Over the centuries Crete has been invaded and ruled by many nations – Minoans, Romans, Saracen Arabs, the Venetian and the Turks. The island has retained many characteristics from each period and evidence of this can be seen up and down the island.
They say that the Minoans were the first civilization and they dawned in Crete around 3000 BC. They were ruled by King Minos – hence the name Minoans and were a very clever civilization. They invented the flushing toilet system which you can see at the ruins of King Minos palace at Knossos. They had a very strong naval power and traded all over the world and their written language was a form of hieroglyphics, which until this day has not been decoded. There are many theories as to how this great civilization came to an end, one of them being that a volcanic eruption in Santorini caused a huge tidal wave, which wiped the Minoans out.
Crete prospered when the Romans invaded, as they built roads, temples, villas and aqueducts and Crete was part of the Roman Empire from 67BC until 395AD.
The 9th Century saw the Saracens conquering the island and turning it in to a base for piracy. Crete became the central point in the Mediterranean for the slave trade.
961AD, saw Crete sold to Venice and the Venetians renamed the whole island Candia. From 1204 until 1669 the Venetians held the island and it again prospered. Many artists including the famous El Greco resided here producing beautiful frescoes and paintings.
In 1669 after a bloody battle, Crete fell to the Turks and the start of many years of oppression and hatred began. Under their rule many of the buildings, culture and island itself began to deteriorate. Over the following 250 years, many wars and battles were fought, until finally Crete once again became independent.
The most recent battle fought in Crete was 20.05.41 when the 2nd world war took its toll on the island. German paratroopers landed in Maleme now a beautiful traditional resort of Chania, and the 10 day battle of Crete began. The Cretans and allied troops (British, New Zealanders and Australians) fought hard and were brutally defeated and fled into the mountains. Their escape route was to make it to the beaches on the south of the island and cross the sea to Egypt. Although the Germans won the battle, they considered it to be a disaster, due to the number of Germans lives lost in the fight to conquer. For the next four years,Germany occupied Cree with soldiers and resistance groups hiding in the caves of the mountains. They were helped by local villagers and shepherds, who if caught, were brutally executed. It was not uncommon, for entire villages to be burned down and its occupants, regardless of age or sex were lined up and shot dead. When the 2nd World War ended the Germans left, but scars can still be seen today.