Crete


Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 90th largest island in the world, and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete is located approximately south of the Peloponnese, and about southwest of Anatolia. Crete has an area of and a coastline of 1,046 km. It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. Crete covers 260 km from west to east but is narrow from north to south, spanning three degrees of longitude but only half a degree of latitude.
Crete and its surrounding islands and islets form the Region of Crete, which is the southernmost of the 13 top-level administrative units of Greece, and the fifth most populous of Greece's regions. Its capital and largest city is Heraklion, located on the island's north shore., the region had a population of 624,408. The Dodecanese are located to the northeast of Crete, while the Cyclades are situated to the north, separated by the Sea of Crete.
Crete was the center of Europe's first advanced civilization, the Minoans, from 2700 to 1420 BC. The Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece. Crete was subsequently ruled by Rome, by the Byzantine Empire, briefly by Andalusian Arabs, restored to Byzantine rule, and later by the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire. In 1898 Crete, whose people had for some time wanted to join the Greek state, achieved independence from the Ottomans, formally becoming the Cretan State. Crete became part of Greece in December 1913.
Crete is predominantly mountainous, characterized by a range that crosses the island from west to east. It includes Crete's highest point, Mount Ida, and the range of the White Mountains with 30 summits above in altitude and the Samaria Gorge, a World Biosphere Reserve. Crete forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining its own local cultural traits. The Nikos Kazantzakis airport at Heraklion and the Daskalogiannis airport at Chania serve international travelers. The Minoan palace at Knossos is also located in Heraklion. In Greek mythology, Crete is best known as the birthplace of the Greek god Zeus.

Name

The earliest references to the island of Crete come from texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, where the island is referred to as Kaptara. This is repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and the Bible. It was known in ancient Egyptian as Keftiu or kftı͗w, strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island.
The current name Crete is first attested in the 15th century BC in Mycenaean Greek texts, written in Linear B, through the words ke-re-te ???, *Krētes; later Greek: Κρῆτες, plural of Κρής ) and ke-re-si-jo ????, *Krēsijos; later Greek: Κρήσιος, 'Cretian'). In Ancient Greek, the name Crete first appears in Homer's Odyssey. Its etymology is unknown. One proposal derives it from a hypothetical Luwian word *kursatta. Another proposal suggests that it derives from the ancient Greek word "κραταιή" , meaning strong or powerful, the reasoning being that Crete was the strongest thalassocracy during ancient times.
In Latin, the name of the island became Creta. The original Arabic name of Crete was Iqrīṭiš, but after the Emirate of Crete's establishment of its new capital at ربض الخندق Rabḍ al-Ḫandaq, both the city and the island became known as Χάνδαξ or Χάνδακας, which gave Latin, Italian, and Venetian Candia, from which were derived French Candie and English Candy or Candia. Under Ottoman rule, in Ottoman Turkish, Crete was called Girit. In the Hebrew Bible, Crete is referred to as "kretim".

Physical geography and climate

Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located south of almost the rest of the country, in the southern part of the Aegean Sea separating the Aegean from the Libyan Sea.

Island morphology

The island has an elongated shape: it spans from east to west, is at its widest point, and narrows to as little as . Crete covers an area of, with a coastline of ; to the north, it broaches the Sea of Crete ; to the south, the Libyan Sea ; in the west, the Myrtoan Sea, and toward the east the Carpathian Sea. It lies approximately south of the Greek mainland.
There are a number of peninsulas and gulfs on the north side of Crete, from west to east these include: Gramvousa peninsula, gulf of Kissamos, Rodopos peninsula, gulf of Chania, Akrotiri peninsula, Souda Bay, Apokoronas cape, gulf of Almiros, gulf of Heraklion, Aforesmenos cape, gulf of Mirabello, gulf of Sitia and the Sideros peninsula. On the south side of Crete is the gulf of Messaras and Cape Lithinon.

Mountains and valleys

Crete is mountainous, and its character is defined by a high mountain range crossing from west to east, formed by six different groups of mountains:
These mountains lavish Crete with valleys, such as Amari valley, fertile plateaus, such as Lasithi plateau, Omalos and Nidha; caves, such as Gourgouthakas, Diktaion, and Idaion ; and a number of gorges.
The mountains have been seen as a key feature of the island's distinctiveness, especially since the time of Romantic travellers' writing. Contemporary Cretans distinguish between highlanders and lowlanders; the former often claim to reside in places affording a higher/better climatic and moral environment. In keeping with the legacy of Romantic authors, the mountains are seen as having determined their residents' 'resistance' to past invaders which relates to the oft-encountered idea that highlanders are 'purer' in terms of less intermarriages with occupiers.
For residents of mountainous areas, such as Sfakia in western Crete, the aridness and rockiness of the mountains is emphasised as an element of pride and is often compared to the alleged soft-soiled mountains of others parts of Greece or the world.

Gorges, rivers and lakes

The island has a number of gorges, such as the Samariá Gorge, Imbros Gorge, Kourtaliotiko Gorge, Ha Gorge, Platania Gorge, the Gorge of the Dead and Richtis Gorge and waterfall at Exo Mouliana in Sitia.
The rivers of Crete include the Geropotamos River, the Koiliaris, the Anapodiaris, the Almiros, the Giofyros, the Keritis, and Megas Potamos. There are only two freshwater lakes in Crete: Lake Kournas and Lake Agia, which are both in Chania regional unit. Lake Voulismeni at the coast, at Aghios Nikolaos, was formerly a freshwater lake but is now connected to the sea, in Lasithi. Three artificial lakes created by dams also exist in Crete: the lake of Aposelemis Dam, the lake of Potamos Dam, and the lake of Mpramiana Dam.

Surrounding islands

A large number of islands, islets, and rocks hug the coast of Crete. Many are visited by tourists, some are only visited by archaeologists and biologists. Some are environmentally protected. A small sample of the islands includes:
  • Gramvousa the pirate island opposite the Balo lagoon
  • Elafonisi, which commemorates a shipwreck and an Ottoman massacre
  • Chrysi island, which hosts the largest natural Juniperus macrocarpa forest in Europe
  • Paximadia island where the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis were traditionally believed to be born
  • The Venetian fort and leper colony at Spinalonga opposite the beach and shallow waters of Elounda
  • Dionysades islands which are in an environmentally protected region together with the Palm Beach Forest of Vai in the municipality of Sitia, Lasithi
Off the south coast, the island of Gavdos is located south of Hora Sfakion and is the southernmost point of Europe.

Climate

Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the semi-arid climate, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily a hot-summer Mediterranean climate while some areas in the south and east have a hot semi-arid climate. The higher elevations fall into the cold-summer Mediterranean climate category, while some of the mountain peaks may feature a continental climate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and April, but rare in most low-lying areas.
The south coast, including the Mesara Plain and Asterousia Mountains enjoy significantly more sunny days and, on average, higher temperatures throughout the year. There, date palms bear fruit, and swallows remain year-round. The fertile region around Ierapetra, on the southeastern corner of the island, has year-round agricultural production, with summer vegetable and fruit produced in greenhouses throughout the year. Western Crete receives more rain and the soil there suffers more erosion compared to the Eastern part of Crete.
Average annual temperatures reach up to 22.0 °C in Tris Ekklisies and Psari Forada which are located in South Crete. Crete holds the record for the highest temperatures ever recorded in Europe during October, November, January and February among W.M.O. stations.
According to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, South Crete receives the most sunshine in Greece with more than 3,257 hours of sunshine per year.

Human geography

Crete is the most populous island in Greece, with a population of over 600,000. Approximately 42% of residents live in the island's main cities and towns, while 45% reside in rural areas.

Administration

Crete with its nearby islands form the Crete Region, one of the 13 regions of Greece which were established in the 1987 administrative reform. Under the 2010 Kallikratis plan, the powers and authority of the regions were redefined and extended. The region is based at Heraklion and is divided into four regional units. From west to east these are: Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion, and Lasithi. These are further subdivided into 24 municipalities.
Since 1 January 2011, the regional governor is Stavros Arnaoutakis of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement. First elected in 2010, he was re-elected in 2014, 2019 and 2023.