Episkopi is a village on the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
island 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 ...
. Episkopi belongs to the community of
Kato Chorio within the municipality of
Ierapetra
Ierapetra (; ancient name: ) is a Greece, Greek city and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete.
History
The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is located on the southeast coast of Crete, sit ...
,
Lasithi
Lasithi () 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 Thrypti in the ...
. It lies north of Ierapetra in the middle of the narrowest part of the island. The village has approximately one thousand inhabitants.
The village was established during the
Minoan
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...
period, probably between 2500 and 2000 BCE. It is located 6.5 km north of Ierapetra on the road from Agios Nikolaos to Ierapetra at 120 m a.s.l. The municipality covers an area of 36 km², while 15 km² are cultivated with olive trees, most of them irrigated from the Bramianos dam, and the springs of Malavra, Thripti, Kefalovrissi and Kato Horio. Like their Minoan predecessors the present residents are employed mostly in
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, in the harvest of olives and the production of olive oil.
The village's main attraction is a former
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
bathhouse church which was converted into a church in the 13th century.
It has recently been restored. The church is dedicated to
Agios Georgios (Saint George) and
Agios Charalambos. Close to this church the remains of an Early Byzantine church can be found.
At 1946 A.C. a sarcophagus was found in the village from the Minoan period.
File:A georgios episkopi.JPG, A.Georgios
File:A georgios episkopi B.JPG
Image:EPISKOPISARCOFAGUS.jpg, Episkopi's sarcophagus
References
Populated places in Lasithi
Ierapetra
{{Crete-geo-stub