Places
Church of Agios Haralampos & Panagia (St. Charalampus & Mother Mary) (Paliama)
North of the village of Moroni, at the ruins of the small village of Paliama, there is a two-aisled church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Charalampus, featuring ancient architectural elements in its masonry.
Panagia (Mother Mary) at Kirmousi
The church of Panagia survives south of the hamlet of Makres, in the completely deserted hamlet of Kirmousi. This is a 15th century single-aisled church, beside which traces of buildings and tombs have been excavating, findings that indicate the existence of a monastery.
Koimisi tis Theotokou (Dormition of Mother Mary) (Panagia)
This is a 15th century three-aisled basilica dedicated to the Dormition of Mother Mary with many interesting construction details. The hamlet of Panagia, one of the best-preserved traditional villages in central Crete, was named after the church.
Agia Kyriaki (St. Kyriake) (Zaros)
This is a small two-aisled church that may be the oldest church in Zaros. The southern aisle dates back to the 14th century and it was later extended with the addition of a second aisle in the 17th or 18th century. The wood-carved chancel screen is particularly artful, while many of the church’s icons are […]
Avvakospilio
West of Koudoumas Monastery lies Avvakospilio, a cavernous church where, according to tradition, Ossios Kosmas lived as an ascetic during the 7th century and where his remains were buried.
The Church of Panagia at Kapetaniana
The small livestock farmers settlement of Kapetaniana is located on the eastern part of the sierra of Asterousia, in an area where monasticism thrived in the period of the early Venetian occupation, as is evinced from the large number of churches and hermitages that survive until this day. Inside the settlement is the church of […]
Saint George & Saint Constantine at Pyrgos
The nave and the south aisle, dedicated to St. George and St. Constantine respectively, are the only remains of the original three-aisled church today. The present, north, aisle of St. George has mural painting of the end of the 13th century, characteristic of the antiquated art of the period in which six scenes from the […]
Early Christian Basilica
A short distance from the archaeological site of Gortyna and just outside the village of Mitropoli, there are the ruins of a magnificent Early Christian five-aisled basilica that was dedicated to Saint Titus. This is the largest known Early Christian basilica on Crete and one of the largest in Greece. Its grand size, the luxury […]
The Early Christian Monuments of Agios Titos at Gortyna
The city of Gortyna, the capital of the Roman province of Cyrenaica (Africa) and seat of the governor of Crete from the 4th century AD was subject to the eastern Roman state and was a thriving city and seat of the archdiocese during the early Byzantine period. Indicative of its prosperity, during the early Christian […]
Ten Saints at Agioi Deka
In the centre of the settlement of Agioi Deka is a large three-aisled basilica with a narthex and two domed outbuildings to the east, dedicated to the homonymous saints. The church, which has multiple construction phases, was erected inside the Roman amphitheatre of ancient Gortyna where the saints were martyred in AD 250 during the […]
