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ELYROS (Ancient city) ANATOLIKO SELINO
The site of the ancient Greek city of Elyros is 500 metres above this
village on the Kefala hill, above the road to Sougia, and is presently unexcavated.
Elyros was one of the most important Greek cities in western Crete. It was an
industrial and commercial city which had factories for weaponry production. Sougia
and Lissos were its harbours. Elyros was also important during Roman and Byzantine
times. A Roman statue, the Philosopher of Elyros was excavated here and is now
in the Archaeological Museum of Chania. It was the seat of an Archbishop and the
remains of the bishopric church, a sixth century basilica, can still be seen in
the centre of the old city. A larger, modern church marks the site of Elyros on
a small hill, just after the bypass of the branch to Rodovani. Very little is
to be seen at the site itself. However, you have a superb view of the valleys
below that belonged to Elyros as far as Sougia. The Elyrians could see their boats
in Sougia from their city. The highest peaks of the Lefka Ori are visible to the
east. The olive trees and the villages situated among them dominate the north
view.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
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