History

Elyros was the most important town in southwestern Crete during the Doric and Roman Periods. Ruins are conserved 500m far from the village Rodovani atop the panoramic hill Kefala. The town had two harbors: Syia(current Sougia) and Lissos. The exact location of the town was verified by an inscription with the phrase in Greek "Glory to the people of Elyros".

At the cape of Souda, above the shrine on the beach of Agia Pelagia we see some traces of the excavations carried out by Stylianos Alexiou. At this point he discovered the most important archaeological site of the wider area, the Prytaneum of the Hellenistic town of Apollonia (or maybe Panormos).

Karfi (i.e. nail) is a big rocky hill on a top of the Diktaean Mountains, with incredible views to the north coasts of Crete and Lassithi Plateau, near the Monastery of Kera Kardiotissa. Atop of it, at an altitude of 1200m, traces of a Minoan peak sanctuary have been found.

At Vlites position, by Souda port, in a beautifully landscaped scenery, there is the Souda Bay War Cemetery, where ceremonies take place every year in memory of the victims of the Second World War. Throughout the year, many visitors, mainly Australians and New Zealanders, visit this place.

The Peak Sanctuary that was dedicated to Hermes and Aphrodite is located at position Krya Vrissi, 5 km northeast of Kato Simi, and is the most important archaeological site in the province of Viannos.

The ports of Polirinia were Falassarna and Kissamos. It developed close trade relations with Sparta, Milos, Rhodes, Thiva, the coasts of Ionia and Egypt. Apart from trade, the town was apparently famous for livestock, as the name comes from the words “polla rinia” which means many lambs.

At position Anemospilia, on the north slopes of Mount Jiouchtas, the archeologists G. and E. Sakellarakis located in 1979 a small sanctuary of Minoan Crete that surprised the global archaeological community. This small sanctuary offered the first indication of human sacrifices in Minoan Crete.

The 4465 Germans, mainly paratroopers, who were killed during the Battle of Crete, were buried in the German Military Cemetery of Maleme (Deutschen Soldatenfriedhof in Maleme). It is the second German military airport in Greece, as there is another one near Athens.