![Eleutherna Bridge, Crete, Greece](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Eleutherna_Bridge%2C_Crete%2C_Greece._Pic_02.jpg)
Eleutherna ( grc-gre, Ἐλεύθερνα), also called Apollonia
( grc-gre, Ἀπολλωνία), was an ancient
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) 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 ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, which lies 25 km southeast of
Rethymno
Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...
in
Rethymno regional unit. Archaeologists excavated the site, located on a narrow northern spur of
Mount Ida
In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida'' ...
, the highest mountain in Crete. The site is about 1 km south of modern town of
Eleftherna
Eleutherna ( grc-gre, Ἐλεύθερνα), also called Apollonia
( grc-gre, Ἀπολλωνία), was an ancient city-state in Crete, Greece, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno in Rethymno regional unit. Archaeologists excavated the si ...
, about 8 km north east of
Moni Arkadiou
The Arkadi Monastery (in Greek: / Μονή Αρκαδίου) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, situated on a fertile plateau 23 km (14 mi) to the southeast of Rethymnon on the island of Crete in Greece.
The current catholicon (church) ...
, in the current municipality of
Rethymno
Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...
. It flourished from the
Dark Ages of Greece’s early history until Byzantine times.
History
![Eleftherna2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Eleftherna2.JPG)
In the systematic Eleutherna project, a team of archaeologists from the
University of Crete
The University of Crete (UoC; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης) is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution in Crete, Greece, located in the cities of Rethymno (official seat) and Heraklion, and one of the country's most aca ...
led by
Prof. N. Stampolidis has been in charge since 1984. Surveys and systematic excavations have revealed the city's settlement patterns, sanctuaries and
necropoleis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
in ''Orthi Petra'', even stone quarries in the surroundings of the ''Prines'' hill. The discovery of the remains of four females in Orthi Petra was declared one of top 10 discoveries of 2009 by the
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...
.
Anagnostis Agelarakis Anagnostis P. Agelarakis ( el, Αναγνώστης Π. Αγελαράκης; born 1 January 1956) is a professor of Anthropological Archaeology and Physical Anthropology at Adelphi University.
He received a B.A. from Lund University in 1977, in Cl ...
was instrumental in helping to identify an Iron Age
matriline
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of ...
—a so-called “dynasty of priestesses” — at the site, based on the dental epigenetic traits of the individuals buried there. The
Museum of Ancient Eleutherna
The Museum of Ancient Eleutherna ( el, Μουσείο Αρχαίας Ελεύθερνας) is an on-site museum of Greece in the archaeological park of Eleutherna, Rethymno, and houses artifacts found in the nearby archaeological site of Eleuthern ...
, directly linked to the archaeological site, was inaugurated in June 2016.
During the ninth century BC, in
sub-Mycenaean times, in the
Geometric Period
Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, . Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the trading cities of th ...
of the later Greek Dark Ages,
Dorians
The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians) ...
colonized the city on a steep, naturally fortified ridge. The city's location made it a natural crossroads, as it lay between
Cydonia
Cydonia may refer to:
Music
* ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb
* "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica''
Places and jurisdictions
* Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at modern ...
on the northwest coast and
Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
, and between the shore, where it controlled its ports, Stavromenos and
Panormos Panormos ( el, Πάνορμος, link=no) or Panormus, meaning "sheltered harbor", may refer to:
Places Ancient places
*Panormus (Achaea), a town of ancient Achaea, Greece
*Panormus (Attica), a town of ancient Attica, Greece
* Panormus (Caria), a ...
, and the great sanctuary cave near the
peak of Ida, Idaion Andron. The Dorian city evolved in the
Archaic Period in a similar vein as did
Lato
Lato ( grc, Λατώ, Latṓ) was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the village of Kritsa.
History
The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay betwee ...
and
Dreros
Dreros ( grc, Δρῆρος), also (representing Modern Greek pronunciation) Driros, near Neapoli in the regional unit of Lasithi, Crete, is a post-Minoan archaeological site, 16 km northwest of Agios Nikolaos. Known only by a chance rema ...
, its contemporaneous Dorian counterparts.
In 220 BC the city of Eleutherna triggered the outbreak of the
Lyttian War
The Lyttian War was an internal conflict fought from around 220 BC to about 216 BC between two coalitions of Cretan city-states, led by Cnossus and Polyrrhenia respectively. The events of the war are recorded by the historian Polybius. It is con ...
by accusing the Rhodians of the assassination of their leader Timarchus. The Eleuthernans eventually declared war on
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
. During the following conflict Eleutherna was at first allied with
Cnossus
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
and
Gortys
Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of ...
, but later they were compelled to change sides by the
Polyrrhenia
Polyrrhenia or Polyrrenia ( grc, Πολυρρηνία; modern el, Πολυρρηνία, Polyrrinia), Polyrrhen or Polyrren (Πολύρρην) or Polyren (Πολύρην), or Pollyrrhenia or Pollyrrenia (Πολλύρρηνα),''Periplus of Pseudo- ...
ns and joined the opposite coalition led by the
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ian king
Philip V Philip V may refer to:
* Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC)
* Philip V of France (1293–1322)
* Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598)
* Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
.
With the Roman conquest of Crete in 68/67 BCE, luxurious villas, baths, and other public buildings demonstrate that Eleutherna was a prosperous centre through the Imperial period, until the
catastrophic earthquake of 365 CE. Eleutherna was the seat of a Christian bishop: bishop Euphratas constructed a large basilica in the mid-seventh century. The attacks of caliph
Harun Al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
in the later eighth century, together with another earthquake in 796, and the subsequent
Arab rule in Crete, led to the final abandonment of the site. Following the occupation of the island by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, a Catholic diocese was established, still a Roman Catholic titular bishopric today.
Public exhibitions in 1993 and 1994, and especially the comprehensive exhibition of 2004 at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, have introduced the archaeological site to the general public.
''Ekathimerini'', "The treasures of ancient Eleutherna on display"
"Cretan excavation sheds light on Dark Ages of Greek history"
On the last occasion the Louvre lent the seventh-century BCE "Lady of Auxerre
The relatively small (75 cm high) limestone Cretan sculpture called the Lady of Auxerre (or Kore of Auxerre), at the Louvre Museum in Paris depicts an archaic Greek goddess of c. 650 - 625 BCE. It is a ''Kore'' ("maiden"), perhaps a vot ...
", now given a definitive Cretan context with comparable finds at Eleutherna.
See also
* Museum of Ancient Eleutherna
The Museum of Ancient Eleutherna ( el, Μουσείο Αρχαίας Ελεύθερνας) is an on-site museum of Greece in the archaeological park of Eleutherna, Rethymno, and houses artifacts found in the nearby archaeological site of Eleuthern ...
* Eleutherna Bridge
The Eleutherna Bridge is an ancient Greek corbel arch bridge near the Cretan town of Eleutherna, Greece. A similar second bridge standing a short distance south of it collapsed toward the end of the 19th century, with only very few traces remain ...
* List of ancient Greek cities
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Nicholas Chr. Stampolidis, ''Eleutherna on Crete: The Wider Horizon''. In Aruz, J. and Seymour, M. (eds). ''Assyria to Iberia: Art and Culture in the Iron Age'', Metropolitan Museum of Art symposia, pp. 283–295, Yale University Press, 2016.
* Anagnostis Agelarakis Anagnostis P. Agelarakis ( el, Αναγνώστης Π. Αγελαράκης; born 1 January 1956) is a professor of Anthropological Archaeology and Physical Anthropology at Adelphi University.
He received a B.A. from Lund University in 1977, in Cl ...
, ''The anthropology of Tomb A1K1 of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna. A Narrative of the Bones: Aspects of the Human Condition in Geometric-Archaic Eleutherna'' (Athens, 2005).
* Kotsonas, Antonis, ''The Archaeology of Tomb A1K1 of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna: the early Iron Age pottery'' (Heraklion, University of Crete, 2008).
* S. Andreas Koudellou, ''Eleutherna 2006-2009'', The University of Crete, January 10, 2009.
External links
Museum of Ancient Eleutherna
Ancient Eleutherna from the Greek Ministry of Culture
{{Authority control
Cretan city-states
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Crete
Roman sites in Greece
Populated places in ancient Crete
Former populated places in Greece
Iron Age sites in Greece
Populated places in Rethymno (regional unit)