Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island 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, ...
,
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 ...
. It is part of the
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
regional unit and of the former
Kissamos Province
Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissa ...
which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as Kastelli Kissamou and often known simply as Kastelli after the
Venetian castle that was there. It is now a port and fishing harbour, with a regular ferry from the
Peloponnese via
Kythira
Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...
. A town museum is located in the old Venetian governor's palace and there have been important archaeological finds in the town, including fine mosaics, dating from the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
city of Kisamos (,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ized as Cisamus). The head town of the municipality () is Kastelli-Kissamos itself.
History
Strabo said that ancient Cisamus was dependent on
Aptera and was its naval arsenal. The
Peutinger Table
' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire.
The map is a 13th-ce ...
distinguishes two port towns in Crete called Cisamus, Modern Kissamos (at 35°29′38″N 23°39′25″E) is much further west than where Aptera is now placed (at 35°27′46″N 24°8′31″E). It was excluded already by
Pashley in 1837 as being, of the two ancient maritime Cretan cities named Kisamos, the one associated with Aptera. In the past, when the port of Aptera was thought to be present-day Kissamos, some supposed Aptera to be identical with
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- ...
, and Kissamos to be the port of Polyrrhenia. However, Strabo and other ancient sources say that Polyrrhenia's port was at
Phalasarna
Phalasarna or Falasarna ( grc, Φαλάσαρνα) is a Greek harbour town at the west end of Crete that flourished during the Hellenistic period. The currently visible remains of the city include several imposing sandstone towers and bastions, ...
on the west coast.
Ecclesiastical history
Ancient Cisamus became a Christian
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, a
suffragan of the
metropolitan see
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a ...
of
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, the capital of the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of Crete.
Only two of its first-millennium bishops are named in extant contemporary documents: Theopemptus (according to 18th-century
Lequien
Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his pr ...
), Nicetas (according to 20th-century Janin) at the
Trullan Council
The Quinisext Council (Latin: ''Concilium Quinisextum''; Koine Greek: , ''Penthékti Sýnodos''), i.e. the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at ...
in 692, and Leo at the
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...
in 787.
[Raymond Janin, v. ''Cisamus'', i]
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. XII, Parigi 1953, coll. 844-845
Orthodox bishopric
The bishopric is still a residential see of the Eastern Orthodox
Church of Crete
The Church of Crete ( el, Εκκλησία της Κρήτης) is an Eastern Orthodox church, comprising the island of Crete in Greece. The Church of Crete is semi- autonomous (self-governing) under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patria ...
.
[
]
Latin diocese
After the Venetian conquest of Crete in 1212, Kissamos became a Latin Church
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
diocese. The names of more than 20 residential Latin bishops from then until the end of the 16th century are known, including :["Diocese of Kisamos"]
''Catholic-Hierarchy.org
''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...
''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016["Titular Episcopal See of Cisamus"]
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
* Angelo Barbarigo (1383 – 1406.09.21)
* Prospero Santacroce (1548.03.22 – 1572?)
The Latin residential bishopric of la, Cisamus (Curiate Italian ''Cisamo'') was suppressed in around 1600, and only a titular bishopric
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
remains.[''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 870]
Municipality
The municipality of Kissamos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of three former municipalities, which became municipal units:
* Kissamos
* Innachori
* Mythimna
Mythimna ( el, Μύθημνα, Δήμος Μυθήμνης) is a former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kissamos, of which it is a municipal unit. Th ...
The municipality has an area of and the municipal unit has an area of . The municipal unit of Kissamos includes the Gramvousa peninsula
Gramvousa Peninsula ( el, Χερσόνησος Γραμβούσας, Chersonesos Gramvousas) is a peninsula at the northwestern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently, it was known as Corycus or Korykos ( grc, Κώρυκος), or as Cimarus ...
(Chernisos Gramvousas ''Χερσόνησος Γραμβούσας'') in the northwest and the adjacent Gramvousa islets, as well as the islet of Pontikonisi
Pontikonisi ( el, Ποντικονήσι, "Mouse Island") is a Greek islet near the island of Corfu. Its prominent feature is a Byzantine chapel of Pantokrator, dating from the 11th or 12th century.
In Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Poseidon turns the ...
, and the villages of Sfinari, Koukounaras, Polirinia
Polyrrhenia or Polyrrenia ( grc, Πολυρρηνία; modern el, Πολυρρηνία, Polyrrinia), Polyrrhen or Polyrren (Πολύρρην) or Polyren (Πολύρην), or Pollyrrhenia or Pollyrrenia (Πολλύρρηνα),''Periplus of Pseudo- ...
, Platanos, Lousakia, Sirikari, Kallergiania and Kalathena. It forms the extreme western part of the Chania regional unit, and of Crete. It is bordered by Platanias to the East, and by Kantanos-Selino to the south.
Former province
The province of Kissamos ( el, Επαρχία Κισσάμου) was one of the provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the Chania Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality of Kissamos, and the municipal units of Kolymvari
Kolymvari ( el, Κολυμβάρι, Δήμος Κολυμβαρίου), also known as Kolymbari ( el, Κολυμπάρι), is a coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania. Kolymvari was formerly a munici ...
and Voukolies
Voukolies ( el, Βουκολιές, Δήμος Βουκολιών) is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Platanias, of which it is a mun ...
(partly).[ ] It was abolished in 2006.
Notable locals
* Manos Katrakis (1908–1984), actor
* Giorgis Koutsourelis (1914–1994), Cretan music composer
See also
* List of communities of Chania
This is a list of settlements in the Chania regional unit, Greece.
* Afrata
* Agia Marina
* Agia Roumeli
* Agia
* Agia Eirini
* Agios Ioannis
* Alikampos
* Alikianos
* Amygdalokefali
* Anopoli
* Anoskeli
* Aptera
* Armenoi
* Aroni
...
References
Sources and external links
See Chania Region for maps
Municipality description
Kissamos TV Official Website
GTP description
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece
Municipalities of Crete
Populated places in Chania (regional unit)
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe
Castles in Greece
Greek War of Independence
Provinces of Greece