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98-747: The ancient city of Arpinum dates back to at least the 7th century BC. Connected with the Pelasgi , the Volsci and Samnite people, it was captured by the Romans and granted civitas sine suffragio in 305 BC. The city received voting rights in Roman elections in 188 BC and the status of a municipium in 90 BC after the Social War . The town produced both Gaius Marius and Marcus Tullius Cicero , who were homines novi (people without ancestors who had held

196-411: A European Union study has been devised to promote a modern highway to connect the northern and southern parts of the island via a tunnel . The study proposal includes a 15.7 km (9.8 mi) section of road between the villages of Agia Varvara and Agia Deka in central Crete. The new road section forms part of the route between Messara in the south and Crete's largest city Heraklion , which houses

294-526: A "dark race" ( melanthes ... genos ). Pelasgus admits that the land was once called Apia but compares them to the women of Libya and Egypt and wants to know how they can be from Argos on which they cite descent from Io . According to Strabo, Aeschylus' Suppliants defines the original homeland of the Pelasgians as the region around Mycenae . Sophocles and Euripides affirm the Greek origins of

392-886: A coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi); to the north, it broaches the Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος ); to the south, the Libyan Sea (Greek: Λιβυκό Πέλαγος ); in the west, the Myrtoan Sea , and toward the east the Carpathian Sea. It lies approximately 160 km (99 mi) south of the Greek mainland. There are a number of peninsulas and gulfs on the north side of Crete, from west to east these include: Gramvousa peninsula, gulf of Kissamos, Rodopos peninsula, gulf of Chania , Akrotiri peninsula, Souda Bay , Apokoronas cape, gulf of Almiros , gulf of Heraklion , Aforesmenos cape, gulf of Mirabello , gulf of Sitia and

490-518: A fragment known from Strabo , calls Dodona, identified by reference to "the oak ", the "seat of Pelasgians", thus explaining why Homer, in referring to Zeus as he ruled over Dodona, did not style him " Dodonic " but Pelasgic Zeus. He mentions also that Pelasgus (Greek: Πελασγός, the eponymous ancestor of the Pelasgians) was the father of King Lycaon of Arcadia . Asius of Samos ( Ancient Greek : Ἄσιος ὁ Σάμιος ) describes Pelasgus as

588-605: A high mountain range crossing from west to east. It includes Crete's highest point, Mount Ida , and the range of the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) with 30 summits above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in altitude and the Samaria Gorge , a World Biosphere Reserve . Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits (such as its own poetry and music ). The Nikos Kazantzakis airport at Heraklion and

686-426: A nest, with twice four birds—and those the serpent seized together with the mother-bird as she was fluttering round her loss. And every bird the serpent buried in his greedy maw. All stood amazed: but Calchas, who perceived the truth, exclaimed, "Rejoice Pelasgian men, for we shall conquer; Troy will fall; although the toil of war must long continue—so the nine birds equal nine long years of war." And while he prophesied,

784-614: A new airport at Kasteli , where there is presently an air force base, and the new Kasteli Airport is due to open by 2027. The island is well served by ferries, mostly from Piraeus , by ferry companies such as Minoan Lines and ANEK Lines with links to the Cyclades and Dodecanese islands. Seajets also operates routes to Cyclades . The main ports from west to east are at Kissamos (ferry link to Peloponnese), Souda (Chania), Rethymno , Heraklion (links to Cyclades), Agios Nikolaos and Sitia (link to Dodecanese). Most of Crete

882-584: A sanctuary of Demeter at Therae, as well as expelling the Minyans and Lacedaemonians from Lemnos. Strabo dedicates a section of his Geography to the Pelasgians, relating both his own opinions and those of prior writers. He begins by stating: Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of the Æolians near to Thessaly. He defines Pelasgian Argos as being "between

980-541: A similar Minoan name for the island. The current name Crete is first attested in the 15th century BC in Mycenaean Greek texts, written in Linear B , through the words ke-re-te 𐀐𐀩𐀳 , * Krētes ; later Greek: Κρῆτες [krɛː.tes] , plural of Κρής [krɛːs] ) and ke-re-si-jo 𐀐𐀩𐀯𐀍 , * Krēsijos ; later Greek: Κρήσιος [krέːsios] , 'Cretian'). In Ancient Greek ,

1078-510: Is an ancient bridge, of a road which crossed the Liris to Cereatae (modern Casamari), birthplace of Gaius Marius . Pelasgi The name Pelasgians ( Ancient Greek : Πελασγοί , romanized :  Pelasgoí , singular: Πελασγός Pelasgós ) was used by Classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks , or to all the inhabitants of Greece before

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1176-402: Is an example of an arch of this type which can still be seen today. Dates are generally from the early Roman period to about 400 BC. The Stone is some times referred to as pudding-stone but in this case it seem to be of a more sedimentary dark gray type. Arpinum, Atina, and Cominium were known Samnite strongholds. The Valle di Comino nearby is considered to be strong Samnite and subsections of

1274-485: Is an oral tradition that persists to this day that Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was also a native of Arpinum. Historians however have not been able to confirm his place of birth. Agrippa may have come from Pisae (Pisa) in Etruria. Beside the ancient town of Arpinum there are the fortified remains of a much earlier Samnite town. The high defensive walls are of the polygonal type associated historically with these people. There

1372-573: Is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare in the low-lying areas. The south coast, including the Mesara Plain and Asterousia Mountains , falls in the North African climatic zone, enjoying significantly more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the year. There, date palms bear fruit, and swallows remain year-round rather than migrate to Africa . The fertile region around Ierapetra , on

1470-564: Is located about 100 km (62 mi) south of the Peloponnese , and about 300 km (190 mi) southwest of Anatolia . Crete has an area of 8,450 km (3,260 sq mi) and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi). It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea , with the Sea of Crete (or North Cretan Sea) to the north and the Libyan Sea (or South Cretan Sea) to the south. Crete covers 260 km from west to east but

1568-667: Is most likely to be the plain of Thessaly , and to "Pelasgic Zeus ", living in and ruling over Dodona . Additionally, according to the Iliad , Pelasgians were camping out on the shore together with the following tribes: Towards the sea lie the Carians and the Paeonians , with curved bows, and the Leleges and Caucones , and the goodly Pelasgi. In the Odyssey , they appear among

1666-452: Is narrow from north to south, spanning three longitudes but only half a latitude. Crete and a number of islands and islets that surround it constitute the Region of Crete (Greek: Περιφέρεια Κρήτης ), which is the southernmost of the 13 top-level administrative units of Greece , and the fifth most populous of Greece's regions. Its capital and largest city is Heraklion , on the north shore of

1764-425: Is one of the few Greek islands that can support itself without a tourism industry. The economy began to change visibly during the 1970s as tourism gained in importance. Although an emphasis remains on agriculture and stock breeding, because of the climate and terrain of the island, there has been a drop in manufacturing, and an observable expansion in its service industries (mainly tourism-related). All three sectors of

1862-448: Is open, even though translators typically make a decision, but Tyrsenians may well be the ethnonym Tyrrhenoi . Euripides uses the term for the inhabitants of Argos in his Orestes and The Phoenician Women . In a lost play entitled Archelaus , he says that Danaus , on coming to reside in the city of Inachus (Argos), formulated a law whereby the Pelasgians were now to be called Danaans . The Roman poet Ovid describes

1960-452: Is served by the road network. A modern highway is currently being upgraded along the north coast connecting the four major cities ( A90 motorway ), the sections bypassing the main cities (Heraklion to Malia, Rethymno, Chania to Kolymvari) are at motorway standard, while the sections in between, and west to Kissamos and east to Sitia, should be completed by 2028. A link will also connect to the new Kasteli international airport . In addition,

2058-647: Is the Linear B archive from Knossos, dated approximately to 1425–1375 BC. After the Bronze Age collapse , Crete was settled by new waves of Greeks from the mainland. A number of city states developed in the Archaic period . There was limited contact with mainland Greece, and Greek historiography shows little interest in Crete, as a result, there are few literary sources. During the 6th to 4th centuries BC, Crete

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2156-767: Is to expropriate 850 ha (2,100 acres) of land. The port would handle two million containers per year, but the project has not been universally welcomed because of its environmental, economic and cultural impact. As of January 2013, the project has still not been confirmed, although there is mounting pressure to approve it, arising from Greece's difficult economic situation. There are plans for underwater cables going from mainland Greece to Israel and Egypt passing by Crete and Cyprus: EuroAfrica Interconnector and EuroAsia Interconnector . They would connect Crete electrically with mainland Greece, ending energy isolation of Crete. At present Greece covers electricity cost differences for Crete of around €300 million per year. In

2254-566: The 5th century BC was inhabited by those speakers of ancient Greek who were identified as Ionians and Aeolians . Much like all other aspects of the "Pelasgians", their ethnonym ( Pelasgoi ) is of extremely uncertain provenance and etymology . Michael Sakellariou collects fifteen different etymologies proposed for it by philologists and linguists during the last 200 years, though he admits that "most [...] are fanciful". An ancient etymology based on mere similarity of sounds linked pelasgos to pelargos (" stork ") and postulates that

2352-452: The Aegean . Populations identified as "Pelasgian" spoke a language or languages that at the time Greeks identified as " barbarian ", though some ancient writers nonetheless described the Pelasgians as Greeks. A tradition also survived that large parts of Greece had once been Pelasgian before being Hellenized . These parts fell largely, though far from exclusively, within the territory which by

2450-632: The Crete Region ( Greek : Περιφέρεια Κρήτης , Periféria Krítis , [periˈferia ˈkritis] ), one of the 13 regions of Greece which were established in the 1987 administrative reform. Under the 2010 Kallikratis plan , the powers and authority of the regions were redefined and extended. The region is based at Heraklion and is divided into four regional units (pre-Kallikratis prefectures ). From west to east these are: Chania , Rethymno , Heraklion , and Lasithi . These are further subdivided into 24 municipalities . Since 1 January 2011,

2548-764: The Daskalogiannis airport at Chania serve international travelers. The Minoan palace at Knossos is also located in Heraklion. The earliest references to the island of Crete come from texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, where the island is referred to as Kaptara . This is repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and the Bible ( Caphtor ). It was known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu or kftı͗w , strongly suggesting

2646-569: The Hellespontine cities and the Thracians of Southeastern Europe (i.e., on the Hellespontine border of Thrace ). Homer calls their town or district "Larisa" and characterises it as fertile, and its inhabitants as celebrated for their spearsmanship. He records their chiefs as Hippothous and Pylaeus , sons of Lethus, son of Teutamides . The Iliad also refers to the camp at Greece , specifically at " Argos Pelasgikon ", which

2744-582: The Mediterranean , and Minoan cultural influence extended to Cyprus , Canaan , and Egypt . Some scholars have speculated that legends such as that of the minotaur have a historical basis in Minoan times. In 1420 BC, the Minoan civilization was subsumed by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece. The oldest samples of writing in the Greek language, as identified by Michael Ventris ,

2842-592: The Sea People in Egyptian records. Literary analysis has been ongoing since classical Greece , when the writers of those times read previous works on the subject. No definitive answers were ever forthcoming by this method; it rather served to better define the problems. The method perhaps reached a peak in the Victorian era when new methods of systematic comparison began to be applied in philology . Typical of

2940-515: The Sideros peninsula. On the south side of Crete is the gulf of Messaras and Cape Lithinon . Crete is mountainous, and its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from west to east, formed by six different groups of mountains: These mountains lavish Crete with valleys, such as Amari valley , fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi plateau , Omalos and Nidha ; caves, such as Gourgouthakas , Diktaion , and Idaion (the birthplace of

3038-711: The Tiber River in Italy at Pyrgi and a few other settlements under a king, Maleos. Crete Crete ( / k r iː t / KREET ; Greek : Κρήτη , Modern : Kríti [ˈkriti] , Ancient : Krḗtē [krɛ̌ːtεː] ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands , the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea , after Sicily , Sardinia , Cyprus , and Corsica . Crete

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3136-677: The consulship ). Cicero, in speeches before the courts in Rome, would later praise his hometown's contributions to the republic when attacked as a "foreigner", for Arpinum had twice borne men to save the Republic: Marius against the Cimbric invaders of 101 BC and Cicero himself against the Second Catilinarian conspiracy . Cicero in letters to his friend Atticus referred often to the peace and quiet of his beloved Arpinum. There

3234-419: The south and east have a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSh ). The higher elevations fall into the warm-summer Mediterranean climate category ( Csb ) while the mountain peaks (>2,000 meters) might feature a cold-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csc ) or a continental climate ( Dfb or Dfc ). The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter

3332-606: The Aborigines and jointly with them made war upon the Sicels. It is possible that the Aborigines received them partly in the hope of gaining their assistance, but I believe it was chiefly on account of their kinship; for the Pelasgians, too, were a Greek nation originally from the Peloponnesus [...] He goes on to add that the nation wandered a great deal. They were originally natives of "Achaean Argos" descended from Pelasgus,

3430-680: The Athenians in speech and custom, to the Ionian colonies". Also, Herodotus wrote that the Pelasgians on the island of Lemnos opposite Troy once kidnapped the Hellenic women of Athens for wives, but the Athenian wives created a crisis by teaching their children "the language of Attica" instead of the Pelasgian. In Book 7, Herodotus mentioned "the Pelasgian city of Antandrus " and wrote about

3528-513: The Cretan economy (agriculture/farming, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. The island has a per capita income much higher than the Greek average, whereas unemployment is at approximately 4%, one-sixth of that of the country overall. As in many regions of Greece, viticulture and olive groves are significant; oranges , citrons and avocadoes are also cultivated. Until recently there were restrictions on

3626-595: The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus made many references to the Pelasgians. In Book 1, the Pelasgians are mentioned within the context of Croesus seeking to learn who the strongest Greeks were to befriend them. Afterwards, Herodotus ambivalently classified the Pelasgian language as " barbarian " though he thought of the Pelasgians to have been essentially Greek. Herodotus also discussed various areas inhabited (or previously inhabited) by Pelasgians/Pelasgian-speakers along with their different neighbors/co-residents: I am unable to state with certainty what language

3724-515: The Greeks of the Trojan War as Pelasgians in his Metamorphoses : Sadly his father, Priam, mourned for him, not knowing that young Aesacus had assumed wings on his shoulders, and was yet alive. Then also Hector with his brothers made complete but unavailing sacrifice, upon a tomb which bore his carved name. Paris was absent. But soon afterwards, he brought into that land a ravished wife, Helen,

3822-581: The Greeks' distant past. In this way, the Pelasgians enabled Greek writers to trace the historical roots of Greek identity, to explain the development of contemporary cultural conditions, and to promote Greek political projects in various political contexts. In the Iliad , there were Pelasgians on both sides of the Trojan War . In the section known as the Catalogue of Trojans , they are mentioned between

3920-594: The Homeric Age . If the Pelasgians were not Indo-Europeans, the name in this derivation must have been assigned by the Hellenes. Ernest Klein argued that the ancient Greek word for "sea", pelagos and the Doric word plagos , "side" (which is flat) shared the same root, *plāk-, and that *pelag-skoi therefore meant "the sea men", where the sea is flat. This could be connected to the maritime marauders referred to as

4018-640: The Ionian inhabitants of "the land now called Achaea" (i.e., northwestern Peloponnese) being "called, according to the Greek account, Aegialean Pelasgi, or Pelasgi of the Sea Shore"; afterwards, they were called Ionians . Moreover, Herodotus mentioned that the Aegean islanders "were a Pelasgian race, who in later times took the name Ionians" and that the Aeolians , according to the Hellenes, were known anciently as "Pelasgians." In Book 8, Herodotus mentioned that

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4116-546: The Pelasgians and to be the "child of Palaichthon (or 'ancient earth') whom the earth brought forth". The Danaids call the country the "Apian hills" and claim that it understands the karbana audan ( accusative case , and in the Dorian dialect), which many translate as "barbarian speech" but Karba (where the Karbanoi live) is in fact a non-Greek word. They claim to descend from ancestors in ancient Argos even though they are of

4214-645: The Pelasgians dispersed to Crete , the Cyclades , Histaeotis, Boeotia , Phocis , Euboea , the coast along the Hellespont and the islands, especially Lesbos , which had been colonized by Macar son of Crinacus . Most went to Dodona and eventually being driven from there to Italy (then called Saturnia), they landed at Spina at the mouth of the Po River . Still others crossed the Apennine Mountains to Umbria and being driven from there went to

4312-596: The Pelasgians of Athens were previously called Cranai . In the History of the Peloponnesian War , the Greek historian Thucydides wrote about the Pelasgians stating that: Before the time of Hellen , son of Deucalion [...] the country went by the names of the different tribes, in particular of the Pelasgian. It was not till Hellen and his sons grew strong in Phthiotis , and were invited as allies into

4410-456: The Pelasgians simply called their gods theoi prior to naming them on the grounds that the gods established all affairs in their order ( thentes ); the author also stated that the gods of the Pelasgians were the Cabeiri . Later, Herodotus stated that the entire territory of Greece (i.e., Hellas ) was initially called "Pelasgia". In Book 5, Herodotus mentioned the Pelasgians as inhabitants of

4508-450: The Pelasgians spoke a barbarian language. And so, if the Pelasgian language was spoken in all these places, the people of Attica being originally Pelasgian, must have learned a new language when they became Hellenes. As a matter of fact, the people of Krestonia and Plakia no longer speak the same language, which shows that they continue to use the dialect they brought with them when they migrated to those lands. Furthermore, Herodotus discussed

4606-606: The Pelasgians spoke, but we could consider the speech of the Pelasgians who still exist in settlements above Tyrrhenia in the city of Kreston, formerly neighbors to the Dorians who at that time lived in the land now called Thessaliotis; also the Pelasgians who once lived with the Athenians and then settled Plakia and Skylake in the Hellespont; and along with those who lived with all the other communities and were once Pelasgian but changed their names. If one can judge by this evidence,

4704-637: The Pelasgians were driven out by the Greeks and departed for Italy. They landed at the mouth of the Po River , near the Etruscan city of Spina , then took the inland city "Crotona" ( Κρότωνα ), and from there colonized Tyrrhenia . The inference is that Hellanicus believed the Pelasgians of Thessaly (and indirectly of the Peloponnese) to have been the ancestors of the Etruscans . In the Histories ,

4802-515: The Pelasgians were migrants like storks, possibly from Arcadia , where they nest. Aristophanes deals effectively with this etymology in his comedy The Birds . One of the laws of "the storks" in the satirical Cloud Cuckoo Land ( Ancient Greek : Νεφελοκοκκυγία , romanized :  Nephelokokkugía ), playing upon the Athenian belief that they were originally Pelasgians, is that grown-up storks must support their parents by migrating elsewhere and conducting warfare. Gilbert Murray summarized

4900-633: The Pelasgians while highlighting their relationship to the Danaids , a relationship introduced and explored in depth in Aeschylus ' Suppliants . Sophocles presents Inachus, in a fragment of a missing play entitled Inachus , as the elder in the lands of Argos, the Heran hills and among the Tyrsenoi Pelasgoi, an unusual hyphenated noun construction, "Tyrsenians-Pelasgians". Interpretation

4998-412: The ancient Greek god Zeus ); and a number of gorges. The mountains have been seen as a key feature of the island's distinctiveness, especially since the time of Romantic travellers' writing. Contemporary Cretans distinguish between highlanders and lowlanders; the former often claim to reside in places affording a higher/better climatic and moral environment. In keeping with the legacy of Romantic authors,

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5096-579: The ancient Greek origins of the Pelasgians as well as their widespread settlements throughout central Greece and the Peloponnese . In Aeschylus's play, The Suppliants , the Danaids fleeing from Egypt seek asylum from King Pelasgus of Argos, which he says is on the Strymon , including Perrhaebia in the north, the Thessalian Dodona and the slopes of the Pindus mountains on the west and

5194-440: The ancient authors said they were, beginning with Homer. The Peloponnese was called "Pelasgia". In the Roman Antiquities , Dionysius of Halicarnassus in several pages gives a synoptic interpretation of the Pelasgians based on the sources available to him then, concluding that Pelasgians were Greek: Afterwards some of the Pelasgians who inhabited Thessaly, as it is now called, being obliged to leave their country, settled among

5292-400: The cause of a disastrous war, together with a thousand ships, and all the great Pelasgian nation. [...] Here, when a sacrifice had been prepared to Jove , according to the custom of their land, and when the ancient altar glowed with fire, the Greeks observed an azure colored snake crawling up in a plane tree near the place where they had just begun their sacrifice. Among the highest branches was

5390-532: The coast, at Aghios Nikolaos, was formerly a freshwater lake but is now connected to the sea, in Lasithi . Three artificial lakes created by dams also exist in Crete: the lake of Aposelemis Dam , the lake of Potamos Dam, and the lake of Mpramiana Dam. Download coordinates as: Download coordinates as: A large number of islands, islets , and rocks hug the coast of Crete. Many are visited by tourists, some are only visited by archaeologists and biologists . Some are environmentally protected . A small sample of

5488-463: The country of the Aborigines where they consented to a treaty and settled at Velia . They and the Aborigenes took over Umbria but were dispossessed by the Tyrrhenians . The author then continues to detail the tribulations of the Pelasgians and then goes on to the Tyrrhenians, whom he is careful to distinguish from the Pelasgians. In his Description of Greece , Pausanias mentions the Arcadians who state that Pelasgus (along with his followers)

5586-487: The derivation from pelas gē ("neighboring land"), current at his time: "If Pelasgoi is connected with πέλας , 'near', the word would mean 'neighbor' and would denote the nearest strange people to the invading Greeks". Julius Pokorny derived Pelasgoi from *pelag-skoi "flatland-inhabitants"; specifically "inhabitants of the Thessalian plain ". He details a previous derivation, which appears in English at least as early as William Ewart Gladstone 's Studies on Homer and

5684-445: The emergence of the Greeks . In general, "Pelasgian" has come to mean more broadly all the indigenous inhabitants of the Aegean Sea region and their cultures, and British historian Peter Green comments on it as "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world". In the Classic period, enclaves under that name survived in several locations of mainland Greece, Crete , and other regions of

5782-719: The era is the study by William Ewart Gladstone , who was a trained classicist. Unless further ancient texts come to light, advances on the subject cannot be made. Therefore the most likely source of progress regarding the Pelasgians continues to be archaeology and related sciences. The definition of the term Pelasgians in ancient sources was fluid. The Pelasgians were variously described by ancient authors as Greek , semi-Greek, non-Greek and pre-Greek . There are no emic perspectives of Pelasgian identity. According to an analysis by historian Tristn Lambright of Jacksonville State University : While defining Greek identity in terms of collectivity or superiority...Greek writers always had

5880-668: The first man, born of the earth. This account features centrally in the construction of an enduring autochthonous Arcadian identity into the Classical period . In a fragment quoted by Pausanias , Asius describes the foundational hero of the Greek ethnic groups as "godlike Pelasgus [whom the] black earth gave up". Aeschylus incorporates all the territories that the Archaic tradition identifies as Pelasgian, including Thessaly (the region of Homer's Pelasgian Argos), Dodona (the seat of Homer's Pelasgian Zeus), and Arcadia (the region ruled by autochthonous Pelasgus ' son Lycaon ) into an Argive-Pelasgian kingdom ruled by Pelasgus. This affirms

5978-494: The import of bananas to Greece, therefore bananas were grown on the island, predominantly in greenhouses. Dairy products are important to the local economy and there are a number of specialty cheeses such as mizithra , anthotyros , and kefalotyri . 20% of Greek wine is produced in Crete, mostly in the region of Peza. The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €9.4 billion in 2018, accounting for 5.1% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power

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6076-402: The inhabitants of Crete . Odysseus , affecting to be Cretan himself, instances Pelasgians among the tribes in the ninety cities of Crete , "language mixing with language side by side". Last on his list, Homer distinguishes them from other ethnicities on the island: "Cretans proper", Achaeans, Cydonians (of the city of Cydonia /modern Chania ), Dorians, and "noble Pelasgians". Hesiod , in

6174-400: The island's biggest airport and ferry links with mainland Greece . Also, during the 1930s there was a narrow-gauge industrial railway in Heraklion, from Giofyros in the west side of the city to the port. There are now no railway lines on Crete. The government is planning the construction of a line from Chania to Heraklion via Rethymno. The construction sector in Crete responded well during

6272-449: The island. As of 2021 , the region had a population of 624,408. The Dodecanese are located to the northeast of Crete, while the Cyclades are situated to the north, separated by the Sea of Crete . The Peloponnese is to the region's northwest. Crete was the center of Europe 's first advanced civilization, the Minoans , from 2700 to 1420 BC. The Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece. Crete

6370-407: The islands includes: Off the south coast, the island of Gavdos is located 26 nautical miles (48 km) south of Hora Sfakion and is the southernmost point of Europe . Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the semi-arid climate , mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily a hot-summer Mediterranean ( Csa ) climate while some areas in

6468-412: The islands of Lemnos and Imbros . In Book 6, the Pelasgians of Lemnos were originally Hellespontine Pelasgians who had been living in Athens but whom the Athenians resettled on Lemnos and then found it necessary to reconquer the island. This expulsion of (non-Athenian) Pelasgians from Athens may reflect, according to the historian Robert Buck, "a dim memory of forwarding of refugees, closely akin to

6566-411: The later Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, under the Minoans, Crete had a highly developed, literate civilization. It has been ruled by various ancient Greek entities, the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Emirate of Crete , the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire . After a brief period of independence (1897–1913) under a provisional Cretan government, it joined the Kingdom of Greece. It

6664-449: The mountains are seen as having determined their residents' 'resistance' to past invaders which relates to the oft-encountered idea that highlanders are 'purer' in terms of less intermarriages with occupiers. For residents of mountainous areas, such as Sfakia in western Crete, the aridness and rockiness of the mountains is emphasised as an element of pride and is often compared to the alleged soft-soiled mountains of others parts of Greece or

6762-466: The name Crete ( Κρήτη ) first appears in Homer 's Odyssey . Its etymology is unknown. One proposal derives it from a hypothetical Luwian word * kursatta (compare kursawar 'island', kursattar 'cutting, sliver'). Another proposal suggests that it derives from the ancient Greek word "κραταιή" (krataie̅) , meaning strong or powerful, the reasoning being that Crete was the strongest thalassocracy during ancient times. In Latin ,

6860-580: The name of the island became Creta . The original Arabic name of Crete was Iqrīṭiš ( Arabic : اقريطش < (τῆς) Κρήτης) , but after the Emirate of Crete 's establishment of its new capital at ربض الخندق Rabḍ al-Ḫandaq (modern Heraklion ; Greek : Ηράκλειο , Irákleio ), both the city and the island became known as Χάνδαξ ( Chandax ) or Χάνδακας ( Chandakas ), which gave Latin, Italian, and Venetian Candia , from which were derived French Candie and English Candy or Candia . Under Ottoman rule , in Ottoman Turkish , Crete

6958-465: The option to resort to traditions about Pelasgian ancestors to emphasize the shared legacy of all Greeks as descendants of the autochthonous Pelasgians. By contrast, if the definition of Greek identity was parsed in terms of opposition, Greek writers could employ discourses about the alterity and barbarity of the Pelasgians to underline the distinction between Greek and non-Greek peoples. Consistently, however, Pelasgians appear in Greek literature as links to

7056-518: The other cities, that one by one they gradually acquired from the connection the name of Hellenes ; though a long time elapsed before that name could fasten itself upon all. The author regards the Athenians as having lived in scattered independent settlements in Attica ; but at some time after Theseus , they changed residence to Athens , which was already populated. A plot of land below the Acropolis

7154-465: The outlets of the Peneus River and Thermopylae as far as the mountainous country of Pindus" and states that it took its name from Pelasgian rule. He includes also the tribes of Epirus as Pelasgians (based on the opinions of "many"). Lesbos is named Pelasgian. Caere was settled by Pelasgians from Thessaly, who called it by its former name, "Agylla". Pelasgians also settled around the mouth of

7252-420: The pandemic and has come out strong in the post-recession recovery period. Total construction spending recovered and is expected to peak a record high (approximately 8% higher than 2019 average levels) signalling consistent expansion in construction projects and real estate investments in Crete. The evolution of the private sector in Crete is tightly linked with the demand for tourism-related investments. Moreover,

7350-536: The primacy of ancient Knossos. While the cities continued to prey upon one another, they invited into their feuds mainland powers like Macedon and its rivals Rhodes and Ptolemaic Egypt . In 220 BC the island was tormented by a war between two opposing coalitions of cities . As a result, the Macedonian king Philip V gained hegemony over Crete which lasted to the end of the Cretan War (205–200 BC) , when

7448-808: The record for the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe during October, November, January and February from World Meteorological Organization stations. According to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service , South Crete receives the most sunshine in Greece with more than 3,257 hours of sunshine per year. Crete is the most populous island in Greece with a population of more than 600,000 people. Approximately 42% live in Crete's main cities and towns whilst 45% live in rural areas. Crete with its nearby islands form

7546-456: The recovery of the tourism sector is expected to lead to further growth in housing prices and rental demand. Newspapers have reported that the Ministry of Mercantile Marine is ready to support the agreement between Greece, South Korea , Dubai Ports World and China for the construction of a large international container port and free trade zone in southern Crete near Tympaki ; the plan

7644-446: The region's population has increased by 1,343 people between 2011 and 2021, experiencing a rise of 0.22%. The island is home to 308,608 men and 315,800 women, accounting for 49.4% and 50.6% of the population respectively. The island is divided into four regional units, Heraklion, Rethymno, Chania, and Lasithi. The economy of Crete is predominantly based on services and tourism. However, agriculture also plays an important role and Crete

7742-579: The regional governor is Stavros Arnaoutakis of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement . First elected in 2010 , he was re-elected in 2014 , 2019 and 2023 . Heraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete, holding more than a fourth of the island's population. Chania was the capital until 1971. The principal cities are: According to official census data by the Hellenic Statistical Authority ,

7840-448: The relationship between the Pelasgians and the (other) Greeks, which, according to Pericles Georges, reflected the "rivalry within Greece itself between [...] Dorian Sparta and Ionian Athens." Specifically, Herodotus stated that the Hellenes separated from the Pelasgians with the former group surpassing the latter group numerically: As for the Hellenes, it seems obvious to me that ever since they came into existence they have always used

7938-514: The same language. They were weak at first, when they were separated from the Pelasgians, but they grew from a small group into a multitude, especially when many peoples, including other barbarians in great numbers, had joined them. Moreover, I do not think the Pelasgian, who remained barbarians, ever grew appreciably in number or power. In Book 2, Herodotus alluded to the Pelasgians as inhabitants of Samothrace , an island located just north of Troy, before coming to Attica. Moreover, Herodotus wrote that

8036-439: The serpent, coiled about the tree, was transformed to a stone, curled crooked as a snake. Hecataeus of Miletus in a fragment from Genealogiai states that the genos ("clan") descending from Deucalion ruled Thessaly and that it was called "Pelasgia" from king Pelasgus. A second fragment states that Pelasgus was the son of Zeus and Niobe and that his son Lycaon founded a dynasty of kings of Arcadia . A fragment from

8134-550: The shores of the sea on the east; that is, a territory including but somewhat larger than classical Pelasgiotis . The southern boundary is not mentioned; however, Apis is said to have come to Argos from Naupactus "across" ( peras ), implying that Argos includes all of east Greece from the north of Thessaly to the Peloponnesian Argos, where the Danaids are probably to be conceived as having landed. He claims to rule

8232-495: The son of Zeus and Niobe. They migrated from there to Haemonia (later called Thessaly), where they "drove out the barbarian inhabitants" and divided the country into Phthiotis, Achaia, and Pelasgiotis, named after Achaeus, Phthius and Pelasgus, "the sons of Larissa and Poseidon." Subsequently, "about the sixth generation they were driven out by the Curetes and Leleges , who are now called Aetolians and Locrians ". From there,

8330-579: The southeastern corner of the island, has year-round agricultural production, with summer vegetables and fruit produced in greenhouses throughout the winter. Western Crete (Chania province) receives more rain and the soils there suffer more erosion compared to the Eastern part of Crete. Average annual temperatures reach up to 21.6°C in Psari Forada which is located in South Crete. Crete holds

8428-552: The towns all being small ones. The historian Ephorus , building on a fragment from Hesiod that attests to a tradition of an aboriginal Pelasgian people in Arcadia, developed a theory of the Pelasgians as a people living a "military way of life" ( stratiōtikon bion ) "and that, in converting many peoples to the same mode of life, they imparted their name to all", meaning "all of Hellas". They colonized Crete and extended their rule over Epirus, Thessaly and by implication over wherever else

8526-807: The tribes home lands and the language generally spoken up to the Roman assimilations was Oscan part of the "Co" group of Indo-European languages . In the early Middle Ages, the Roman duchy and the Duchy of Benevento contended for its strategic position. After the 11th century it was ruled by the Normans , the Hohenstaufen and by the Papal States . It was destroyed twice; in 1229 by Frederick II and in 1242 by Conrad IV . The castrato sopranist Gioacchino Conti , known as Il Gizziello or heb ceilliau ,

8624-1249: The world. The island has a number of gorges, such as the Samariá Gorge , Imbros Gorge , Kourtaliotiko Gorge , Ha Gorge , Platania Gorge , the Gorge of the Dead (at Kato Zakros , Sitia ) and Richtis Gorge and (Richtis) waterfall at Exo Mouliana in Sitia . The rivers of Crete include the Geropotamos River , the Koiliaris, the Anapodiaris, the Almiros, the Giofyros, the Keritis, and Megas Potamos. There are only two freshwater lakes in Crete: Lake Kournas and Lake Agia , which are both in Chania regional unit . Lake Voulismeni at

8722-655: The writings of Acusilaus asserts that the Peloponnesians were called "Pelasgians" after Pelasgus, a son of Zeus and Niobe . Hellanicus of Lesbos concerns himself with one word in one line of the Iliad , "pasture-land of horses", applied to Argos in the Peloponnesus . According to Hellanicus, from Pelasgus and his wife Menippe came a line of kings: Phrastōr , Amyntōr , Teutamides and Nanas (kings of Pelasgiotis in Thessaly). During Nanas's reign,

8820-568: Was born in Arpino in 1714. Attractions include the circuit walls in polygonal masonry . These walls include an example of an ogive arch. The walls stand up to 11 feet in height and up to seven feet in width. Below Arpino, in the Liri valley, a little north of the Isola del Liri , lies the church of S. Domenico, which marks the site of the villa in which Cicero was born and frequently resided. Near it

8918-645: Was called Girit ( كريد ). In the Hebrew Bible, Crete is referred to as ( כְּרֵתִים ) "kretim". Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea separating the Aegean from the Libyan Sea . The island has an elongated shape: it spans 260 km (160 mi) from east to west, is 60 km (37 mi) at its widest point, and narrows to as little as 12 km (7.5 mi) (close to Ierapetra ). Crete covers an area of 8,336 km (3,219 sq mi), with

9016-514: Was called "Pelasgian" and was regarded as cursed, but the Athenians settled there anyway. In connection with the campaign against Amphipolis , Thucydides mentions that several settlements on the promontory of Actē were home to: [...] mixed barbarian races speaking the two languages. There is also a small Chalcidian element; but the greater number are Tyrrheno-Pelasgians once settled in Lemnos and Athens, and Bisaltians, Crestonians and Eonians;

9114-460: Was comparatively free from warfare. The Gortyn code (5th century BC) is evidence for how codified civil law established a balance between aristocratic power and civil rights. In the late 4th century BC, the aristocratic order began to collapse due to endemic infighting among the elite, and Crete's economy was weakened by prolonged wars between city states. During the 3rd century BC, Gortyn , Kydonia ( Chania ), Lyttos and Polyrrhenia challenged

9212-779: Was later ruled by Rome, then successively by the Byzantine Empire , Andalusian Arabs, the Venetian Republic , and the Ottoman Empire . In 1898 Crete, whose people had for some time wanted to join the Greek state, achieved independence from the Ottomans, formally becoming the Cretan State . Crete became part of Greece in December 1913. The island is mostly mountainous, and its character is defined by

9310-576: Was occupied by Nazi Germany during the Second World War . Stone tools suggest that archaic humans may have visited Crete as early as 130,000 years ago, but there is no evidence of permanent settlement of the island until the Neolithic , around 7,000 BCE. Settlements dating to the aceramic Neolithic in the 7th millennium BC, used cattle , sheep , goats , pigs and dogs as well as domesticated cereals and legumes ; ancient Knossos

9408-414: Was the first inhabitant of their land. Upon becoming king, Pelasgus invented huts , sheep-skin coats, and a diet consisting of acorns while governing the land named after him, "Pelasgia". When Arcas became king, Pelasgia was renamed " Arcadia " and its inhabitants (the Pelasgians) were renamed "Arcadians". Pausanias also mentions the Pelasgians as responsible for creating a wooden image of Orpheus in

9506-481: Was the site of one of these major Neolithic (then later Minoan) sites. Other neolithic settlements include those at Kephala , Magasa , and Trapeza . During the Bronze Age , Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization , notable for its art , its writing systems such as Linear A , and for its massive building complexes including the palace at Knossos . Its economy benefited from a network of trade around much of

9604-578: Was €17,800 or 59% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 68% of the EU average. Crete is the region in Greece with the fifth highest GDP per capita. The island has three significant airports, Nikos Kazantzakis at Heraklion, the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania and the smaller Sitia airport. The first two serve international routes, acting as the main gateways to the island for travellers. Work has begun plan to replace Heraklion airport with

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