Heraklion ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ηρακλείου) is one of the four regional units of

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, ...

. The capital is the city of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

Geography

The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units 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 ...

to the west and

Lasithi Lasithi ( el, Λασίθι) is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Th ...

to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in valleys. The mountains dominate the rest of the regional unit, notably the south. The main mountains are parts of Ida or Idi Mountains to the west and

Asterousia Asterousia ( el, Αστερούσια) is a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern ...

in the south. The regional unit includes the island of Dia to the north. Except for the mountains which receive mild to cool winters unlike northern Greece, the warm to hot Mediterranean climate dominates the regional unit.

Ancient history

Within the Heraklion regional unit's boundaries are a number of significant

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

settlements, most notably the ancient palace complexes of

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

Phaistos Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaesto ...

. While both archaeological sites evince Neolithic habitation from 7000 BC, it is the rich finds of Minoan civilisation, which flourished approximately 2800 to 1450 BC, that command the greatest scholarly attention. Important ancient cities are: *

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 ...

Tylissos Tylisos (also Pyrgos-Tylissos or Tylissos; el, Τύλισος; Linear B: ''Tu-li-so'')palaeolexi ...

* Malia *

Lyttos Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: or ), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada. Lyctus in mythology According to Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

* Amnisos *

Kaloi Limenes Kaloi Limenes or Kali Limenes ( ) is a village and port in the Heraklion regional unit, southern Crete, in Greece, located 70km (43.5 miles) south-west of the city of Heraklion. It has 21 inhabitants (2011). It is known as a major bunkering spot ...

Population history

*1991 - 263,868 *2001 - 292,482 *2011 - 305,490

Administration

The regional unit Heraklion is subdivided into 8 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): *

Archanes-Asterousia Archanes–Asterousia ( el, Αρχάνες-Αστερούσια) is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Peza. The municipality has an area of 337.137 km2. Municipality The mun ...

(2) *

Faistos Faistos ( el, Φαιστός) is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Moires. It is named after the ancient city Phaistos, located in the municipality. The municipality has an area ...

(7) *

Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna ( el, Γόρτυν, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gorty ...

a (4) *

(''Irakleio'', 1) *

Hersonissos Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...

(''Chersonisos'', 8) *

Malevizi Malevizi ( el, Μαλεβίζι) is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Gazi. The municipality has an area of . Municipality The municipality Malevizi was formed at the 2011 local g ...

(5) *

Minoa Pediada Minoa Pediada ( el, Μινώα Πεδιάδα, "Minoan Plain") is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on th ...

(6) *

Viannos Viannos ( el, Βιάννος) is a municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of . Population 5,563 (2011). The seat of the municipality is in Ano Viannos. In September 1943, German occupation forces ...

(3)

Prefecture

The Heraklion prefecture ( el, Νομός Ηρακλείου) was created in 1915, after Crete joined with the rest of Greece. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Heraklion was created out of the former prefecture Heraklion. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

*Province of

Pyrgiotissa Pyrgiotissa was a Provinces of Greece, province of Heraklion Prefecture, Crete, Greece. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal unit Tympaki. It was abolished in 2006. References

Heraklion (regional unit) Pr ...

- Voroi *Province of Kainourgio - Moires *Province of

Agios Myronas Agios Myronas (Άγιος Μύρωνας, formerly Άγιος Μύρων ''Agios Myron'') is a village in the Heraklion regional unit of Crete, Greece named for Saint Myron of Crete. In 2011, its population was 612. Agios Myronas is built on two ...

*Province of

Temenos A ''temenos'' ( Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gr ...

- Heraklion *Province of Pediada - Kasteli *Province of

Monofatsi Monofatsi was a province of Heraklion Prefecture, Crete, Greece. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal units Asterousia and Kofinas, and parts of the municipal units Agia Varvara, Arkalochori and Nikos Kazantzakis Ni ...

- Pyrgos *Province of

- Pefkos ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

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 ...

Transport

* GR-90/ E65 * GR-97 * GR-99

Notable people

* El Greco ( medieval Castilian nickname meaning "the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

"), by which Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ''Domênikos Theotokópoulos'', is best known. (Born 1541,

Fodele Gazi ( el, Γάζι) is a Western suburb of Heraklion and a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit of Crete in Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Malevizi, of which it is a municipal ...

and died on April 7, 1614,

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESC ...

), a world-famous painter,

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...

was born in the village ''Varvaro'' (renamed to Myrtia in 1965Name changes of settlements in Greece
/ref>) The municipal unit in which Myrtia is located, was named after him.

Communications

The following television channels serve the prefecture: *

Creta Channel Creta Channel (now as TV Creta) is a television channel broadcast to the majority of Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the wor ...

Kriti TV CreteTV () is a Greek regional television station, based in Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (region ...

Line notes

References

* Arthur J. Evans, (1921–35) ''The Palace of Minos'', volumes 1-4 * C. Michael Hogan
''Knossos fieldnotes'', Modern Antiquarian (2007)
* Ian Swindale

Retrieved 13 May 2013.

External links

{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Crete