Kato Symi ( el, Κάτω Σύμη) is a small historic village 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, Cypru ...

, in Heraklion regional unit, from

Ierapetra Ierapetra ( el, Ιεράπετρα, lit=sacred stone; ancient name: ) is a Greek town and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete. History The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is located on ...

and from

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 A ...

city. Today it belongs to Viannos municipality and borders the Ierapetra municipality. It lies about above sea level, south of Mount Dikti in a verdant mountainous area, which is probably the most wooded of Crete. Near the village, at an altitude of , lies the ancient sanctuary of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orator ...

and

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

. It is dated from the middle Minoan period and had been used for worship for more than 1,000 years. Kato Simi has been destroyed three times, by Arabs, Turks and finally by the German army in World War II, when it was the center of resistance of the Viannos–Ierapetra area against the Nazi occupying forces.

External links

The Minoan religious sanctuary at Simi
Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit) {{Crete-geo-stub