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An island of southeast Greece in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its Minoan civilization, centered at the city of Knossos on the northern coast, was one of the earliest in the world and reached the height of its wealth and power c. 1600 B.C. Crete subsequently fell to the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, and Ottoman Turks. The islanders proclaimed their union with modern Greece in 1908.
Cretan Cre'tan adj. & n.
For more information on Crete, visit Britannica.com.
Crete (Krētē, Lat. Crēta), Mediterranean island to the south-east of Greece and the south-west of Asia Minor. Its position makes it a natural stepping-stone from Europe to Egypt, Cyprus, and Asia. Holding therefore an intermediate position in early times, between the ancient civilizations of the Near and Middle East and barbarian Europe, it was well suited to become the site of the earliest European high civilization.
The British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who began excavations on the island in 1899, named this Bronze Age culture Minoan civilization after Minos, the legendary early king of Crete. Evans divided the civilization into three main phases that covered the period c.3000–c.1000 BC, Early, Middle, and Late Minoan (EM, MM, LM), and each phase into three sub-periods, I, II, and III. Further subdivisions have since been made, e.g. LMIIIA, LMIIIA1. Sixteen or more successive periods can be recognized by changes in the shape and decoration of Minoan pottery. The chief sites are at Cnossus, Phaestus, Mallia, and Khania (in classical times known as Cydonia); other smaller sites have also been excavated.
The Early Minoan period (c.3000–2200 BC), which succeeded a long Neolithic Age, was marked by a striking new style of pottery, indicating the arrival of a new (and non-Greek) people from western Asia, from Anatolia perhaps, or a Semitic people from Syria or Palestine. The end of this period marked the start of the great period of Minoan civilization, c.2200–1450 BC (MMI–LMI). The island seems to have been peaceful (there were few defences) and prosperous; writing existed in the form of pictograms on stone seals, out of which developed a simplified script (see LINEAR A) found on clay tablets and in inscriptions and graffiti. This script has not yet been deciphered. In MMII, perhaps at the end of the eighteenth century BC, the great palaces at Cnossus and Phaestus were destroyed, probably by earthquake rather than war. Afterwards they were entirely rebuilt, and the period following the rebuilding is sometimes referred to as the ‘second palace period’. However, Cnossus and other Cretan sites suffered further destruction c.1500 BC, in consequence, it has been thought, of the great volcanic explosion of Thera, which caused widespread damage and may have been followed in some places by foreign conquest. After these disasters only Cnossus seems to have recovered her former prosperity in the succeeding period, LMII (c.1450–1400 BC). During this time a new influence becomes apparent, both in pottery styles and in writing. Clay tablets appear late in the period (the dating is uncertain) written in a different script, Linear B, which is also known from several sites on the mainland of Greece. This has been deciphered as an early form of Greek, different from the language of the earlier scripts and probably indicating that the island rulers were by this time Mycenaean Greeks from the mainland whose power was expanding as that of Crete declined (see MYCENAE).
A final catastrophe, accompanied by fire and looting, overwhelmed Cnossus in the ‘last palace’ period, c.1375 BC (LMIIIA); there is no clear evidence to show the origin of the catastrophe, whether it was natural or caused by revolution or foreign invasion. By the end of the Bronze Age (towards 1000 BC), Minoan culture was in sharp decline. Cnossus, however, remained an important city into the Early Iron Age, c.1000 BC, and Crete's strategic position ensured its continuing fame. Homer talks of ‘Crete of the hundred cities’ (more than half of which are known). In historical times Crete was predominantly Dorian; it was governed by an aristocracy and its important cities were Cnossus (still), Gortyn, and Lyttos, and later Cydonia (Khania). It had a reputation for producing good slingers and archers, and also lawgivers (see GORTYN). During the fifth and fourth centuries BC the island lay outside the mainstream of Greek history. By the late third century BC, the notoriety of Crete as a refuge for pirates rivalled that of Cilicia. The pirates supported Mithridates VI, king of Pontus, against Rome, but those in Crete were crushed in 68–67 BC by the Roman general Q. Metellus who captured many cities and destroyed Cnossus. Thereafter Crete became a Roman province.
Crete has many small farms, whose chief crops are grains, olives, and oranges, and food processing is its main industry. Sheep, goats, and dairy cattle are also raised. The island has few mineral deposits, but tourism is an increasingly important industry. Transportation facilities include a developed highway system and an airport.
History
Crete had one of the world's earliest civilizations, the Minoan civilization, named after King Minos, the legendary author of Cretan institutions; in the ruined palace at Knossos invaluable finds have been made. The Cretan kingdom reached its greatest power, prosperity, and civilization c.1600 B.C. Later, for reasons still obscure, its power suddenly collapsed; but Crete flourished again after the Dorian Greeks settled on the island in large numbers and established city-states. Among the most powerful of the cities (110 in number, according to Homer) were Knossos and Cydonia (modern Khaniá). Although important as a trade center, Crete played no significant part in the political history of ancient Greece. It became a pirate haven in the 3d cent. B.C. but was conquered (68 B.C.–67 B.C.) by the Romans under Quintus Metellus.
It passed (A.D. 395) to the Byzantines, fell (824) to the Arabs, but was reconquered by Nicephorus Phocas (later Nicephorus II) in 961. As a result of the Fourth Crusade, the island passed to Venice in 1204; and in 1212, after expelling rival Genoese colonists, the Venetians set up a new administration, headed by a duke. Under Venetian rule Crete was generally known as Candia (Iráklion) for the duke's residence. Insurrections against the arbitrary Venetians were frequent, and the Cretans were not displeased at changing masters when the Ottoman Turks conquered (1669) virtually the whole island after a 24-year war. Two offshore island fortresses remained in Venetian hands until 1715.
A series of revolts against the Turks in the 19th cent. reached a climax in the insurrection of 1896–97 that led to war (1897) between Greece and Turkey. The European powers intervened in the war, forcing Turkey to evacuate (1898) Crete. An autonomous Cretan state was formed under nominal Turkish rule, but it was governed by a high commission of the occupying powers (England, France, Russia, and Italy). The Cretan national assembly, led by Eleutherios Venizelos, declared in favor of union with Greece, but the powers rejected its demand. The Young Turk revolution of 1908, however, enabled the Cretans to proclaim their union with Greece, and in 1909 foreign occupation troops were withdrawn.
Cretan representatives were admitted to the Greek parliament in 1912, and in 1913, as a result of the Balkan Wars, Crete was officially incorporated into Greece. The followers of Venizelos controlled Crete during their uprising (1935) against the imminent restoration of the monarchy but were defeated by Gen. George Kondylis. A new revolt (1938) against the dictatorship of John Metaxas was also suppressed.
In World War II, Crete was used as a British military and naval base late in 1940. The British and Greek forces on the Greek mainland evacuated to Crete in 1941, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the Germans in a large-scale airborne invasion, the first of its kind. Late in 1944, British ships isolated the German occupation troops, who eventually surrendered. In the postwar period there was some Communist guerrilla activity on the island.
Bibliography
See R. F. Willetts, The Civilization of Ancient Crete (1978); J. W. Graham et al., The Palaces of Crete (1987); J. Freely, Crete (1989). See also bibliographies under Aegean civilization and Minoan civilization.
Island in southeastern Greece in the Mediterranean Sea.
The country code is: 30
The city code is: 821
| Crete Periphery Περιφέρεια Κρήτης |
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|---|---|
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| Country: | Greece |
| Capital: | Heraklion |
| Prefectures: | Chania Heraklion Lasithi Rethymno |
| Population: | (2005) |
| Area: | km² ( sq.mi.) |
| Density: | /km² ( /sq.mi.) |
| Website: | www.crete-region.gr |
Crete (Greek Κρήτη—classical transliteration Krētē, modern Greek transliteration Kríti; Ottoman Turkish گريد (Girit); Classical Latin Crēta, Vulgar Latin Candia) is the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean.
Crete is a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle at Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites, monuments, and beaches.
Crete was the centre of the Minoan civilization (ca. 2600–1400 BCE), the oldest civilization in Europe.
Crete was the centre of Europe's most ancient civilization, the Minoan, often referred to as the 'cradle' of European civilization. Little is known about the rise of ancient Cretan society, because very few written records remain, and many of them are written in the undeciphered script known as Linear A. This contrasts with the superb palaces, houses, roads, paintings and sculptures that do remain. Though early Cretan history is surrounded by legends (such as those of King Minos; Theseus and the Minotaur; and Daedalus and Icarus) that have been passed to us via Greek historians/poets (such as Homer), it is known that the first human settlement in Crete, dating to the aceramic Neolithic, introduced cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs, as well as domesticated cereals and legumes.
In Ancient Roman times, Crete was involved in the Mithridatic Wars as Rome suspected them of backing Mithridates VI of Pontus. Marcus Antonius Creticus attacked Crete in 71 BCE and was repelled. Rome sent Quintus Caecilius Metellus with three legions to the island. After a ferocious three-year campaign Crete was conquered for Rome in 69 BCE, earning this Metellus the agnomen "Creticus". The result was Gortyn being made the capital of a province that at times joined Cyrenaica to Crete.
Crete continued to be part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine empire, a quiet cultural backwater, until it fell into the hands of Arabs (see Al-Hakam I) in 824, who established an emirate on the island. In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered Crete for the Byzantines, who held it until 1204, when it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade. The Venetians retained the island until 1669, when the Ottoman Turks took possession of it.
In the partition of the Byzantine empire after the capture of Constantinople by the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Crete was eventually acquired by Venice, which held it for more than four centuries. During Venetian rule, the Greek population of Crete was exposed to Renaissance culture. During the 17th century, Venice was pushed out of Crete by the Ottoman Empire, with most of the island lost after the siege of Candia (1648–1669), possibly the longest siege in history.
The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and Cretan participation was extensive. An uprising by Christians met with a fierce response from the Ottoman authorities and the execution of several bishops, regarded as ringleaders. Between 1821 and 1828, the island was the scene of repeated hostilities. Contemporary estimates vary, but on the eve of the Greek War of Independence as much as 45% of the population of the island may have been Muslim. Some of them were crypto-Christians who converted back to Christianity; many others fled Crete because of the unrest. By 1900, only 11% of the population was Muslim -- they were usually called "Turks" regardless of language, culture, and ancestry. Those remaining were forced to leave in 1924 in the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. (See Cretan Muslims and Cretan Turks for fuller discussion and documentation.)
In World War II, Crete provided the setting for the Battle of Crete (May 1941), wherein German invaders, especially paratroops, drove out a British Commonwealth force commanded by General Sir Bernard Freyberg.
| Crete Κρήτη |
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|---|---|
 Cretan ports of entry for yachts |
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| Geography | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Total Isles: | 25 |
| Area:[4] | km² ( sq.mi.) |
| Highest Mountain: | Mt. Psiloreitis ( m ( ft)) |
| Government | |
 Greece |
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| Periphery: | Crete |
| Prefecture: | Chania Heraklion Lasithi Rethymno |
| Capital: | Heraklion |
| Statistics | |
| Population: | (as of 2005) |
| Density: | /km² ( /sq.mi.) |
| Postal Code: | 72x xx, 70x xx, 71x xx, 73x xx, 740 55, 74x xx |
| Area Code: | 284 x0, 2810, 289x0, 282x0, 28310, 283x0 |
| License Code: | AN, HK, HP, XN, PE |
| Website | |
| www.crete-region.gr | |
Crete is one of the 13 regions into which Greece is divided. It is the largest island in Greece
and the second largest (after Cyprus) in the East Mediterranean. Crete has an elongated shape -
260 km from east to west and 60 km at its widest, although the island is narrower at certain points, such as in the region close
to Ierapetra where it has a width of only 12 km. It covers an area of 8,336 km² and has a coastline of 1046 km. To the north
Crete borders with the Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος), to the south it is bordered
by the Libyan Sea (Greek: Λιβυκό Πέλαγος), to the west the Myrtoon
Sea, to the east the Karpathion Sea. Its population is 650,000 people (as of 2005). The
island lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.
Crete is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:
These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges like the famous Gorge of Samaria. The protected area of the Samaria Gorge is the home of kri-kri. Cretan mountains and gorges are refuges of the endangered vulture Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).
Crete straddles two climatic zones, the Mediterranean and the North African, mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily temperate. The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea. The winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare at the low lying areas - especially near the coast when it only stays on the ground for a few minutes/hours. However, a truly exceptional cold snap happened in February 2004, during which the whole island was blanketed with snow. During summer, average temperatures are in the high 20s-low 30s (Celsius), with maxima in the upper 30s to mid 40s.
The south coast, including the Messara plain and Asterousia mountains, falls in the North African climatic zone and thus enjoys significantly more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the year; consequently in southern Crete date palms bear fruit and swallows stay year-long, instead of migrating to Africa.
The economy of Crete, which was mainly based on farming, started changing visibly during the 1970s. While an emphasis remains on farming and stock breeding, due to the climate and the terrain of the island, there has been a drop in manufacturing and an observable expansion in its service industries (mainly tourism-related). All three sectors of the Cretan economy (agriculture, processing-packaging, services), are directly connected and interdependent. The island has a per capita income close to 100% of the Greek average, while unemployment is at approximately 4%, half of that of the country overall. As in other regions of Greece, olive growing is also a significant industry.
The island has three significant airports,
Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport), while charter flights to Iraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece. In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by 53% from 1986 to 1991 while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%. Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities. Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.
Newspapers have reported that the Ministry of Mercantile Marine is ready to support the agreement between Greece, South Korea, Dubai Ports World and China for the construction of a large international container port and free trade zone in southern Crete near Tympaki. The plan is to expropriate 850 ha of land. The port would handle 2 million containers per year. As of 2007, there has been no official announcement of a project that is not universally welcomed due to its environmental, economic and cultural impact.[1]
Crete's principal cities are:
The island of Crete is a periphery of Greece, consisting of four prefectures (Greek: νομοί):
For amateur radio purposes it is considered to be a separate "entity," ITU prefix SV9.
Crete's mild climate is attracting growing interest from Northern Europeans to have a holiday home or residence on the island. E.U. citizens have the right to freely buy property and reside with little formality.[2] A growing number of real estate companies cater to mainly British expatriates, followed by German, Dutch, Scandinavian and other European nationalities wishing to own a home in the sun.
The British expatriates are concentrated in the western prefectures of Chania and Rethymno and to a lesser extent in Heraklion and Lassithi. Some 40% of Britons in late 2006 said they were planning to live outside the United Kingdom or retire abroad due to socio-economic changes in the country. One in ten Britons do so already.[3]
| Peripheries of Greece | |
|---|---|
| Attica • Central Greece • Central Macedonia • Crete • East Macedonia and Thrace • Epirus • Ionian Islands • North Aegean • Peloponnese • South Aegean • Thessaly • West Greece • West Macedonia • Mount Athos (autonomous region in Macedonia) |
|
| Regions of Greece | |
|---|---|
|
Aegean Islands • Attica • Central Greece • Crete •
Epirus • Ionian Islands • Macedonia • Peloponnese • Thessaly • Thrace |
|
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Creta
中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
克里特岛
中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 克里特島
한국어 (Korean)
크레타 (지중해의 섬; 그리스령)
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