Sacred Trees

The sacred trees of Crete are associated with religious traditions, local legends and customs that remain significant to the island’s communities. Trees near churches, within monasteries or at distinctive locations in the landscape become places of prayer and votive offerings.

The special place of trees in Crete’s religious beliefs is already evident in Minoan art. Scenes depicted on seal rings are interpreted as representations of tree worship and associated with fertility and the renewal of nature. Similarities with more recent customs are intriguing, but do not in themselves prove an unbroken continuity of the same rituals.

A characteristic example is the Holy Myrtle at Paliani Monastery, near Venerato, which is associated with traditions surrounding the Virgin Mary and the placing of votive offerings on its branches. The whitebeam trees of Kofinas, locally known as militses, also hold a special place in religious customs in the Asterousia Mountains.

The value of these trees lies both in their physical presence and in the stories and practices surrounding them. Their preservation calls for respect for local traditions and care to ensure that visits and offerings do not damage their trunks, branches or roots.

The Holy Myrtle of Paliani

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Paliani Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Crete and it has as a trademark a very old myrtle tree (Myrtus communis). This specific myrtle is considered sacred (Holy Myrtle) and is honored on September 24. Inside the trunk of the Holy Myrtle, as they say, is believed to be the icon of Panagia Mirtidiotissa (Virgin Mary of Myrtle).

The sacred terebinth of Saint Fanourios

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On the hill Grivila near the village Ahlade there is built the church of Saint Fanourios. Approximately 100 meters from the church there is a special tree, which is connected with a religious tradition dating back from the ancient tree-worship traditions in Crete. The tree position is called Evresi (Finding) as they say that the miraculous icon of St. Fanourios was found here.

Keramota plane tree

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At the picturesque village Keramota in province Mylopotamos we meet one of the several monumental trees of Crete. This is the perennial plane tree at the eastern end of the village. The tree in Keramota belongs to the species of Platanus orientalis and its age is estimated at about 2000 years. It is the oldest tree in province Mylopotamos and although it is located on the main road, almost everyone ignores its existence as it is located a few meters further down the road, thus the drivers see the upper part of it.

Kofinas whitebeams

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Atop the highest peak of Asterousia, Kofinas, stands the church of the Holy Cross and is accessed through a steep trail. On the Feast of Holy Cross, on September 14, dozens of people climb up there to participate in a ritual that has its roots in the Minoan times, when nature and trees were worshiped.

The sacred styrax of Astyraki

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The village of Astyraki in the province of Malevizi takes its name from the ancient styrax (locally called astyrakas), a centuries-old tree that can still be found today in the courtyard of the church of Saint Constantine and Helen.