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, 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 ...

. 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 Kissam ...

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 The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

via

Kythira Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an Greek islands, island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Io ...

. 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 letter ...

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 Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

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-cen ...

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 A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

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 t ...

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. Gortyn ...

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 pro ...

), 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, and ...

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 Patriarchat ...

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 Prospero Pubblicola Santacroce (24 September 1514 – 2 October 1589) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Santacroce was born in Rome on September 24, 1514, the son of Tarquinio Santacroce and Ersilia de' Massimi. He wa ...

(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 Gramvousa also Grampousa ( el, Γραμβούσα or Γραμπούσα, further names include ''Akra'', ''Cavo Buso'', ''Cavo Bouza'', ''Garabusa'' and ''Grabusa'') refers to two small uninhabited islands off the coast of a peninsula also known ...

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 Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platania ...

to the East, and by

Kantanos-Selino Kantanos-Selino ( el, Κάντανος-Σέλινο) is a municipality in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is numbered 4 on the map of the Chania region. The seat of the municipality is the village of Palaiochora. The municipality has an ar ...

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 outsi ...

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 Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis ( el, Εμμανουήλ (Μάνος) Κατράκης; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.Giorgis Koutsourelis (1914–1994), Cretan music composer

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