Lassithi Archaeological Site of Itanos

Location: Itanos

The ancient city of Itanos stood in the present-day area of Erimoupolis, very close to the renowned palm tree forest of Vai. It owes its name to its founder, Itanos of Phoenicia, and was the seat of numerous Phoenician merchants, who traded their products with Crete.

Itanos’s status as an important trade station between Crete and the East made it one of the most powerful cities on the island, especially during the Hellenistic and Roman times. It was also an important center for the fabrication of glassware and Tyrian purple, a reddish-purple natural dye made from the secretion of sea snails. Thus, Itanos was in constant conflict with the neighboring cities of Pressos and Ierapytna, the apple of discord among them being the island of Koufonisi (Lefki), which formed part of Itanos’ territory and was then famous for the production of Tyrian purple. Another source of conflict was a shrine dedicated to the Diktaean Zeus, which also brought Itanos considerable profits. The city’s decline began after the earthquake of 795 AD and a series of pirate raids during the 9th century, and it was definitively abandoned around the 15th century.

The city occupied the area between two hills, which used to be adorned with temples dedicated to Athena and Apollo. Today, visitors can walk around the archaeological site and see the ruins of a big dark-stoned outpost on the western acropolis, remnants of residences from the Hellenistic times, as well as the ruins of early Christian churches and the necropolis, which lay north of the city.