Gulf of Chania

The Gulf of Chania is an embayment of the Sea of Crete in the northwestern region of the island of Crete in present-day Greece. One headland forming the Gulf of Chania is the promontory known as the Akrotiri Peninsula.

Ancient history

In prehistory the powerful city of Kydonia commanded the Gulf of Chania and was a center of early Cretan art and culture in western Crete. By 74 BC the city-state of Kydonia fended off an attack by Rome in a naval battle in the Gulf of Chania.