Papadoplaka is a natural reef islet off the southern coast of the Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 island of 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...

 in the Libyan Sea

Libyan Sea

The Libyan Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica and Marmarica...

. The islet is in a bay between cape Lithino

Cape Lithinon

Cape Lithinon or Cape Lithino, Crete, Greece is a promontory at the southernmost point of the island of Crete, south of Matala and west of Kali Limenes. It marks the southeastern limit of the Bay of Mesara. The promontory rises to about 390m Cape Lithinon or Cape Lithino, Crete, Greece is a...

 and cape Kefalas, at Kommos, and close to Gortyn

Gortyn

Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna is a municipality and an archaeological site on the Mediterranean island of Crete, 45 km away from the modern capital Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka...

 which was the ancient capital of Crete. The name can be loosely translated as the priest's rock. It is administered within Heraklion Prefecture

Heraklion Prefecture

Heraklion is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion.-Geography:The regional unit of Heraklion borders on the regional units of Rethymno to the west and Lasithi to the east. Farmlands are situated in the central and the northern parts, at the coast and in...

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Group of islets

There are a group of four islets in the bay including Papadoplaka (to the west), Megalonisi

Megalonisi

Megalonisi is an islet off the southern coast of the Greek island of Crete in the Libyan Sea that hosts a lighthouse. The islet is in a bay between the capes of Lithino and Kefalas, at Kommos, and close to Gortyn which was the ancient capital of Crete...

 (with the lighthouse), Mikronisi

Mikronisi

Mikronisi , also known as Agios Pavlos , is an islet off the southern coast of the Greek island of Crete in the Libyan Sea. The islet is in a bay between the capes of Lithino and Kefalas, at Kommos, and close to Gortyn which was the ancient capital of Crete...

 (also known as Agios Pavlos), and Trafos

Trafos

Trafos is an islet off the southern coast of the Greek island of Crete in the Libyan sea. The islet is in a bay between the capes of Lithino and Kefalas, at Kommos, and close to Gortyn which was the ancient capital of Crete...

.

Minoan civilization

Minoan civilization

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...

Papadoplaka was more substantial in Minoan

Minoan civilization

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...

 times, due to lower sea levels, and is likely to have offered safe harbor for ships in that part of the bay. J. W. Shaw believes that Papadoplaka is likely to have been linked with the coast via a partially submerged sandy shore. This would make a Minoan harbor at Kommos similar to the harbor at Amnisos

Amnisos

Amnisos, also Amnissos and Amnisus, is a Bronze Age settlement on the north shore of Crete used as a port to the palace city of Knossos. It appears in Greek literature and mythology from the earliest times, but its origin is far earlier, in prehistory. The historic settlement belonged to a...

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