Dikti or Dicte ( el, Δίκτη) (also Lasithiotika Ori; el, Λασιθιώτικα Όρη "Lasithian Mountains"; anciently, Aigaion oros ( grc, Αἰγαῖον ὄρος) or la, Aegaeum mons) is a mountain range on the east 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, ...

in the regional unit of

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 ...

. On the west it extends to the regional unit of Heraklion. According to some versions of

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

was reared on this mountain in a cave called Dictaeon Antron (

Psychro Cave Psychro Cave ( el, Σπήλαιο Ψυχρού) is an ancient Minoan sacred cave in Lasithi plateau in the Lasithi district of eastern Crete. Psychro is associated with the Diktaean Cave ( el, link=no, Δικταῖον Ἄντρον; ''Diktaio ...

). On the north of the main massif, the

Lasithi Plateau The Lasithi Plateau ( el, Οροπέδιο Λασιθίου, ''Oropedio Lasithiou''), sometimes spelt Lassithi Plateau, is a high endorheic plateau, located in the Lasithi regional unit in eastern Crete, Greece. Since the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, ...

is located. The topology of the mountain range is rich with plateaus (Lasithi,

Katharo Katharo is a plateau on the Dikti mountain on 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 ...

, Omalos Viannou, Limnakaro), valleys and secondary peaks. Some important peaks are Spathi 2148m (the highest point), Afentis Christos/Psari Madara 2141m, Lazaros 2085m, Madara 1783m, Skafidaras 1673m, Katharo Tsivi 1665m, Sarakino 1588m, Afentis 1571m, Selena 1559m, Varsami 1545m, Toumpa Moutsounas 1538m, Platia Korfi 1489m, Mahairas 1487m, Virgiomeno Oros 1414m, . The main massif forms a horseshoe around the valley of

Selakano Selakano () is a forested valley and a hamlet in the municipality of Ierapetra on the island of Crete. Selakano forms one of the most important ecosystems on Crete. The forest core of wild pine is also important on the Mediterranean level. It is l ...

. Large parts of the mountain area, including the Selakano valley, are forested with pines (''

Pinus brutia ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturali ...

''), Kermes oaks (''

Quercus coccifera ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the ''Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus an ...

''), cypresses ('' Cupressus sempervirens''), Holm Oaks ('' Quercus ilex'') and Cretan Maples (''

Acer sempervirens ''Acer sempervirens'', the Cretan maple, is a species of maple native to southern Greece and southern Turkey.Med-Checklist''Acer sempervirens''/ref> ''Acer sempervirens'' is an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, one of the very fe ...

''). The fertile valleys and plateaus of Dikti/Dicte are of significant importance in the local economy. The dominant feature of Dikti is the Lasithi Plateau, the largest plateau in Crete. It is a place with a long history. Diktaion Antron, is located here, a cave in which — according to one legend — Zeus was born.

Gallery

File:Snow Covered Dikti Summit Spathi.jpg, Spathi summit File:Lasithi-55.jpg, View of gorge in Dikti File:Lasithi-60.jpg, View of gorge in Dikti File:Lasithi-61.jpg, View of Lasithi plateau File:Katharo plateau 10.jpg, Landscape in Katharo plateau File:Katharo plateau 12.jpg, Landscape in Katharo plateau File:Katharo plateau 14.jpg, Road in Katharo File:Katharo plateau 15.jpg, Road in Katharo File:Katharo plateau 16.jpg, View of Katharo plateau File:Katharo plateau 18.jpg, Landscape in Katharo plateau File:Katharo plateau 2.jpg, View of Katharo File:Katharo plateau 3.jpg, View of Katharo File:Katharo plateau 4.jpg, Landscape in Katharo plateau File:Katharo plateau 7.jpg, Tree in Katharo plateau File:Lisitsa-24.jpg, A flock of sheep in Dikti File:Iris cretensis.jpg, '' Iris cretensis'' File:Ophrys episcopalis2.jpg, ''

Ophrys episcopalis ''Ophrys holosericea'', the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this specie ...

'' File:Papilio machaon σε anchusa azurea.jpg, ''

Papilio machaon ''Papilio machaon'', the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this speci ...

'' on ''

Anchusa azurea ''Anchusa azurea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, known by the common names garden anchusa and Italian bugloss (or just "bugloss"). It is a bristly perennial which may reach 1.5 meters tall and 60 centimeters wide. It ...

References

External links

Greek Mountain Flora
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Greece Landforms of Lasithi Locations in Greek mythology Geography of ancient Crete Mountains of Crete

Gallery

See also

References

External links