Kydonia ( or ), also known as Cydonia (, ''Kydōnía'') was an ancient city located at the site of present-day
Chania
Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
near the west end of the
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
of
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the
Minoan era as well as literary and historical sources.
History
In the area of Kastelli Hill, which is the citadel of Chania's harbor, archaeological excavations have discovered ceramic sherds and finds that date from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
to Late Minoan IIIC.
Early Bronze
Scarce finds such as walls and ground floors confirm that the systematic habitation of the hill began during
Early Minoan (EM) II period.
Middle Bronze
In the Middle Bronze Age, the material culture on Crete is known as Middle Minoan (MM).
Late Pre-Palatial Period
In the MM IA (c. 2050/2000-1925/1900 BC), the architecture was still pre-palatial. These levels were destroyed with the construction of the neopalatial town.
Neo-Palatial Period
In the
Middle Minoan III (MM III; c. 1750/1720-1675/1650 BC), a palace was built marking the beginning of the
Neo-Palatial Period.
A large archive of Linear A tablets (97) have been found, the second largest archive known. The tablets were largely economic records of agricultural produce, people and animals.
Late Bronze
A Minoan House (House I) with the characteristic hall was also unearthed. It was destroyed by fire during Late Minoan (LM) IB period. The houses from LMIIIA phase belonged to a palatial settlement, which ceased to exist in LMIII.
The city extended beyond Kastelli Hill as the excavations in Daskalogiannis Street revealed, where a LMI sanctuary or "
lustral basin
The lustral basin is an architectural form used in Minoan architecture. Consisting of a small sunken room reached by a staircase, they are characteristic of elite architecture of the Neopalatial period (c. 1750-1470 BC).
They are hypothesized ...
" came to light. The discovery of a corpus of
Linear A
Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 BC to 1450 BC. Linear A was the primary script used in Minoan palaces, palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It evolved into Linear B, ...
and
Linear B
Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...
tablets points out the presence of an archive. Moreover, the archaeologists have identified the existence of a local pottery workshop, which was active in LMIII.
At the end of the LM IB, Kydonia seem to have been abandoned for a period.
Mycenean Period
In the Late Minoan IIIA (LM IIIA; 1435/1405-1360/1325 BC), new houses are built. At the end of LM IIIA, the houses are destroyed by fire. In "House 1" three Linear B tablets were found. In the Late Minoan IIIB (LM IIIB; 1360/1325-1200/1190 BC), the town was rebuilt again.
In the Mycenean Period, Linear B is only found at the Cretan sites of Knossos, Kydonia/Chania and Malia. This indicates a scriptorium and archive within a possible palace in Kydonia. The name of the city is first mentioned in
Linear B
Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...
tablets from
Knossos
Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...
as (). Unlike other sites on Crete, Kydonia maintained major trading activities. In the LM IIIA and LM IIIB, it was a large commercial and maritime center, exporting pottery, oil, perfume and wine throughout the Aegean.
Iron Age
Archaeological evidence from the Early Iron Age and Archaic Era is limited.
In 429 BC, during the
Peloponnesian War
The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...
, Kydonia was attacked by the
Athenians
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
after the accusations of Nikias from
Gortyna
Gortyna (; 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 Byzantium it was or ...
for pro-Spartan policy.
In 343 BC the city was besieged by
Phalaikos and his army of mercenaries after his failed attempt to capture
Lyttus. He was killed from a lightning strike that burnt his siege engines.
Hellenistic Period
In the
Hellenistic period
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
, Kydonia took part in the struggle for domination among the cities of Crete. At the end of the 3rd century BC a peace treaty with
Aptera was signed.
During the
Lyttian War In 220/219 BC both cities joined the alliance of Oreioi (in which
Polyrrhenia was a member) and canceled the one with Knossos. Aggressive policy led to the capture of
Phalasarna (184 B.C.E) and 14 years later that of
Apollonia, an action criticized by
Polybius
Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
since they were allies.
Roman Period
In 69 BC the Romans under
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus (c. 114 BC – late 50s BC) was a politically active member of the Roman upper class. He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death. He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortal ...
, after the failed attempt of
Marcus Antonius Creticus, invaded Crete. The Cretan general
Lasthenes confronted them in the battle of Kydonia, where he lost and retreated. This outcome forced Cretan general
Panares to capitulate to the Romans and deliver them the city without resistance.
The coins of the
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
depict Kydon either as an infant suckling a female Cretan hound or as an archer stringing his bow, accompanied by his dog.
The remaining base from the Hellenistic wall can be seen below the Byzantine wall of Kastelli Hill. Rescue excavations have discovered Hellenistic facilities below buildings of the modern city.
[Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, Khania (Kydonia) : a tour to sites of ancient memory (2009)]
After the
battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...
(31 BC)
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
set Kydonia free for its assistance to him. Kydonians are mentioned in book 12 of the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
'', where their excellent bow skills are used in an extended
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
ian
simile
A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...
describing the Fury's descent to
Juturna. The editors of the ''
Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World
The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard Talbert, Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from Archaic Greece, ...
'' suggest that the city also bore the name Apollonia (, ''Apollōnía'') at some point.
Late Antiquity
In 365 the city must have been affected by the earthquake that devastated many cities of Crete. The Episcopate of Kydonia is referred in many ecclesiastical documents. The earliest is in 381 when Cydonius the bishop of Kydonia takes part in the
First council of Constantinople. The prosperity of the city during Late Roman times is illustrated by the mosaics of houses found near Agora Square. Roman workshops have been found in some parts of the modern city.
[Michalis Andrianakis and Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, The Old City of Hania Historical Review, Monuments, Archaeological Museum (1997)] Material from the urban architecture of the ancient city was used for the construction of Kastelli Hill's Byzantine wall.
Middle Ages
The first Byzantine period of Kydonia ended with the
Arab conquest of Crete in the 820s. After the
Byzantine reconquest of Crete in 961, the bishopric was transferred outside the city near the village of Agya.
It is uncertain when the toponym Kydonia ceased to be used in place of forms of the modern
Chania
Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
. The scholars suggest that the name was changed by the Arabs, who named the city (, "the
Caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
" or "
Inn"). This name may have derived from a suburb of Kydonia called , where the god
Welchanos had been worshipped in antiquity. Under
Venetian rule, the city was known as
Canea.
Modernity
The name is preserved in the
Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas, which was established in 1962.
Today's archaeological recoveries from the ancient city of Kydonia are largely stored in the
Chania Archaeological Museum in present-day
Chania
Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
.
Identification
The exact location of Kydonia was not understood until
Robert Pashley worked it out based solely on ancient historical literature without any
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
recovery.
John Pendlebury
John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury (12 October 1904 – 22 May 1941) was a British archaeologist who worked for British intelligence during World War II. He was captured and Summary execution, summarily executed by German troops during the ...
also identified
Chania
Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
with ancient Kydonia. Ancient authors suggest that Kydonia was located in western
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, facing the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
. Strabo calculated its distance from other cities of Crete.
Necropolis
Since Kydonia was inhabited for centuries, the
necropolis
A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' ().
The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...
of the city is quite extended and includes graveyards from all periods. It lies below the modern city of
Chania
Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
. Burial types that have been found include
chamber tombs,
cist
In archeology, a cist (; also kist ;
ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...
graves, and
loculus tombs.
Legacy
The ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' mentions a tribe called the Kydonians who live on both sides of the Iardanos River.
Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
claims that the city was founded by
Samians , who later on were defeated and enslaved by a coalition of
Aeginetans and other
Cretans
Crete ( ; , 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 Corsica. Crete is loc ...
.
Some legends claim that Kydonia was founded by a king named
Cydon
In Greek mythology, the name Cydon (Ancient Greek: Κύδων) may refer to:
*Cydon of Crete, eponym of Cydonia. According to one version, he was a son of Tegeates and possibly, Maera, daughter of the Titan Atlas. He was the brother of Leimon, ...
(, ''Kýdōn''), a son of
Hermes
Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
or
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
and of
Akakallis, the daughter of King
Minos
Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...
. According to Pausanias, he was son of king
Tegeates.
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...
claimed that the city was founded by King
Minos
Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...
.
[Diod. Sic. 5.78]
The region of
Cydonia on
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
was named for the Cretan city.
Famous Kydonians
*
Aristocles (5th century BC), sculptor
*
Kresilas
Kresilas ( ''Krēsílas''; ) was a Greek sculptor in the Classical period (5th century BC), from Kydonia. He was trained in Argos and then worked in Athens at the time of the Peloponnesian War, as a follower of the idealistic portraiture of My ...
(5th century BC), sculptor
See also
*
List of ancient Greek cities
This is an incomplete list of ancient Greek cities, including colonies outside Greece, and including settlements that were not sovereign '' poleis''.
Many colonies outside Greece were soon assimilated to some other language but a city is included h ...
*
Malaxa
*
Polichne
*
Cydonia (region of Mars)
Cydonia (, ) is a region on the planet Mars that has attracted both scientific and popular interest. The name originally referred to the albedo feature (distinctively coloured area) that was visible from earthbound telescopes. The area borders ...
References
Citations
Sources
* C. Michael Hogan, ''Cydonia'', Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 200
* Robert Pashley, ''Travels in Crete'', 1837, J. Murray
* Ian Swindale, ''Kydonia''
* Marie-Louise Winbladh, The Greek-Swedish Excavations at Chaniá), Stockholm 2000.
* Marie-Louise Winbladh, Adventures of an archaeologist. Memoirs of a museum curator, AKAKIA Publications, London 2020
{{Minoan civilization
Chania (regional unit)
Cretan city-states
Former populated places in Greece
History of Crete