Akrotiri (, literally "

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...

") is a peninsula and former municipality in the Chania regional unit,

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . Its ancient name was ''Kiamon'' while the Byzantines called it ''Charaka''. The largest town in the peninsula is

Kounoupidiana Kounoupidiana is a village in Crete, Greece, part of the municipal unit of Akrotiri, Crete, Akrotiri and the largest town on that peninsula with a population of 9,213 (in 2021). It is 8 km northeast of the city of Chania and has become a popular pl ...

. The beach at Stavros became famous because of the film Zorba the Greek.

Geography and environment

Akrotiri is a rocky promontory on the northern side of the island of Crete, in the Sea of Crete. It is roughly circular in shape, connected to the rest of the island by a wide causeway between Chania and the town of Souda. To the south, Souda Bay is found between the peninsula and the island. Most of the peninsula is a plateau somewhat elevated from the sea. There is a string of hills along the northern coast. A variety of

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

occur on the rocky promontory of Akrotiri including the herb ''Taraxacum minimum''.

History

The earliest history of the local area is related to the founding of the nearby ancient city of

Kydonia Kydonia ( or ), also known as Cydonia (, ''Kydōnía'') was an ancient city located at the site of present-day Chania near the west end of the island of Crete in Greece. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the Minoan e ...

, one of the most powerful cities of ancient Crete.C.M.Hogan, 2008 The tombs of

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

and his son Sophoklis are found on Akrotiri, at a site overlooking Chania. At this site, the Greek flag was raised in defiance of the Turks and the

Great Powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

, with the peninsula acting as a headquarters of the . Three monasteries are found in the hills to the north. Aghia Triada dates from the 17th Century and was founded by two Venetian monks who had joined the Orthodox church, Jeremiah and Laurentio Giancarolo. These brothers renovated an older monastery endowed by the Mourtari family. The imposing buildings are visible across the plateau and from planes arriving at the airport and are set in olive and orange groves. A little way into the hills, accessible by car through a small gorge, is the Gouvernetos Monastery, 5 km north of Aghia Triada. Here the buildings appear fortress-like, with a large square building around a central courtyard, in which stands the church dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Sightseeing

From Gouverneto Monastery, the path is only accessible by foot and leads to the cave of the Arkoudiotissa ("she-bear"), where a

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

is said to look like a bear. This cave is believed to have been used for worship since ancient times (as there is evidence for cults of

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

and

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

), but was dedicated to the Arkoudiotissa Panaghia (Our Lady) during the Christian era.

Ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

s lived in the caves in the area. Further along the path, after a descent of 140 steps, is the

Katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon () or ''sobor'' () refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major Church (building), church building (temple) of a monastery corresponding to a conventual ...

(monastic church), the third monastery, now abandoned. It is believed to date from the 5th or 6th Century, founded by St John the Hermit. It is built into the cliff, with a unique church largely carved into the rock-face. This striking set of buildings is now overgrown with fig trees but retains significant charm. Chania's airport, Chania/Ioannis Daskalogiannis International Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: CHQ,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

:LGSA), named after folk-hero Daskalogiannis, is on the central

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

and is easily reached from Chania by car, taxi or public transport. There are several resorts around Akrotiri, including Stavros, Kalathas and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

Line notes

References

* C. Michael Hogan, ''Cydonia'', Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 200

* Arne Strid and Kit Tan (1986) ''Mountain Flora of Greece'', Edinburgh University Press * Samuel Thurston Williamson, Raymond Moley, Malcolm Muir, Rex Smith and Joseph Becker Phillips (1933) Newsweek

External links

Municipality of Akrotiri
{{Chania div Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Chania Peninsulas of Greece Landforms of Chania (regional unit) Landforms of Crete