Cities & Villages
Agios Nikolaos city The city of Agios Nikolaos is built on the location of the ancient "Lato pros Kamara - port of Lato Etera". Both towns formed one administrative unit, which flourished during the 3rd century. Both worshipped goddess Elithyeia (goddess of childbirth) and they had the same coins - with Elithyeia or Artemis (Diana) on one side and Hermes Lation on the other - as well as their own economy. The Latians, contrary to other towns, which were almost constantly in war with other cities, were in good terms with their adjoining cities of Elounda, Driros, Milatos and Minoa. There is not enough reference about the Byzantine period. During the Venetian occupation (1204-1669) Genoan pirates built a castle on top of the Kefali hill (prefecture hill), which was renamed by the Venetians to Merabello and gave its name to the whole region. The castle has been destroyed by the…
The Village of Krasi The village of Krasi is about 47 km away from Heraklion. It is situated west of the foot of Mount Selena (1559 m altitude, at the southern edge of a small plateau. At the top of the village there is a large water reservoir called “Megali Vrisi” by the local people. Its abundant waters supply the village and water a large area of the plateau. The water reservoir was built in 1890, as an inscription on it suggests. It is a large rectangular stone-built construction, consisting of the reservoir and three arched openings on its northern side. Two of these openings were used to water animals in stone basins. In front of the reservoir and after the asphalt street there is a small square with a centuries-old plane tree. Writers and scholars like Nikos Kazantzakis, the Alexiou family, Markos Avgeris and Kostas Varnalis used to visit…