece.
This extract is cited October 2004 from the URL below, which
contains image
ΜΙΛΑΤΟΣ (Λιμάνι) ΜΙΡΑΜΠΕΛΟΥ
ΠΑΛΑΙΟΧΩΡΑ (Κωμόπολη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
ΣΦΑΚΙΑ (Επαρχία) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Sfakia, in the southwest of Crete, is the famous and most authentic
region of Crete. Here you can find the last pieces of the old Cretan culture and
nature, far away from mass tourism. Whether you are looking for the nice and quiet,
on the natural beaches, or want to be active, with mountain hiking, swimming,
diving and fishing: this is the place! By the way, did you know Sfakia is Europe's
southernmost part?
Nowadays Crete's main businesses are olive oil, wine and tourism.
The latter is mainly centered along the North coast. The South West is sheltered
from the masses by huge mountain ranges of over 2500 metres high. Only a few roads
go south. There you arrive in a better climate region, even better than the Mediterranean
climate! Since the mountains appear to sink directly in the sea, only small locations
are suitable for villages. This scales down the possibilities for holiday resorts.
Since Sfakia is quite remote, also the culture of their inhabitants is less business
focused. Hospitality is still an art over here, with good tavernas, fresh fish
and meat and very fair prices. The drinking water is mineral water from wells
deep into the mountains. The natural beaches are wells of mountain rivers, with
sweet water mixing with the sea. The best and most clear swimming water is here.
The hills and mountains are crossed by huge gorges; Sfakia's Samaria
gorge is the biggest of Europe, but there are many more and all can be walked
fairly easily. A ferry is connecting the villages along the South West coast;
there is no noisy ongoing road. Directly from your hotel in Chora Sfakion, the
small capital of Sfakia, you can start your daily programme: the beaches are only
25 meters away, more than 20 hiking routes start from here, all ferries come to
Chora Sfakion and there is a good bus connection to the East and the North, by
2 renovated lane streets. You can also rent a car to explore the region, with
its many small traditional villages
In the evenings you have a choice of fine restaurants and tavernas,
with local dishes of fresh fish, lobster, lam and goat or more international dishes.
The Cretan wine is excellent and so is the olive oil and the Raki or Tsikoudia,
as they call it: a tasty spirit made from the remains of the wine production.
The Sfakians like to join you at your table and tell their stories or listen to
yours. For disco and night clubs you have chosen the wrong place.
When you arrive by plane on Crete, you have the choice of 2 airports:
Heraklion and Chania. If you have the chance, take Chania. This one is far more
close to Sfakia, but even more important: it's small and quiet; check out is very
quick and outside you can take the local bus, a pre-ordered taxi from Sfakia or
rent a car. A one-and-a half hour's drive through the impressive White Mountains
range down south brings you to paradise!
This extract is cited October 2004 from the URL listed below,
which contains images
ΑΛΛΑΡΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΓΕΡΟΠΟΤΑΜΟΣ
Eth. Allariates. A city of Crete of uncertain site, of which coins are extant,
bearing on the obverse the head of Pallas, and on the reverse a figure of Heracles
standing.
ΑΜΝΙΣΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
A town in the N. of Crete, and the harbour of Cnossus in the time of Minos, was
situated at the mouth of a river of the same name (the modern Aposelemi). It possessed
a sanctuary of Eileithyia, and the nymphs of the river, called Amnisiabes and
Amnisides, were sacred to this goddess.
ΑΜΦΙΜΑΛΛΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΥΠΟΛΗ
A town in the N. of Crete, situated on the bay named after it (Amphimales kolpos
Ptol. iii. 17. § 7), which corresponds, according to some, to the bay of Armiro,
and, according to others, to the bay of Suda.
ΑΞΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΥΛΟΥΚΩΝΑΣ
Axus (Axos: Axus), a city of Crete (Herod. iv. 154), which is identified
with Oaxos (Steph. B. s. v.), situated on a river (rapidum Cretae veniemus Oaxen,
Virg. Ecl. 166), which, according to Vibius Sequester (Flum. p. 15), gave its
name to Axus. According to the Cyrenaean traditions, the Theraean Battus, their
founder, was the son of a damsel named Phronimne, the daughter of Etearchus, king
of this city (Herod. l. c.). Mr. Pashley (Travels, vol. i. p. 143, foll.) discovered
the ancient city in the modern village of Axus, near Mt. Ida. The river of Axus
flows past the village. Remains belonging to the so-called Cyclopean or Pelasgiewalls
were found, and in the church a piece of white marble with a sepulchral inscription
in the ancient Doric Greek of the island. On another inscription was a decree
of a common assembly of the Cretans, an instance of the well known Syncretism,
as it was called. The coins of Axus present types of Zeus and Apollo, as might
be expected in a city situated on the slopes of Mt. Ida, and the foundation of
which was, by one of the legends, ascribed to a son of Apollo. The situation answers
to one of the etymologies of the name: it was called Axus because the place is
precipitous, that word being used by the Cretans in the same sense that the other
Greeks assigned to agmos, a crag. (Hoeck, Kreta, vol. i. p. 397.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΓΑΖΙ
Apollonia (Apollonia: Eth. Apolloniates, Apolloniates, Apollinas,
-atis, Apolloniensis). The name of two cities in Crete, one near Cnossus (Steph.
B. s. v.), the inhabitants of which were most treacherously treated by the Cydoniatae,
who were their friends and allies. (Polyb. xxvii. 16.) The site is on the coast
near Armyro, or perhaps approaching towards Megalo Kastron, at the Ghiofero. (Pashley,
Crete, vol. i. p. 261.) The site of the other city, which was once called Eleuthera
(Eleuthera, Steph. B.), is uncertain. The philosopher Diogenes Apolloniates was
a native of Apolloniates in Crete. (Diet. of Biog. s. v.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΠΤΕΡΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΟΥΔΑ
Apteria, Apteron, Eth. Apteraios (Palaeokastron). A city of Crete
situated to the E. of Polyrrhenia, and 80 stadia from Cydonia (Strab. x. p. 479).
Here was placed the scene of the legend of the contest between the Sirens and
the Muses, when after the victory of the latter, the Sirens lost the feathers
of their wings from their shoulders, and having thus become white cast themselves
into the sea, - whence the name of the city Aptera, and of the neighbouring islands
Leucae. (Steph. B. s. v.) It was at one time in alliance with Cnossus, but was
afterwards compelled by the Polyrrhenians to side with them against that city.
(Pol. iv. 55.) The port of Aptera according to Strabo was Cisamos. Mr. Pashley
(Travels, vol. i. p. 48) supposes that the ruins of Palaeokastron belong to Aptera,
and that its port is to be found at or near Kalyves. Diodorus (v. 64) places Berecynthos
in the district of the Apteraeans. (The old reading was emended by Meursius, Creta,
p. 84.) This mountain has been identified with the modern Malaxa, which from its
granitic and schistose basis complies with the requisite geological conditions
for the existence of metallic veins; if we are to believe that bronze and iron
were here first discovered, and bestowed on man by the Idaean Dactyls.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΡΑΔΙΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΦΑΚΙΑ
(Eth. Aradenios). A city of Crete, formerly called Anopolis. In Kiepert's map
it appears on the SW. coast of the island, near the Phoenix Portus. Remains of
ancient walls are found at the modern Anopolis.
ΑΡΚΑΔΕΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΙΑΝΝΟ
Arcadia (Arkadia; Arkades, Steph. B. probably Eth.), a city of Crete, which in Hierocles is placed between Lyctus and Cnossus; but in Kiepert's map appears on the coast of the gulf of Didymoi Kolpoi. It disputed the claims of Mt. Ida to be the birthplace of Zeus. The Arcadians were first allies of Cnossus, but afterward joined Lyctus. (Pol. iv. 53.) According to Theophrastus, when the town fell into the hands of enemies the springs ceased to flow; when recovered by the inhabitants they resumed their course (Senec. Quaest. Nat. iii. 2; Plin, xxxi. 4).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΕΡΣΟΝΗΣΟΣ
A town of Crete assigned to Lyctus. (Steph. B.) Berkelius (ad loc.) supposes that
an error had crept into the text, and that for Auktou we should read Aukias. Its
existence has been confirmed by some coins with the types and emblems peculiar
to the Cretan mints. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 304.)
ΒΗΝΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΥΛΟΥΚΩΝΑΣ
Eth. Benaios. A town of Crete, in the neighbourhood of Gortyn, to which it was
subject, only known as the birthplace of the poet Rhianus.
ΒΙΑΝΝΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
Biennus (Biennos: Eth. Biennios: Vianos), a small city of Crete which
the coast-describer (Geogr. Graec. Minor. ed. Gail, vol. ii. p. 495) places at
some distance from the sea, midway between Hierapytna and Leben, the most eastern
of the two parts of Gortyna. The Blenna of the Peutinger Table, which is placed
at 30 M. P. from Arcadia, and 20 M. P. from Hierapytna, is no doubt the same as
Biennus. In Hierocles, the name of this city occurs under the form of Bienna.
The contest of Otus and Ephialtes with Ares is said to have taken place near this
city. (Homer, Il. v. 315; Steph. B. s. v.) From this violent conflict the city
is said to have derived its name. Mr. Pashley, in opposition to Dr. Cramer, who
supposes that certain ruins said to be found at a considerable distance to the
E. of Haghii Saranta may represent Biennus, fixes the site at Vianos, which agrees
very well with the indications of the coast-describer. (Pashley, Travels, vol.
i. p. 267.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΒΙΕΝΝΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Eth. Biennios: Vianos. A small city of Crete which the coast-describer
(Geogr. Graec. Minor. ed. Gail, vol. ii. p. 495) places at some distance from
the sea, midway between Hierapytna and Leben, the most eastern of the two parts
of Gortyna. The Blenna of the Peutinger Table, which is placed at 30 M. P. from
Arcadia, and 20 M. P. from Hierapytna, is no doubt the same as Biennus. In Hierocles,
the name of this city occurs under the form of Bienna. The contest of Otus and
Ephialtes with Ares is said to have taken place near this city. (Homer, Il. v.
315; Steph. B. s. v.) From this violent conflict the city is said to have derived
its name. Mr. Pashley, in opposition to Dr. Cramer, who supposes that certain
ruins said to be found at a considerable distance to the E. of Haghii Saranta
may represent Biennus, fixes the site at Vianos, which agrees very well with the
indications of the coast-describer. (Pashley, Travels, vol. i. p. 267.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΒΟΙΒΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΓΟΡΤΥΝΑ
Boibe. A town in Crete, of which we only know that it was in the Gortynian district;
a village called Bobia, near the edge of the plain of Mesara, is supposed to indicate
the site.
ΓΟΡΤΥΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
Gortyn, Gortyna (Gortun, Gortuna: Eth. Gortunios), a town of Crete
which appears in the Homeric poems, under the form of Gortun (Il. ii. 646, Od.
iii. 294); but afterwards became usually Gortuna (comp. Tzchuck ad Pomp. Melam,
vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 811), according to Steph. B. (s. v.) it was originally called
Larissa (Larissa) and Cremnia (Kremnia).
This important city was next to Cnossus in importance and splendour;
in early times these two great towns had entered into a league which enabled them
to reduce the whole of Crete under their power; in after-times when dissensions
arose among them they were engaged in continual hostilities (Strab. x. p. 478).
It was originally of very considerable size, since Strabo reckons its circuit
at 50 stadia; but when he wrote it was very much diminished. He adds that Ptolemy
Philopator had begun to enclose it with fresh walls; but the work was not carried
on for more than 8 stadia. In the Peloponnesian War, Gortyna seems to have had
relations with Athens. (Thuc. ii. 85). In B.C. 201, Philopoemen, who had been
invited over by the inhabitants, assumed the command of the forces of Gortyna.
(Plut. Philop. 13.) In B.C. 197, five hundred of the Gortynians, under their commander,
Cydas, which seems to have been a common name at Gortyna, joined Quinctius Flamininus
in Thessaly (Liv. xxxiii. 3.)
Gortyna stood on a plain watered by the river Lethaeus, and at a distance
of 90 stadia from the Libyan Sea, on which were situated its two harbours, Lebena
and Metallum (Strab.), and is mentioned by Pliny (iv. 20), Scylax (p. 19), Ptolemy
(iii. 17. § 10), and Hierocles, who commenced his tour of the island with this
place.
In the neighbourhood of Gortyna, the fountain of Sauros is said to
have been surrounded by poplars which bore fruits (Theophrast. H. P. iii. 5);
and on the banks of the Lethaeus was another famous spring, which the naturalists
said was shaded by a plane-tree, which retained its foliage through the winter,
and which the people believed to have covered the marriage-bed of Europa and the
metamorphosed Zeus. (Theophrast. H. P. i. 15; Varr. de Re Rustic. i. 7; Plin.
xii. 1.)
The ruins of Gortyna, as they existed previously, have been described
more or less diffusely by various writers (Belon, Les Observ. des plus Singul.
p. 8; Tournefort, Voyage du Levant, pp. 58-64; Pococke, Trav. vol. ii. pt. i.
pp. 252-255; Savary, Lettres sur la Grece, xxiii.); their statements, along with
the full account of the Venetian MS. of the 16th century, will be found in the
Museum of Classical Antiquities, vol. ii. pp. 277-286. The site of Gortyna cannot,
till the survey of the island is completed, be made out, but Mr. Pashley (Trav.
vol. i. p. 295) has placed it near the modern Haghius Dheka, where the ten Saints
of Gortyna, according to tradition, suffered martyrdom in the reign of Decius
(comp. Cornelius, Creta Sacra, vol. i. pp. 156-166). In this neighbourhood is
the cavern which Mr. Cockerell (Walpole, Memoirs, vol. ii. pp. 402-406) has conjectured
to be the far-famed labyrinth; but as the ancients with the exception of Claudian
(Sext. Cons. Hon. 634), who, probably, used the name of the town as equivalent
to Cretan, are unanimous in fixing the legend of the Minotaur at Cnossus, the
identification must be presumed to be purely fanciful. The coins of Gortyna are
of very ancient workmanship. Besides the autonomous, there are numerous imperial
coins, ranging from Augustus to Hadrian. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 312; Sestini, p.
82.)
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ΔΙΑ (Νησί) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
Dia (Dia), a small island which lies 40 stadia (Stadiasm.) from the
Heracleium of Cnossus in Crete (Strab. x. p. 484; Plin. iv. 20); the modern Standia.
(Map of Crete, Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 308.)
ΔΙΚΤΗ (Βουνό) ΛΑΣΙΘΙ
Dicte (Dikte, Strab. x. p. 478 Diod. v. 70: Steph. B.; Dikton, Arat.
Phaen. 33; Diktaion oros, Etym. M. s. v.; Dictaeus M., Plin. iv. 12: Juktas),
the well-known Cretan mountain where; according to story, Zeus rested from his
labours on earth and in heaven. Here the lying Cretan dared to show the tomb of
the Father of gods and men, which remained an object of veneration or curiosity
from an early period to the age of Constantine. (Cic. de N. D. iii. 2. 1; Diod.
iii. 61; Lucian, de Sacrif. 10, vol. i. p. 634, de Jov. Tragoed. 45, vol. ii.
p. 693, ed. Hemst.; Origen. c. Cels. ii. 143, p. 475, ed. Par.) The stony slopes
of the mountain rose to the SE. of Cnossus, ou the E. side. Mr. Pashley found
considerable remains of ancient walls at about 100 paces from the summit. The
fragments offered good specimens of the polygonal construction. (Trav. vol. i.
p. 220.) These, no doubt, are the remains of that ancient city described by the
Venetian writer (Descrizione dell' Isola di Candia) as lying on the E. or opposite
side of the mountain to Lyctus, of which Ariosto (Orland. Fur. xx. 15) makes mention:
Fra cento alme citta ch‘ eano in Creta,
Dictea piu ricca, e piu piacevol era.
On the lower slopes was the fountain, on the wonders of which the
Venetian writer gives a glowing description (Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 270),
and which must, therefore, have existed at an earlier date than that recorded
by the inscription as given by Mr. Pashley (Trav. vol. i. p. 211.)
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ΔΙΚΤΙΝΑ (Αρχαίο ιερό) ΚΟΛΥΜΒΑΡΙ
Dictamnum (Diktamnon, Ptol. iii. 17. § 8), a town of Crete, which
Pomponius Mela (ii. 7. § 12), who calls it Dictynna, describes as being one of
the best known in Crete. It was situated to the N.E. of Mt. Dictynnaeus, and S.E.
of the promontory Psacum, with a temple to the goddess Dictynna. (Dicaearch. 13;
Stadiasm.; Scylax.) Mr. Pashley (Trav. vol. ii. p. 29) identifies the site with
a place called Kantsillieres, about 3 miles from the extremity of Cape Spadha.
Pococke (Trav. vol. ii. pt. i. pp. 244-245) has described the ruins, and speaks
of cisterns and columns existing in his time; and in this, his statement agrees
with that of the MS. of the 16th century which has been translated (Mus. Class.
Antiq. vol. ii. p. 299), and fixes the site at a place called St. Zorzo di Magnes,
12 miles W. of Canea and 6 from Cape Spadha, on a conspicuous elevation of a lofty
mountain. (Hock, Kreta, vol. ii. p. 158.)
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ΔΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΓΑΖΙ
Dion akron (Ptol. iii. 17. § 7). A promontory of Crete on the N. coast, where
the island has its greatest breadth. Pliny (iv. 20) speaks of an inland town of
this name (comp. Euseb. Praep. Ev. v. 31), which probably, however, was situated
in the neighbourhood of this headland, which is now called Kavo Stravro.
ΔΙΟΝΥΣΑΔΕΣ (Σύμπλεγμα νήσων) ΛΑΣΙΘΙ
Dionysiades (Dionusiades, Diod. v. 75), small islands which lie off
the coast of Crete to the NE. The position is fixed by the Coast-describer at
120 stadia from Sammonium (Stadiasm.) The Peutinger Table places at the E. of
the N. extremity of Crete, an island with the unfinished name of Dion. . . This
must be one of this group of islands, which now are called Dhionysiadhes. See
the map in Pashley's Travels. (Hock, Kreta, vol. i. pp. 428, 439.)
ΔΟΥΛΟΠΟΛΙΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΕΚΑΝΟΣ
Dulopolis (Doulopolis, Doulon polis, Hesych.), a city of Crete, which
was mentioned by Sosicrates in the first book of his work on Crete (Suid. s. v.),
and was said to have contained a thousand male citizens (Steph. B. s. v.). Unfortunately,
none of these authorities give any hint which might serve to determine the situation
of this city, which, from the singularity of its name, gives rise to tempting
conjectures. (Hock, Kreta, vol. i. p. 433, vol. iii. p. 34; Pashley, Trav. vol.
ii. p. 82.)
ΕΙΝΑΤΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΚΑΛΟΧΩΡΙ
Inatos. A city of Crete, the same, no doubt, as Einatus (Einatos),
situated on a mountain and river of the same name. The Peutinger Table puts a
place called Inata on a river 24 M. P. E. of Lisia, and 32 M. P. W. of Hierapytna.
These distances agree well with the three or four hamlets known by the name Kasteliana,
derived from the Venetian fortress, Castle Belvedere, situated on a hill a little
to the N. of the villages. The goddess Eileithyia is said to have been worshipped
here, and to have obtained one of her epithets, from it.
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ΕΛΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Elaea (Elaia, Ptol. v. 14. § 3), a promontory on the NE. coast of
Crete, which Pococke (Trav. vol. ii. p. 218) calls Chaule-burnau. (Comp. Engel,
Kypros, vol. i. p. 89.)
ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΚΑΔΙ
A town of great importance in Crete, situated on the NW. slopes of
Mt. Ida, at a distance of 50 stadia from the harbour of Astale (Stadiasm.), and
8 M. P. from Sybritia (Peut. Tab.). Its origin was ascribed to the legendary Curetes
(Steph. B. s. v.), and it was here that Ametor or Amiton first accompanied his
lovesongs to the cithara. It was in alliance with Cnossus till the people of Polyrrhenium
and Lampe compelled it to break off from the confederacy. (Polyb. iv. 53, 55).
Dion Cassius (xxxvi. 1) has an odd story about a knot of traitors
within who gave up the city to Q. Metellus Creticus, making a breach through a
strong brick tower by means of vinegar. It was existing in the time of Hierocles;
and the number and beauty of its silver coins show it to have been a place of
great consideration. The Venetian MS. of the 16th century mentions the remains
of this city as being so enormous as to strike the eye with wonder at the power
and riches of a people that could afford to rear such stately monuments. Mr. Pashley
discovered vestiges of antiquity on the summit of a lofty hill near a place still
called Eletherna, about five miles S. of the great convent of Arkadhi, which possesses
a Metokhi on the site.
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ΕΛΥΡΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΟ ΣΕΛΙΝΟ
Eluros: Eth. Elurios (Steph. B.). A town of Crete, which Scylax places
between Cydonia and Lissus. It had a harbour, Suia, (Steph. B.), situated on the
S. coast of the island, 60 stadia W. of Poecilassus. (Stadiasm.) Pausanias (x.
16. § 3) states: that the city. existed il his time in the mountains of Crete.
He adds that he had seen at Delphi the bronze goat which the Elyrians had dedicated,
and which was represented in the act of giving suck to Phylacis and Phylander,
children of Apollo and the nymph Acacallis, whose love had been won by the youthful
god at the house of Casmanor at Tarrha. It was the birthplace of Thaletas (Suid.
s. v.), who was considered as the inventor of the Cretic rhythm, the national
paeans and songs, with many of the institutions of his country. (Strab. x. p.
480.) Elyrus appears in Hierocles' list of Cretan cities, then reduced in number
to twenty-one. Mr. Pashley discovered the site at a Palaeokastron near Rhodovani.
The first object that presents itself is a building consisting of a series of
arches; next, vestiges of walls, especially on the N. and NE. sides of the ancient
city. The circuit of these must originally have been two miles; at a slight elevation
above are other walls, as of an acropolis. Further on are some massive stones,
some pieces of an entablature, and several fragments of the shafts of columns,
all that now remains of an ancient temple. Traces of the wall of Suia, which still
retains its ancient name, and of some public buildings, may be observed. Several
tombs, resembling those of Haghio-Kyrko, and an aqueduct, are still remaining.The
coins of this city have the type of a bee upon them.
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ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΡΗΤΗ
Herakleion. A place in Crete, which Strabo calls the port of Cnossus,
was situated, according to the anonymous coast-describer (Stadiasm.), at a distance
of 20 stadia from that city. The name Heracleia (Herakleia, comp. Plin. iv. 20)
is simply mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium as the 17th of the 23 Heracleias
he enumerates. Although the ecclesiastical notices make no mention of this place
as a bishop's see, yet there is found among the subscriptions to the proceedings
of the General Seventh Council held at Nicaea, along with other Cretan prelates,
Theodoros, bishop of Heracleopolis. Mr. Pashley has fixed the site at a little
rocky hill to the W. of Kakou-oros. There are remains of buildings, probably of
no earlier date than the Venetian conquest, but the position agrees with the indications
of the ancients.
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ΗΤΙΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΗΤΕΙΑ
Eteia (Eteia), a town of Crete. Pliny (iv. 20) places a town of this
name (some of the MSS. and the old text have Elea or Eleae), between Phalasarna
and Cisamus.
ΘΕΝΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
Thenai. A town of Crete close on the Omphalian plain, and near Cnossus. If not
on the very site it must have been close to the Castello Temenos of the Venetians,
which was built A. D. 961, when the Cretans, under their Saracenic leaders, were
vanquished by Nicephorus Phocas and the forces of the Byzantine emperor.
ΙΔΗ (Βουνό) ΡΕΘΥΜΝΟ
Ida (Ide, Ptol. iii. 17. § 9; Pomp. Mela, ii. 7. § 12; Plin. iv. 12,
xvi. 33; Virg. Aen. iii. 105; Solin. ii.; Avien. 676; Prisc. 528), the central
and loftiest point of the mountain range which traverses the island of Crete throughout
the whole length from W. to E. In the middle of the island, where it is broadest
(Strab. x. pp. 472, 475, 478), Mt. Ida lifts its head covered with snow. (Theophrast.
H. P. iv. 1.) The lofty summits terminate in three peaks, and, like the main chain
of which it is the nucleus, the offshoots to the N. slope gradually towards the
sea, enclosing fertile plains and valleys, and form by their projections the numerous
bays and gulfs with which the coast is indented. Mt. Ida, now called Psiloriti,
sinks down rapidly towards the SE. into the extensive plain watered by the Lethaeus.
This side of the mountain, which looks down upon the plain of Mesara, is covered
with cypresses (comp. Theophrast. de Vent. p. 405; Dion. Perieg. 503; Eustath.
ad. loc.), pines, and junipers. Mt. Ida was the locality assigned for the legends
connected with the history of Zeus, and there was a cavern in its slopes sacred
to that deity. (Diod. Sic. v. 70.)
The Cretan Ida, like its Trojan namesake, was connected with the working
of iron, and the Idaean Dactyls, the legendary discoverers of metallurgy, are
assigned sometimes to the one and sometimes to the other. Wood was essential to
the operations of smelting and forging; and the word Ida, an appellative for any
wood-covered mountain, was used perhaps, like the German berg, at once for a mountain
and a mining work. (Kenrick, Aegypt of Herodotus, p. 278; Hock, Kreta, vol. i.
p. 4.)
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ΙΕΡΑΠΥΤΝΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΙΕΡΑΠΕΤΡΑ
Hieraputna, Hiera Putna, Hiera Petra, Hierapudna, Hiera Pudns. A town
of Crete, of which Strabo says that it stood in the narrowest part of the island,
opposite Minoa. Hierapytna, according to the Coast-describer, was 180 stadia from
Biennus, which agrees with the distance of 20 M. P. assigned to it by the Peutinger
Table. It was a town of great antiquity, and its foundation was ascribed to the
Corybantes; it bore the successive names of Cyrba, Pytna, Camirus, and Hierapytna.
From an inscription preserved among the Oxford marbles, it appears that the Hierapytnians
were at one time allied with the neighbouring city of Priansus. Traces of this
city have been found at the Kastele of Hierapetra. There are both autonomous and
imperial coins belonging to Hierapytna; the symbol on the former is generally
a palm tree.
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ΙΝΑΧΩΡΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Inachorion. A city of Crete, which, from the similarity of sound, Mr. Pashley
is inclined to believe was situated in the modern district of Enneakhoria, on
the W. coast of Crete.
ΙΠΠΟΚΟΡΩΝΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
A city in Crete mentioned by Strabo, which Hock has placed near Hierapytna. Mr.
Pashley considers that the modern Apokoirona is a corruption of the ancient name.
ΙΣΤΡΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΓΙΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΣ
Istrus (Istros), a Cretan town which Artemidorus also called Istrona.
(Steph. B. s. v.) The latter form of the name is found in an inscription (ap.
Chishull, Antiq. Asiat. p. 110). The site is placed near Minoa: Among the ruined
edifices and columns of this ancient city are two immense marble blocks, half
buried in the earth, and measuring 54 by 15 feet. (Cornelius, Creta Sacra, vol.
i. p. 11; ap. Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 273 comp. Hock, Kreta, vol. i. pp.
17, 421.)
ΙΤΑΝΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΙΤΑΝΟΣ
Itanus (Itanos, Ptol. iii. 17. § 4; Steph. B.: Eth. Itanios), a town
on the E. coast of Crete, near the promontory which bore the name of Itanum. (Plin.
iv. 12.) In Coronelli's map there is a place called Itagnia, with a Paleokastron
in the neighbourhood, which is probably the site of Itanus; the position of the
headland must be looked for near Xacro flume (Hock, Kreta, vol. i. p. 426), unless
it be placed further N. at Capo Salomon, in which case the Grandes islands would
correspond with the Onisia and Lfugge of Pliny (l. c.; comp. Mus. Class. Antiq.
vol. ii. p. 303). According to Herodotus (iv. 151), the Theraeans, when founding
Cyrene, were indebted for their knowledge of the Libyan coast to Corobius, a seller
of purple at Itanus. Some of the coins of this city present the type of a woman
terminating in the tail of a fish. (Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 314.) This type, recalling
the figure of the Syrian goddess, coupled with the trade in purple, suggests a
Phoenician origin.
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ΚΑΔΙΣΤΟΣ (Βουνό) ΛΑΣΙΘΙ
Cadistus, a mountain of Crete, belonging to the ridge of the White
Mountains. Its position has been fixed by Hoeck (Kreta, vol. i. p. 380) at Cape
Spadha, the most northerly point of the whole island. In Ptolemy (iii. 17. § 8)
this promontory bears the name of Psakon akron; while Strabo (x. p. 484) calls
it Diktunnaion akroterion, and his remark that Melos lay at nearly the same distance
from it as from the Scyllaeanpromontory, shows that he indicated this as the most
northerly point of the island. The mass of mountain of which the cape was composed
bore the double name of Cadistus and Dictynnaeus. (Plin. iv. 12. s. 20; Solin.
16.) It would seem that Pliny and Solinus were in error when they described Cadistus
and Dictynnaeus as two separate peaks. Psakon akron and Cadistus were the original
and proper names of the promontory and mountain, while Diktunnaion akroterion
and oros were epithets afterwards given, and derived from the worship and temple
of Dictynna.
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ΚΑΙΝΩ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΑΜΟΣ
Caeno (Kaino, Diod. v. 76), a city of Crete, which, according to the
legend of the purification of Apollo by Carmanor at Tarrha, is supposed to have
existed in the neighbourhood of that place and Elyrus. (Comp. Paus.) The Cretan
goddess Britomartis was the daughter of Zeus and Carma, granddaughter of Carmanor,
and was said to have been born at Caeno. (Diod. l. c.) Mr. Paslley (Trav. vol.
ii. p. 270) fixes the site either on the so-called refuge of the Hellenes, or
near Haghios Nikolaos, and supposes that Mt. Carma, mentioned by Pliny (xxi. 14),
was in the neighbourhood of this town. (Comp. Hoeck, Kreta, vol. i. p. 392.)
ΚΑΛΑΜΥΔΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΠΕΛΕΚΑΝΟΣ
A city of Crete, of which the Coast-describer (Geogr. Graec. Min.
vol. ii. p. 496), who, alone has recorded the name of the place, says that it
was to the W. of Lissus and 30 stadia from Criu-Metopon. Mr. Pashley has fixed
the site on the summit of the ridge between the vallies Kontokyneghi and Kantanos:
on the W. and SW. sides of the city the walls may be traced for 300 or 400 paces;
on the E. they extend about 100 paces; while on the S. the ridge narrows, and
the wall, adapting itself to the natural features of the hill, has not a length
of more than 20 paces. This wall is composed of polygonal stones, which have not
been touched by the chisel.
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ΚΑΜΑΡΑ (Οικισμός) ΙΤΑΝΟΣ
Camara (Kamara: Eth. Kamaraios, Steph. B.), a city of Crete, situated
to the E. of Olus (Ptol. iii. 17. § 5), at a distance of 15 stadia according to
the Maritime Itinerary. Xenion, a Cretan historian quoted by Steph. B. (s. v.)
says that it was once called Lato. (Hoeck, Kreta, vol. i. pp. 10, 394, 116.)
ΚΑΝΤΑΝΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΑΝΤΑΝΟΣ
Cantanus (Kantanos, Steph. B.; Kantania, Hierocles: Eth. Kantanios,
Steph. B.), a city of Crete, which the Peutinger Table fixes at 24 M. P. from
Cisamos. It was a bishop's see under the Byzantine emperors, and when the Venetians
obtained possession of the island they established a Latin bishop here, as in
every other diocese. Mr. Pashley (Trav. vol. ii. p. 116) found remains of this
city on a conical hill about a mile to the S. of Khadros. The walls can be traced
for little more than 150 paces; the style of their masonry attests a high antiquity.
ΚΑΡΤΕΡΟΣ (Ποταμός) ΝΕΑ ΑΛΙΚΑΡΝΑΣΣΟΣ
Caeratus (Kairatos: Kartero), a river of Crete, which flows past Cnossus,
which city was once known by the same name as the river. (Strab. x. p. 476; Eustath.
ad Dionys. Perieg. v. 498; Hesych.; Virg. Ciris, 113, flumina Caeratea; comp.
Pashley, Trav. vol. i. p. 263.)
ΚΕΡΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΥΘΗΜΝΑ
Cerea (Kerea, Steph. B. s. v. Bene; Suid. s. v. Hpianos: Eth. Kereates,
Polyb. iv. 53. § 6), a town of Crete, which from its mention by Polybius, and
from a coin with the epigraph KEPAITAN, and presenting the same type as those
of Polyrrhenia, has been inferred to have been in the neighbourhood of that town.
(Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 306; Hoeck, Kreta, vol. i. p. 392.)
ΚΝΩΣΟΣ (Μινωικός οικισμός) ΚΡΗΤΗ
Gnosus, subsequently Cnossus, or Gnossus (Knosos, Knossos, Gnossos:
Eth. and Adj. Knosios, Knossios, Gnosios, Gnossios, Gnosius, Gnosiacus, fem.
Gnosis, Gnosias: Makro-Teikho). The royal city of Crete, situated to the N. of
the island, SE. of Matium, and 23 M. P. from Gortyna (Peut. Tab.). It originally
was called Caeratus (Kairatos, Strab. x.) from the small river of that name which
flowed beneath its walls. (Callim. Hymn. Dian. v. 44.) Tritta (Hesych. s. v. Tritta),
was a name that had been some time applied to it. Pliny (iv. 20), who places Cnossus
among the inland cities, and Ptolemy (iii. 17. § 10), are quite wrong in the positions
they assign to it. Strabo's text is undoubtedly corrupt; and this may in part
serve to account for the difficulty that has been found in reconciling the statements
of this writer, who was so intimately connected with Cnossus, with the known position
of the city. Its foundation was attributed to the hero of Cretan romance, Minos,
who made it his chief residence. (Hom. Od. xix. 178). Cnossus and its neighbourhood
was the chosen seat of legend; and the whole district was peculiarly connected
with Zeus. At the river Tethris, or Theron, according to tradition, the marriage
of Zeus and Hera was celebrated. (Diod. v. 72.) The most received mythus assigned
the birth-place as well as the tombs of the Father of gods and men to this locality.
The well-known Cretan labyrinth is uniformly attached to Cnossus. It was described
as a building erected by Daedalus, and the abode of the Minotaur (Diod. i. 61;
Apollod. iii. 4). This monument could never have had any actual existence, but
must be considered simply as a work of the imagination of the later poets and
writers. The Homeric poems, Hesiod and Herodotus, are all equally silent on the
subject of this edifice. The labyrinthial. construction is essentially Aegyptian,
and it would seem probable that the natural caverns and excavated sepulchres still
to be seen near Cnossus, and which were originally used for religious worship,
suggested, after the introduction of Aegyptian mythology into Greece, the idea
of the labyrinth and its fabled occupant.
Cnossus was at an early time colonized by Dorians, and from it Dorian
institutions spread over the whole island. It preserved its rank among the chief
cities of Crete for some time, and by its alliance with Gortyna obtained the dominion
over nearly the whole island. Polybius (iv. 53) has given an account of the civil
wars which distracted Crete, and in which Cnossus took part. Afterwards it became
a Roman colony. (Strab. x.) All the now existing vestiges of the ancient metropolis
of Crete are some rude masses of Roman brick-work, parts of the so-called long
wall, from which the modern name of the site has been derived. Chersiphron, or
Ctesiphon, and his son Metagenes, the architects of the great temple of Artemis,
were natives of this city, as well as Aenesidemus the philosopher, and Ergoteles,
whose victories in the Olympian, Pythian, and Isthmian games, are celebrated by
Pindar (Olynmp. xii. 19). For coins of Cnossus, both autonomous and imperial.
The usual type is the labyrinth; the forms, since they represent only a poetical
creation, are naturally varied.
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ΚΟΡΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΜΠΗ
Corium. Korion: Eth. Koresios Steph. B.: Kurna. A town of Crete, near which
was a temple to Athena (comp. Paus. viii. 21. § 4; Cic. N. D. iii. 23) and lake
(limne Koresia). As there is no other lake in the island, Mr. Pashley, from the
identity of this physical feature, fixes the position near the small lake Kurna,
at the foot of the hills on the S. edge of the plain which runs along the shore
from Armyro eastward.
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ΚΡΗΤΗ (Νησί) ΕΛΛΑΔΑ
Krete: Eth. and adj. Kres, Kresse, Kretaios, Kreteus, Kreteios, Kreteos,
Kretaieus, Kresios, Kretis, Kresis, Kretikos, Cretaeus, Cretanus, Cretensis, Creticus,
Cretis: Kriti; the common European name Candia is unknown in the island; the Saracenic
Khandax Megalo-Kastron became with the Venetian writers Candia; the word for a
long time denoted only the principal city of the island, which retained its ancient
name in the chroniclers, and in Dante (Inferno, xiv. 94).
I. Situation and Extent. Crete, an island situated in the Aegean basin
of the Mediterranean sea, is described by Strabo (x. p. 474) as lying between
Cyrenaica and that part of Hellas which extends from Sunium to Laconia, and parallel
in its length from W. to E. to these two points. The words mechri Lakonikes may
be understood either of Malea or Taenarum; it is probable that this geographer
extended Crete as far as Taenarum, as from other passages in his work (ii. p.
124, viii. p. 863), it would appear that he considered it and the W. points of
Crete as under the same meridian. It is still more difficult to understand the
position assigned to Crete with regard to Cyrenaica (xvii. p. 838). Strabo is
far nearer the truth, though contradicting his former statements, where he makes
Cimarus the NW. promontory of Crete 700 stadia from Malea (x. p. 174), and Cape
Sammonium 1000 stadia from Rhodes (ii. p. 106), which was one of the best-ascer-tained
points in ancient geography.
The whole circumference of the island was estimated by Artemidorus
at 4100 stadia; but Sosicrates, whose description was most accurate, computed
the length at more than 2300 stadia, and the circumference at more than 5000 stadia
(Strab. x. p. 476). Hieronymus (l. c.) in reckoning the length alone at 2000 stadia
far exceeded Artemidorus. In Pliny (iv. 20) the extent of Crete in length was
about 270 M. P. and nearly 539 M. P. in circuit. The broadest part (400 stadia)
was in the middle, between the promontories of Dium and Matalum; the narrowest
(60 stadia) further E., between Minoa and Hierapytna. The W. coast was 200 stadia
broad, but towards the E. between Amphimalla and Phoenix contracted to 100 stadia.
(Comp. Strab. p. 475.)
II. Structure and Natural Features. The interior was very mountainous,
woody, and intersected by fertile valleys. The whole island may be considered
as a prolongation of that mountain chain which breasts the waters at Cape Malea,
with the island of Cythera interposed. The geological formation resembles that
of the Hellenic peninsula; from the traces of the action of the sea upon the cliffs,
especially at the W. end, it seems that the island has been pushed up from its
foundations by powerful subterranean forces, which were in operation at very remote
times. (Journ. Geog. Soc. vol. xxii. p. 277.)
A continuous mass of high-land runs through its whole length, about
the middle of which Mt. Ida, composed of a congeries of hills, terminating in
three lofty peaks, rises to the height of 7674 feet: the base occupied a circumference
of nearly 600 stadia; to the W. it was connected with a chain called Leuka ore,
or the White Mountains, whose snow-clad summits and bold and beautiful outlines
extend over a range of 300 stadia (Strab. p. 475). The prolongation to the E.
formed the ridge of Dicte (Dikte, Strab. p. 478). It is curious that, though tradition
spoke of those ancient workers in iron and bronze-the Idaean Dactyls, no traces
of mining operations have been found.
The island had but one lake (Limne Koresia); the drainage is carried
off by several rivers, mostly summer torrents, which are dried up during the summer
season; but the number and copiousness of the springs give the country a very
different aspect to the parched tracts of continental Greece.
Mt. Ida, connected in ancient story with metallurgy, was, as its name
implied, covered with wood, which was extensively used in forging and smelting.
The forests could boast of the fruit-bearing poplar (Theophrast. H. P. iii. 5);
the evergreen platane (H. P. i. 15; Varr. de Re Rust. i. 7; Plin. xii. 1) trees,
which it need hardly be said can no longer be found; the cypress (Theophrast.
H. P. ii. 2), palm (H. P. ii. 8; Plin. xiii. 4), and cedar (Plin. xvi. 39; Vitruv.
ii. 9). According to Pliny (xxv. 8; comp. Theophrast. H. P. ix. 16), everything
grew better in Crete than elsewhere; among the medicinal herbs for which it was
famed was the dictamnon so celebrated among physicians,naturalists (Theophrast.
l. c.; Plin. l. c.), and poets (Virg. Aen. xii. 412; comp. Tasso, Gerusalem. Lib.
xi. 72). The ancients frequently speak of the Cretan wines (Aelian. V. H. xii.
31; Athen. x. p. 440; Plin. xiv. 9). Among these the passum, or raisin wine, was
the most highly prized (Mart. xiii. 106; Juv. xiv. 270). Its honey played a conspicuous
part in the myths concerning Zeus (Diod. v. 70; Callim. Hym. in Jov. 50). The
island was free from all wild beasts and noxious animals (Aelian, N. A. iii. 32;
Plin. viii. 83), a blessing which it owed to Heracles (Diod. iv. 17); but the
Cretan dogs could vie with the hounds of Sparta (Aelian. N.A. iii. 2); and the
Cretan Agrimi, or real wild goat, is the supposed origin of all our domestic varieties.
III. History. The cycle of myths connected with Minos and his family threw
a splendour over Crete, to which its estrangement from the rest of Greece during
the historic period presents a great contrast. The lying Cretans dared to show,
not only the birthplace, but also the tomb of the father of gods and men (Callim.
Hym in Jov. 8), and the Dorian invaders made Crete the head-quarters of the worship
of Apollo (Muller, Dor. vol. i. p. 226, trans.). Since the Grecian islands formed,
from the earliest times, stepping stones by which the migratory population of
Europe and Asia have crossed over to either continent, it has been assumed that
Aegypt, Phoenicia, and Phrygia founded cities in Crete, and contributed new arts
and knowledge to the island. No proof of Aegyptian colonisation can be adduced;
and from the national character, it is probable that settlers of pure Aegyptian
blood never crossed the Aegean. Traces of Phoenician settlements may undoubtedly
be pointed out; and by what cannot be called more than an ingenious conjecture,
the mythical genealogy of Minos has been construed to denote a combination of
the orgiastic worship of Zeus indigenous among the Eteocretes, with the worship
of the moon imported from Phoenicia, and signified by the names Europe, Pasiphae,
and Ariadne. There is an evident analogy between the religion of Crete and Phrygia;
and the legendary Curetes and Idaean Dactyls are connected, on the one hand with
the orgiastic worship, and on the other with the arts of Phrygia. But no historical
use can be made of these scanty and uncertain notices, or of the Minos of the
poets and logographers with his contradictory and romantic attributes. The Dorians
first appear in Crete during the heroic period; the Homeric poems mention different
languages and different races of men-Eteocretes, Cydonians, thrice divided Dorians,
Achaeans, and Pelasgians, as all co-existing in the island, which they describe
to be populous, and to contain ninety cities (Od. xix. 174). These Dorian mountaineers
converted into mariners-the Norman sea-kings of Greece-must therefore have come
to Crete at a period, according to the received legendary chronology, long before
the return of the Heraclidae. In the same poems they appear as hardy and daring
corsairs; and this characteristic gave rise to that naval supremacy which was
assigned by Herodotus, Thucydides, and Aristotle, to the traditionary Minos and
his Cretan subjects.
Theophrastus (De Ventis, v. 13. p. 762, ed. Schneidewin) stated that
the deserted sites of Cretan villages, which according to the primitive Greek
practice the inhabitants had occupied in the central and mountain regions, were
to be seen in his time. The social fabric which the ancients found in Crete so
nearly resembled that of Sparta, that they were in doubt whether it should be
considered as the archetype or copy. (Arist. Pol. ii. 7; Strab. p. 482.) But the
analogy between the institutions of the Cretan communities and Sparta, is one
rather of form than of spirit. The most remarkable resemblance consisted in the
custom of the public messes, Syssitia, while there is a marked difference in the
want of that rigid private training and military discipline which characterized
the Spartan government. The distinction between the condition of the Dorian freeman
and the serf comes out vividly in the drinking song of the Cretan Hybrias (Athen.
xv. p. 695); but there was only one stage of inferiority, as the Cretan Perioecus
had no Helots below him. Polybius (vi. 45-48), who has expressed his surprise
how the best-informed ancient authors, Plato, Xenophon, Ephorus, and Callisthenes,
could compare the Cretan polity to the old Lacedaemonian, as the main features
were so different, among other divergencies especially dwelt upon the inequality
of property in Crete, with that fancied equality which he believed was secured
by the legislation of Lycurgus. It is hazardous to determine the amount of credit
to be given to the minute descriptions which the ancient authors have made, of
the machinery by which the nicely balanced constitution of early Crete was regulated.
Their statements as to the civil virtues and the public education of the Cretans,
can be nothing but the mere declamation of after ages, seeking to contrast in
a rhetorical manner the virtues of the good old times with modern decay and degradation.
The generous friendship of the heroic ages which was singularly regulated
by the law (Ephorus ap. Strab. p. 483), had degenerated into a frightful licence
(Arist. Pot. ii. 10); and as early as about B.C. 600, the Cretan stood self-condemned
as an habitual liar, an evil beast, and an indolent glutton, if St. Paul in his
Epistle to Titus (i. 12) alludes to Epimenides. (Comp. Polyb. iv. 47, 53, vi.
46.)
The island, which collectively stood aloof both in the Persian and Peloponnesian
Wars, consisted of a number of independent towns, who coined their own money,
had a senate and public assembly (Bockh, Inscr. Gr. vol. ii. 2554-2612), were
at constant feud with each other, but when assailed by foreign enemies laid aside
their private quarrels, in defence of their common country, to which they gave
the affectionate appellation of mother-land (metris), a word peculiar to the Cretans.
(Plat. Rep. ix. p. 575; Aelian, V. H. xiii. 38, N. A. xvii. 35, 40; Synes. Ep.
xciv.). Hence the well-known Syncretism (Plut. de Frat. Am. § 19, p. 490; Etym.
Mag. s. v. sunkretisai). Afterwards centres of states were formed by Cnossus,
Gortyna, and Cydonia and after the decay of the latter, Lycyus The first two had
a hegemony, and were generally hostile to each other.
These internal disorders had become so violent that they were under
the necessity of summoning Philip IV. of Macedon as a mediator, whose command
was all-powerful (prostates, Polyb. vii. 12). It would seem, however, that the
effects of his intervention had ceased before the Roman war. (Niebuhr, Lect. on
Anc. Hist. vol. iii. p. 366.) Finally, in B.C. 67, Crete was taken by Q. Metellus
Creticus, after more than one unsuccessful attempt by other commanders during
a lingering war, the history of which is fully given in Drumann (Geschich. Rom.
vol. ii. pp. 51, foIl.). It was annexed to Cyrene, and became a Roman province
(Vell. ii. 34, 38; Justin. xxxix. 5; Flor. iii. 7; Eutrop. vi. 11; Dion Cass.
xxxvi. 2). In the division of the provinces under Augustus, Creta-Cyrene, or Creta
et Cyrene (Orelli, Inscr. n. 3658), became a senatorial province (Dion Cass. lii.
12), under the government of a propraetor (Strab. p. 840) with the title of proconsul
(Orelli, l.c.), with a legatus (Dion Cass. lvii. 14) and a quaestor, or perhaps
two as in Sicily (Suet. Vesp. 2). Under Constantine, a division took place (Zosim.
ii. 32); as Crete was placed under a Consularis (Hierocl.), and Cyrene, now Libya
Superior, under a praeses. (Marquardt, Handbuch der Rom. Alt. p. 222.) In A.D.
823, the Arabs wrested it from the Lower Empire (Script. post Theophrast. pp.
1-162; Cedren. Hist. Comp. p. 506). In A.D. 961, the island after a memorable
siege of ten months by Nicephorus Phocas, the great domestic or general of the
East, once more submitted to the Greek rule (Zonar. ii. p. 194). After the taking
of Constantinople by the Franks, Baldwin I. gave it to Boniface, Marquess of Montferrat,
who sold it, in A.D. 1204, to the Venetians, and it became the first of the three
subject kingdoms whose flags waved over the square of San Marco. The Cretan soldiers
had a high reputation as light troops and archers, and served as mercenaries both
in Greek and Barbarian armies (Thuc. vii. 57; Xen. Anab. iii. 3. 6; Polyb. iv.
8, v. 14; Justin. xxxv. 2). Fashions change but little in the East; Mr. Pashley
(Trav. vol. i. p. 245) has detected in the games and dances of modern Crete, the
tumblers (Hom. Il. xviii. 604) and the old cyclic chorus of three thousand years
ago. (Il. xviii. 590; Athen. v. p. 81.) The dress of the peasant continues to
resemble that of his ancestors; he still wears the boots (hupodemata), as described
by Galen (Com. in Hippocrat. de Art. iv. 14, vol. xviii. p. 682, ed. Kuhn), and
the short cloak, Kretikon, mentioned by Eupolis (ap. Phot. Lex. vol. i. p. 178),
and Aristophanes (Thesm. 730). It is doubtful whether there are any genuine autonomous
coins of Crete; several of the Imperial period exist, with the epigraph Koinon
Kreton, and types referring to the legendary history of the island.
IV. Itinerary and Towns. Crete, in its flourishing days, had a hundred
cities, as narrated by Stephanus, Ptolemy, Strabo, and other authors:- Centum
urbes habitant magnas uberrima regna. Virg. Aen. iii. 106. (Comp. Hom. Il. ii.
649; Hor. Carm. iii. 27.34, Ep. lx. 29.) These cities were destroyed by the Romans
under Q. Metellus, but ruins belonging to many of them may still be traced. The
ancients have left several itineraries. The Stadiasmus of the Mediterranean, starting
from Sammonium, made a periplus of the island, commencing on the S. coast. Ptolemy
began at Corycus, and travelled in the contrary direction, also making a complete
tour of the coast; after which, starting again from the W. extremity of the island,
he has enumerated several inland cities as far as Lyctus. Pliny began at nearly
the same place as Ptolemy, but travelled in the contrary direction, till he arrived
at Hierapolis; after which he made mention of several inland towns at random.
Scylax commenced at the W. coast, and proceeded to the E., grouping inland and
coast towns together. Hierocles set out from Gortyna eastward by Hierapytna, nearly
completing the tour of the coast; while the Peutinger Table, commencing at Tharrus,
pursued the opposite route, with occasional deviations. In the library of the
Marciana at Venice are several reports addressed to the Serene Republic by the
Proveditori of Candia, some of which contain notices at more or less length of
its antiquities. One of these, a MS. of the 16th century, La Descrizione dell'
Isola di Candia, has been translated in the Museum of Classical Antiquities, vol.
ii. p. 263, and contains much interesting and valuable matter. In the same paper
will be found a very accurate map of Crete, constructed on the outline of the
French map of Dumas, Gauttier, and Lassie, 1825, corrected at the E. and W. extremities
from the hydrographic charts of the Admiralty, executed from recent surveys by
Captains Graves and Spratt. Crete has been fortunate in the amount of attention
which has been paid to it. The diligent and laborious Meursius (Creta, Cyprus,
Rhodus, Amstel. 1675) has collected everything which the ancients have written
connected with the island. Hock (Kreta, Goittingen, 1829, 3 vols.) is a writer
of great merit, and has given a full account of the mythological history of Crete,
in which much curious information is found. Mr. Pashley (Travels in Crete, London,
1837, 2 vols.) is a traveller of the same stamp as Colonel Leake, and has illustrated
the geography of the island by his own personal observation and sound judgment.
Bishop Thirlwall (Hist. of Greece, vol. i. p. 283, foll.) has given a very vivid
outline of the Cretan institutions as they were conceived to have existed by Aristotle,
Strabo, and others...
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ΚΥΔΩΝΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Kudonia, Kudonis: Eth. and Adj. Kudoniates, Kudon, Kudonios, Kudonaios,
Kudonis, Kudoniakos, Cydon, Cydoneus, Cydoniatae, Cydonites, Cydonius: Khania).
One of the most ancient and important cities of Crete. (Strab. x.) Homer (Od.
iii. 292, xix. 176) speaks of the Cydonians who dwelt about the river Iardanus,
whom Strabo considers to be indigenous, but nowhere mentions a city Cydonia. The
traditions, though differing among themselves, prove that it existed in very ancient
times. Herodotus (iii. 44, 59) assigns its foundation to the Samians who established
themselves there, and during their 5 years' residence in it built the temple of
Dictynna, as well as those which still existed when the historian wrote. The city,
however, as is plain from the legends, existed before the time of Polycrates,
though adorned by the Samnians. In the Peloponneslan War it was engaged in hostilities
with the Gortynians, who were assisted by an Athenian squadron. (Thuc. ii. 35.)
Cydonia, as Arnold remarks, would especially hate and be hated by the Athenians,
as a considerable portion of its citizens were Aeginetan colonists. (Herod. iii.
59.) At a later period it formed an alliance with the Cnossians. (Polyb. iv. 55.
§ 4, xxxiii. 15. § 4.) After the termination of the Sacred War, Phalaecus, the
Phocian general, attacked Cydonia, and was killed with most of his troops during
the siege. (Diod. xvi. 61.) At one time she carried on hostilities single-handed
against both Cnossus and Gortyna. (Liv. xxxvii. 40.) The first engagement between
the Cretans, under Lasthenes and Panares, and the Roman legions, under Metellus,
was fought in the Cydonian district. The Romans were victorious. Metellus was
saluted imperator, and laid siege to Cydonia. (Appian, Cret. vi. 2; Liv. Epit.
xcviii.)
Strabo describes Cydonia as situated on the sea and looking towards
Laconia, at a distance of 800 stadia from both Cnossus and Gortyna. Scylax mentions
Cydonia as having a harbour which could be closed (limen kleistos); the port of
Khania exactly answers to this description. This identity of physical features
with the notices of several ancient writers (Ptol. l. c.; Plin. iv. 12. s. 20),
coupled with the circumstance that maritime symbols are found on autonomous coins
of Cydonia, has led Mr. Pashley to fix the site in or near the modern Khania.
The quince-tree derived its name from the Cretan Cydonia, in the district
of which city it was indigenous, and was thence transported into other countries.
(Plin. xv. 11.) The fruit was called kodumalon in the ancient Cretan dialect.
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ΚΩΡΥΚΟΣ (Αρχαία τοποθεσία) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Corycus (Korukos, Ptol. iii. 17. § 2: Grabusa), the NW. promontory
of Crete. In Strabo the name appears as Cimarus (Kimaros, x. p. 474). Elsewhere
Strabo (xvii. p. 838) states that Corycus was the point whence the distances to
the several ports of Peloponnesus were measured: as Grabusa ends in two projecting
points, it is probable that the W. point was called Cimaros, the E. Corycus. We
learn from Pliny (iv. 20) that the islands which lie off this promontory were
called Corycae, and that part of the mass of rock which forms this point went
by the name of Mount Coryous. Ptolemy mentions a city of this name, and there
is a passage in which Juvenal (xiv. 267) mentions a Corycian vessel which evidently
belonged to this Cretan town. When the Florentine traveller Buondelmonte visited
the island in A.D. 1415, he found remains existing. (Cornelius, Creta Sacra, vol.
i. p. 87; Pashley, Trav. vol. ii. p. 74; Hoeck, Kreta, vol. i. p. 377.)
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ΛΑΠΠΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΠΠΑΙΟΙ
Lappa, Lampa (Lappa, Ptol. iii. 17. § 10; Lampa, Lampai, Hierocl.; Lampe, Steph.
B.: Eth. Lappaios, Lampaios), an inland town of Crete, with a district extending
from sea to sea (Scylax, p. 18), and possessing the port Phoenix. (Strab. x. p.
475.) Although the two forms of this city's name occur in ancient authors, yet
on coins and in inscriptions the word Lappa is alone found. Stephanus of Byzantium
shows plainly that the two names denote the same place, when he says that Xenion,
in his Cretica, wrote the word Lappa, and not Lampa. The same author (s. v. Lampe)
says that it was founded by Agamemnon, and was called after one Lampos, a Tarrhaean;
the interpretation of which seems to be that it was a colony of Tarrha.
When Lyctus had been destroyed by the Cnossians, its citizens found
refuge with the people of Lappa (Polyb. iv. 53). After the submission of Cydonia.
Cnossus, Lyctus, and Eleutherna, to the arms of Metellus, the Romans advanced
against Lappa, which was taken by storm, and appears to have been almost entirely
destroyed. (Dion Cass. xxxvi. 1.) Augustus, in consideration of the aid rendered
to him by the Lappaeans in his struggle with M. Antonius [p. 125] bestowed on
them their freedom, and also restored their city. (Dion Cass. li. 2.) When Christianity
was established, Lappa became an episcopal see; the name of its bishop is recorded
as present at the Synod of Ephesus, A.D. 431, and the Council of Chalcedon, A.D.
451, as well as on many other subsequent occasions. (Cornelius, Creta Sacra, vol.
i. pp. 251, 252.)
Lappa was 32 M.P. from Eleutherna and 9 M. P. from Cisamus, the port
of Aptera (Peut. Tab.); distances which agree very well with Polis, the modern
representative of this famous city, where Mr. Pashley (Travels, vol. i. p. 83)
found considerable remains of a massive brick edifice, with buttresses 15 feet
wide and of 9 feet projection ; a circular building, 60 feet diameter, with niches
round it 11 feet wide; a cistern, 76 ft. by 20 ft.; a Roman brick building, and
several tombs cut in the rock. (Comp. Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 293.) One
of the inscriptions relating to this city mentions a certain Marcus Aurelius Clesippus,
in whose honour the Lappaeans erected a statue. (Gruter, p. 1091; Chishull, Antiq.
Asiat. p. 122; Mabillon, Mus. Ital. p. 33; Bockh, Corp. Inscr. Gr. vol. ii. p.
428.)
The head of its benefactor Augustus is exhibited on the coins of Lappa:
one has the epigraph, THEOKAISANI SEBASTO; others of Domitian and Commodus are
found. (Hardouin, Num. Antiq. pp. 93, 94; Mionnet, vol. ii. p. 286; Supplem. vol.
iv. p. 326 ; Rasche, vol. ii. pl. ii. p. 1493.) On the autonomous coins of Lappa,
from which Spanheim supposed the city to have possessed the right of asylum, like
the Grecian cities enumerated in Tacitus, see Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 315. The maritime
symbols on the coins of Lappa are accounted for by the extension of its territory
to both shores, and the possession of the port of Phoenix.
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ΛΑΣΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΟΙΡΕΣ
Lasaia. A city in Crete, near the roadstead of the Fair Havens. (Acts,
xxvii. 8.) This place is not mentioned by any other writer, but is probably the
same as the Lisia of the Peutinger Tables, 16 M. P. to the E. of Gortyna. Some
MSS. have Lasea; others, Alassa. The Vulgate reads Thalassa, which Beza contended
was the true name.
ΛΑΤΩ ΚΑΜΑΡΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΓΙΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΣ
Kamara: Eth. Kamaraios. A city of Crete, situated to the E. of Olus (Ptol. iii.
17. § 5), at a distance of 15 stadia according to the Maritime Itinerary. Xenion,
a Cretan historian quoted by Steph. B. says that it was once called Lato.
ΛΕΥΚΑ ΟΡΗ (Βουνό) ΧΑΝΙΑ
Leuci Montes or Albi Montes (ta Leuka ore, Strab. x. p. 479; Ptol.
iii. 17. § 9), the snow-clad summits which form the W. part of the mountain range
of Crete. Strabo (l. c.) asserts that the highest points are not inferior in elevation
to Taygetus, and that the extent of the range is 300 stadia. (Comp. Theophrast.
H. P. iii. 11, iv. 1; Plin. xvi. 33; Callim. Hymn. Dian. 40.) The bold and beautiful
outline of the White Mountains is still called by its ancient title in modern
Greek, ta aspra bouna, or, from the inhabitants, ta Sphakiana bouna. Crete is
the only part of Greece in which the word ore is still in common use, denoting
the loftier parts of any high mountains. Trees grow on all these rocky mountains,
except on quite the extreme summits. The commonest tree is the prinos or ilex.
(Pashley, Trav. vol. i. p. 31, vol. ii. p. 190; Hock, Kreta, vol. i. p. 19.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΛΥΚΑΣΤΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΤΕΜΕΝΟΣ
Lycastus. Lukastos: Eth. Lukastios. A town of Crete, mentioned in the Homeric
catalogue. Strabo says that it had entirely disappeared, having been conquered
and destroyed by the Cnossians. According to Polybius (xxiii. 15) the Lycastian
district was afterwards wrested from Cnossus by the Gortynians, who gave it to
the neighbouring town of Rhaucus. In Mr. Pashley's map the site is fixed at Kaenuria.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΛΥΚΤΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΑΣΤΕΛΛΙ
Luktos, Luttos: Eth. Luktios, Luttios. One of the most considerable
cities in Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. (Il. ii. 647, xvii. 611.)
According to the Hesiodic Theogony (Theog. 477), Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a
cave of Mt. Aegaeon, near Lyctus. The inhabitants of this ancient Doric city called
themselves colonists of Sparta (Arist. Pol. ii. 7), and the worship of Apollo
appears to have prevailed there. (Callim. Hymn. Apoll. 33; comp. Muller, Dorians,
vol. i. pp. 141, 227, trans.) In B.C. 344, Phalaecus the Phocian assisted the
Cnossians against their neighbours the Lyctians, and took the city of Lyctus,
from which he was driven out by Archidamus, king of Sparta. (Diod. xvi. 62.) The
Lyctians, at a still later period, were engaged in frequent hostilities with Cnossus,
and succeeded in creating a formidable party in the island against that city.
The Cnossians, taking advantage of their absence on a distant expedition, surprised
Lyctus, and utterly destroyed it. The citizens, on their return, abandoned it,
and found refuge at Lampa. Polybius (iv. 53, 54), on this occasion, bears testimony
to the high character of the Lyctians, as compared with their countrymen. They
afterwards recovered their city by the aid of the Gortynians, who gave them a
place called Diatonium, which they had taken from the Cnossians. (Polyb. xxiii.
15, xxiv. 53.) Lyctus was sacked by Metellus at the Roman conquest (Liv. Epit.
xcix.; Flor. iii. 7), but was existing in the time of Strabo (x. p. 479) at a
distance of 80 stadia from the Libyan sea. (Strab. p. 476; comp. Steph. B. s.
v.; Scyl. p. 18; Plin. iv. 12; Hesych. s. v. Karnessopolis; Hierocl.) The site
still bears the name of Lytto, where ancient remains are now found. (Pashley,
Trav. vol. i. p. 269.) In the 16th century, the Venetian MS. (Mus. Class. Ant.
vol. ii. p. 274) describes the walls of the ancient city, with circular bastions,
and other fortifications, as existing upon a lofty mountain, nearly in the centre
of the island. Numerous vestiges of ancient structures, tombs, and broken marbles,
are seen, as well as an immense arch of an aqueduct, by which the water was carried
across a deep valley by means of a large marble channel. The town of Arsinoe and
the harbour of Chersonesus are assigned to Lyctus. The type on its coins is usually
an eagle flying, with the epigraph LUTTION.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΜΑΤΑΛΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟ
Matalia (Mtalia, Ptol. iii. 17. § 4), a town in Crete near the headland of Matala(Matala,
Stadiasm.), and probably the same place as the naval arsenal of Gortyna, Metallum
(Metallon, Strab. x. p. 479), as it appears in our copies of Strabo, but incorrectly.
(Comp. Groskurd, ad loc.) The modern name in Mr. Pashley's map is Matala. (Hock,
Kreta, vol. i. pp. 399, 435 Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 287.)
ΜΙΛΑΤΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΑΠΟΛΗ
A town of Crete, mentioned in the Homeric catalogue. (il. ii. 647.)
This town, which no longer existed in the time of Strabo, was looked upon by some
writers as the mother-city of the Ionian colony of the same name. (Ephorus, ap.
Strab. xii. p. 573, xiv. p. 634; Schol. Apoll. Rhod. i. 186; Apollod. iii. 1,
2, 3; Plin. iv. 12.) Mr. Pasbley (Trav. vol. i. p, 269) explored the site of this
Homeric city not far from Episkopiano, at which, considerable remains of walls
of polygonal masonry, both of the acropolis and city are still to be seen. (Hock,
Kreta, vol. i. pp. 15, 418.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΝΑΞΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΕΛΟΥΝΤΑ
or Naxus (Nachos, Suid. s. v.), a town of Crete, according to the
Scholiast (ad Pind. Isth. vi. 107) celebrated for its whetstones. Hock (Kreta,
vol. i. p. 417) considers the existence of this city very problematical. The islands
Crete and Naxos were famed for their whetstones (Plin. xxxvi. 22; comp. xviii.
28), and hence the confusion. In Mr. Pashley's map the site of Naxos is marked
near Spna Longa.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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