Crete

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Crete , Gr. Kríti, island (1991 pop. 539,938), c.3,235 sq mi (8,380 sq km), SE Greece, in the E Mediterranean Sea, c.60 mi (100 km) from the Greek mainland. The largest of the Greek islands, it extends c.160 mi (260 km) from east to west and marks the southern limit of the Aegean Sea, the southern part of which is also called the Sea of Crete. The rocky northern coast of Crete is deeply indented, and the interior is largely mountainous, culminating in Mt. Ida (8,058 ft/2,456 m). Iráklion is the capital of the Crete governorate and is the island's largest city; Khaniá is the only other large city.

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 BC 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. BC but was conquered (68 BC-67 BC) by the Romans under Quintus Metellus.

It passed (AD 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.

Crete (Kríti), Greece Kaptaru, al‐Iḳriṭish, Candia, Kirid A region and an island with a name which may be derived from Krus, a mythical figure from whom, according to tradition, the Cretans are descended. Crete was the birthplace of the Minoan civilization. Thereafter it was under the control of the Dorians, the Romans (67 bc–ad 395), the Byzantines (395–824), the Arabs, who called it al‐Ikritish, and the Byzantines together (824–1204) until the Crusaders sold it to the Venetians (1204–1669). They gave the name Candia to the island, possibly from the Arabic el‐khandaq ‘the entrenched’, thus ‘(Castle in) the Moat’ (Heraklion). It was called Kirid by the Ottoman Turks while they ruled in 1669–1898. Crete was united with Greece in 1913, having been proclaimed the Independent Cretan State, still under the rule of the Ottoman Sultan, by the Great Powers in 1898.

Crete (Kreti, Kríti) Largest island of Greece, in the e Mediterranean Sea, sse of the Greek mainland; the capital is Iráklion. Minoan civilization flourished on Crete from 2000 bc, and the palace of Knossos was built c.1700 bc. Crete was conquered by Rome in c.68 bc and later came under Byzantine (395), Arab (826) and Venetian (1210) rule. In 1669, Crete fell to Turkey. Foreign intervention forced Turkey to evacuate Crete (1898), and it was eventually united with Greece (1908). It was occupied by German forces in World War II. Crete has a mountainous terrain upon which sheep and goats are raised. The mild climate supports the cultivation of cereals, grapes, olives and oranges. Products: wool, hides, cheese, olive oil, wine. Tourism is important. Area: 8336sq km (3218sq mi). Pop. (2001) 601,159.

http://www.crete-web.gr/crete/crete.html

Crete A strategically placed Greek island in the Mediterranean, almost equidistant from Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor. It was part of the Ottoman Empire from the late seventeenth century, and became a part of Greece under the Treaty of London only in 1913, following a series of repeated uprisings. Owing to its strategic importance as a stepping-stone on the way to North Africa, in 1941 it was attacked by German troops. Despite strong resistance by Greek and Commonwealth forces the Germans successfully made the first airborne invasion in military history. A bloody twelve-day battle followed, during which some 18,000 Allied troops were captured.

Crete Island 100 km. (60 miles) south of Greece, with a Jewish settlement (Acts 2: 11). Paul sailed along its south coast on his final journey (to Rome), but there is no record of how the Gospel reached Crete, which it must have done before the Pastoral Epistles were written (Titus 1: 5), since Titus was to supervise congregations in that area of legendary dissipation (1: 12).

Crete a Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean, noted for the remains of the Minoan civilization which flourished there in the 2nd millennium bc.
Cretan bull the bull captured by Hercules as the seventh of his Labours; it may have been either the bull which became the father of the Minotaur, or the one which carried Europa to Crete.

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