History

Discover the thrilling history of Crete.

A little South-East of Rethymno lies the Arkadi monastery. A beautiful and intact monastery from the 16th century.
In Crete you will find many of these, but this one has a story:

Arkadi was well known for it's science, art, wine and olive-oil. But the story people now remember is the one of the Cretan Resistance. The Ottoman empire, that occupied Crete, held great interest in the monastery.
After having been pillaged many times, the Cretans managed to take it back from the Turks. When troops of the Ottoman empire in November 1866 began their final attack to retake it, the 964 people that were sheltering there blew themselves up in the powder room. They would rather die than be captured.

This lead to heavy and shocked reactions from the rest of the world. Which in turn was like a snowball effect which lead to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Crete and Greece.

The Historical Years

During the so called Historical Years, Kythonia seems to have been a powerful city-state, whose domain extended from Hania Bay to the feet of the White Mountains. Kythonia was constantly at war with other city-states such as Aptera, Falasarna and Polyrrinia. In 69 B.C. the Roman Consul Cointus Metellus defeated the Cretans and conquered Kythonia to which he granted the privileges of an independent city-state.

Kythonia reserved the right to mint its own coins until the 3rd century A.D. The Roman conquest put an end to the civil wars and a period of peace began, unique in the history of the island. The Kythonia of the Historical Years was of the same size as the city of Hania at the beginning of the 20th century.

First Byzantine Period

Information about the Kythonia of the Christian Years is limited. The most important archeological finds are those of the remains of a Basilica, discovered recently near the Venetian Cathedral in the centre of Kasteli.

Various sources mention the Kythonia Diocese and the Bishop Kythonios, who participated in the Sardinian Synod in 343. Kythonia is mentiond among the 22 most important cities of Crete in the "Document of Ieroklis" in the 6th Century. The Kytonia Diocese is also mentioned in all the "Ecclesiastical Minutes" (taktica), before and after the Arabian Occupation.

The Byzantine houses can still be seen behind the mosque.

The Arabian Occupation

The occupation of Crete by the Arabs was effected gradually from 821 to 824. The consequences of the arrival of the Arabs in Crete were rather painful for the local population, who were subjected to a long and horrible period of slavery, resulting in the alienation of Crete from the Byzantine empire.

St. Nicholas Stouthitis was born in 763 in Kythonia, which he left at the age of 10 to go to Constantinopel. In 961, Nikiforos Fokas managed to free Crete and bring it back under the control of the Byzantine empire.

The Byzantine Period

The first action of the Byzantine empire, after reconquering Crete, was to re-establish their authority and power. Not only should all traces of the Arab occupation be abolished but also the defense of the island had to be organised quickly in order to avoid any Arab attempt to take back the island. Thus, strong fortifications are constructed along the coast and at strategic positions.

The hill of Kasteli is fortified with a wall along its perimeter. This was constructed with building materials taken from the ancient city. It is still regarded as a remarkable military accomplishment and a proof of the continuous existence of the city in the period between the Arab and the Venetian occupations.

Byzantine area