Eleutherna
Encyclopedia
Eleutherna also called Apollonia
(Greek
: ), was an ancient city-state
in Crete
, Greece
, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno
in Rethymno Prefecture
. Archaeologists excavated the site, located on a narrow northern spur of Mount Ida
in the municipality of Prines
, the highest mountain in Crete; it flourished from the Dark Ages of Greece
’s early history until Byzantine times.
In the systematic Eleutherna project, a team of archaeologists from the University of Crete
has been in charge since 1984. Surveys and systematic excavations have revealed the city's settlement patterns, sanctuaries and necropoleis
, even stone quarries in the surroundings of the Prines hill.
During the ninth century BCE, in sub-Mycenaean
times, in the Geometric Period
of the later Greek Dark Ages, Dorians colonized the city on a steep, naturally fortified ridge. The city's location made it a natural crossroads, as it lay between Cydonia
on the northwest coast and Knossos
, and between the shore, where it controlled its ports, Stavromenos and Panormos
, and the great sanctuary cave near the peak of Ida
, Idaion Andron. The Dorian city evolved in the Archaic Period
in a similar vein as did Lato
and Dreros
, its contemporaneous Dorian counterparts.
With the Roman conquest of Crete in 68/67 BCE, luxurious villas, baths, and other public buildings demonstrate that Eleutherna was a prosperous centre through the Imperial period, until the catastrophic earthquake of 365 CE
. Eleutherna was the seat of a Christian bishop: bishop Euphratas constructed a large basilica in the mid-seventh century. The attacks of caliph Harun Al-Rashid
in the later eighth century and Arab hegemony in Crete, together with another earthquake, in 796 led to the final abandonment of the site. A brief reoccupation under the Latin Empire
grave rise to a Catholic diocese, still a Roman Catholic titular bishopric today.
Eleutherna was known in the Medieval period (15th - 16th centuries)
The site was abandoned during the revolution against Venitian rule took place during 1510–1621: As a result the Kallergis Family was banned and forbidden to live in Eleutherna. (Titular See)]
Public exhibitions in 1993 and 1994, and especially the comprehensive exhibition of 2004 at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, have introduced the archaeological site to the general public. On the last occasion the Louvre lent the seventh-century BCE "Lady of Auxerre
", now given a definitive Cretan context with comparable finds at Eleutherna.
(Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: ), was an ancient city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno
Rethymno
Rethymno is a city of approximately 40,000 people in Greece, the capital of Rethymno peripheral unit in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity , even though was never a competitive Minoan centre...
in Rethymno Prefecture
Rethymno Prefecture
Rethymno is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding.-Administration:...
. Archaeologists excavated the site, located on a narrow northern spur of Mount Ida
Mount Ida, Crete
Mount Ida, known variously as Idha, Ídhi, Idi, Ita and now Psiloritis , is the highest mountain on Crete. Located in the Rethymno Prefecture, it is sacred to the Greek Titaness Rhea, and on its slopes, according to legend, lies the cave, Idaion Andron, in which Zeus was born...
in the municipality of Prines
Prines
Prines is a small village in Chania Prefecture on the island of Crete, Greece. It has 133 residents . It is part of the community Epanochori within the municipal unit of East Selino ....
, the highest mountain in Crete; it flourished from the Dark Ages of Greece
Greek Dark Ages
The Greek Dark Age or Ages also known as Geometric or Homeric Age are terms which have regularly been used to refer to the period of Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean Palatial civilization around 1200 BC, to the first signs of the Greek city-states in the 9th...
’s early history until Byzantine times.
In the systematic Eleutherna project, a team of archaeologists from the University of Crete
University of Crete
The University of Crete ' is the principal higher education institution on the island of Crete, Greece.The University of Crete, is a multi-disciplinary, research- oriented institution, located in the cities of Rethymno and Heraklion...
has been in charge since 1984. Surveys and systematic excavations have revealed the city's settlement patterns, sanctuaries and necropoleis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
, even stone quarries in the surroundings of the Prines hill.
During the ninth century BCE, in sub-Mycenaean
Helladic period
Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age. The term is commonly used in archaeology and art history...
times, in the Geometric Period
Geometric Style
Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterised largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, circa 900 BCE to 700 BCE...
of the later Greek Dark Ages, Dorians colonized the city on a steep, naturally fortified ridge. The city's location made it a natural crossroads, as it lay between Cydonia
Cydonia (Ancient Greece)
Cydonia or Kydonia was an important ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania...
on the northwest coast and Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
, and between the shore, where it controlled its ports, Stavromenos and Panormos
Panormos
Panormos , Latinized as Panormus, may refer to several locations:*Panormos, Tinos, a village and a community on the island of Tinos, Cyclades, Greece*Panormos, Kalymnos, a village on the island of Kalymnos, Dodecanese, Greece...
, and the great sanctuary cave near the peak of Ida
Mount Ida, Crete
Mount Ida, known variously as Idha, Ídhi, Idi, Ita and now Psiloritis , is the highest mountain on Crete. Located in the Rethymno Prefecture, it is sacred to the Greek Titaness Rhea, and on its slopes, according to legend, lies the cave, Idaion Andron, in which Zeus was born...
, Idaion Andron. The Dorian city evolved in the Archaic Period
Archaic period in Greece
The Archaic period in Greece was a period of ancient Greek history that followed the Greek Dark Ages. This period saw the rise of the polis and the founding of colonies, as well as the first inklings of classical philosophy, theatre in the form of tragedies performed during Dionysia, and written...
in a similar vein as did Lato
Lato
Lato was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the small town of Kritsa. The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay between two peaks, both of which became acropolises to the city...
and Dreros
Dreros
Dreros , also Driros, near Neapolis in the district of Lassithi, Crete, is a post-Minoan archaeological site, 16 km. northwest of Aghios Nikolaos...
, its contemporaneous Dorian counterparts.
With the Roman conquest of Crete in 68/67 BCE, luxurious villas, baths, and other public buildings demonstrate that Eleutherna was a prosperous centre through the Imperial period, until the catastrophic earthquake of 365 CE
365 Crete earthquake
The AD 365 Crete earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred at about sunrise on 21 July 365 in the Eastern Mediterranean, with an assumed epicentre near Crete. Geologists today estimate the quake to have been 8 on the Richter Scale or higher, causing widespread destruction in central and...
. Eleutherna was the seat of a Christian bishop: bishop Euphratas constructed a large basilica in the mid-seventh century. The attacks of caliph Harun Al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
in the later eighth century and Arab hegemony in Crete, together with another earthquake, in 796 led to the final abandonment of the site. A brief reoccupation under the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
grave rise to a Catholic diocese, still a Roman Catholic titular bishopric today.
Eleutherna was known in the Medieval period (15th - 16th centuries)
The site was abandoned during the revolution against Venitian rule took place during 1510–1621: As a result the Kallergis Family was banned and forbidden to live in Eleutherna. (Titular See)]
Public exhibitions in 1993 and 1994, and especially the comprehensive exhibition of 2004 at the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, have introduced the archaeological site to the general public. On the last occasion the Louvre lent the seventh-century BCE "Lady of Auxerre
Lady of Auxerre
The relatively small limestone Cretan sculpture called the Lady of Auxerre, , at the Louvre Museum in Paris depicts an archaic Greek goddess of c. 650 - 625 BC...
", now given a definitive Cretan context with comparable finds at Eleutherna.