Kydonia

About

Kydonia ( or ), also known as Cydonia (Ancient Greek: Κυδωνία, Kydōnía) was an ancient city located at the site of present-day Chania near the west end of the island of Crete in Greece. The city is known from archaeological remains dating back to the Minoan era as well as literary and historical sources. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025.

In the area of Kastelli Hill, which is the citadel of Chania's harbor, archaeological excavations have discovered ceramic sherds and finds that date from the Neolithic to Late Minoan IIIC.

Scarce finds such as walls and ground floors confirm that the systematic habitation of the hill began during Early Minoan (EM) II period.

In the Middle Bronze Age, the material culture on Crete is known as Middle Minoan (MM).

In the MM IA (c. 2050/2000-1925/1900 BC), the architecture was still pre-palatial. These levels were destroyed with the construction of the neopalatial town.

In the Middle Minoan III (MM III; c. 1750/1720-1675/1650 BC), a palace was built marking the beginning of the Neo-Palatial Period.

A large archive of Linear A tablets (97) have been found, the second largest archive known. The tablets were largely economic records of agricultural produce, people and animals.

A Minoan House (House I) with the characteristic hall was also unearthed. It was destroyed by fire during Late Minoan (LM) IB period. The houses from LMIIIA phase belonged to a palatial settlement, which ceased to exist in LMIII.

The city extended beyond Kastelli Hill as the excavations in Daskalogiannis Street revealed, where a LMI sanctuary or " lustral basin " came to light. The discovery of a corpus of Linear A and Linear B tablets points out the presence of an archive. Moreover, the archaeologists have identified the existence of a local pottery workshop, which was active in LMIII.

In the Late Minoan IIIA (LM IIIA; 1435/1405-1360/1325 BC), new houses are built. At the end of LM IIIA, the houses are destroyed by fire. In "House 1" three Linear B tablets were found. In the Late Minoan IIIB (LM IIIB; 1360/1325-1200/1190 BC), the town was rebuilt again.

In the Mycenean Period, Linear B is only found at the Cretan sites of Knossos, Kydonia/Chania and Malia. This indicates a scriptorium and archive within a possible palace in Kydonia. It has been suggested that the name of the city is first mentioned in Linear B tablets from Knossos as Ku-do-ni-ja ( Mycenaean Greek : 𐀓𐀈𐀛𐀊 ). Unlike other sites on Crete, Kydonia maintained major trading activities. In the LM IIIA and LM IIIB, it was a large commercial and maritime center, exporting pottery, oil, perfume and wine throughout the Aegean.

Archaeological evidence from the Early Iron Age and Archaic Era is limited. [ citation needed ]

In 429 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Kydonia was attacked by the Athenians after the accusations of Nikias from Gortyna for pro-Spartan policy. In 343 BC the city was besieged by Phalaikos and his army of mercenaries after his failed attempt to capture Lyttus. He was killed from a lightning strike that burnt his siege engines.

In the Hellenistic period, Kydonia took part in the struggle for domination among the cities of Crete. At the end of the 3rd century BC a peace treaty with Aptera was signed.

During the Lyttian War In 220/219 BC both cities joined the alliance of the Oreioi (in which Polyrrhenia was a member) and canceled the one with Knossos. Aggressive policy led to the capture of Phalasarna (184 B.C.E) and 14 years later that of Apollonia, an action criticized by Polybius since they were allies.

The Greeks associated Kydonia with the quince fruit, and the word "quince" ultimately originates in the Greek for "Kydonian apple".

In 69 BC the Romans under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, after the failed attempt of Marcus Antonius Creticus, invaded Crete. The Cretan general Lasthenes confronted them in the battle of Kydonia, where he lost and retreated. This outcome forced Cretan general Panares to capitulate to the Romans and deliver them the city without resistance. The coins of the city-state depict Kydon either as an infant suckling a female Cretan hound or as an archer stringing his bow, accompanied by his dog.

The remaining base from the Hellenistic wall can be seen below the Byzantine wall of Kastelli Hill. Rescue excavations have discovered Hellenistic facilities below buildings of the modern city.

After the battle of Actium (31 BC) Augustus set Kydonia free for its assistance to him. Kydonians are mentioned in book 12 of the Aeneid, where their excellent bow skills are used in an extended Virgilian simile describing the Fury's descent to Juturna. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World suggest that the city also bore the name Apollonia ( Ἀπολλωνία, Apollōnía ) at some point. [ when? ] [ why? ]

In 365 the city must have been affected by the earthquake that devastated many cities of Crete. The Episcopate of Kydonia is referred in many ecclesiastical documents. The earliest is in 381 when Cydonius the bishop of Kydonia takes part in the First council of Constantinople. The prosperity of the city during Late Roman times is illustrated by the mosaics of houses found near Agora Square. Roman workshops have been found in some parts of the modern city. Material from the urban architecture of the ancient city was used for the construction of Kastelli Hill's Byzantine wall.