Itanos

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Itanus or Itanos (Ancient Greek: Ἴτανος) was a Greek city and port on the northeast coast of ancient Crete, on the promontory which the Romans called Itanum, the neuter form of Itanus, Latin for Greek Itanos. The base of the tripartite northeast promontory, today called Cape Sideros, is still called Itanos or Itano in modern Greek. Occupation of the promontory began as early as the Final Neolithic, according to the archaeology. The site of the city itself, however, became inhabited in the Geometric Period of the 8th century BC. This city flourished independently of other Cretan powers, playing a leading role in the trade of the region, even becoming, for a while, a protectorate of Ptolemaic Egypt. It became part of the Roman province of Crete, and later Christian buildings were erected. For unclear reasons it was abandoned in the 7th century AD after a life of about 1400 years. The location was lost. Archaeologists were able to locate it in the 19th century. Recently it has become a subject in ground-breaking technologies of sub-surface surveying. Some of the ruins of the classical and early Christian city are now visible in the elevations around Itanos and Eremoupolis Beaches, in...

The toponym u-ta-no, and the corresponding adjective, u-ta-ni-jo, appears on Linear B tablets found in Knossos. However Itanos seems to be too far away from Knossos to be u-ta-no, and J. Bennet ruled out the possibility that any Linear B tablets found at Knossos referred directly to classical Itanos.

The Itanos promontory, today nearly deserted, has 55 Bronze Age and Final Neolithic sites. A Minoan site at Itanos seemed theoretically possible, and yet the survey uncovered no Minoan material on or around the site at all. Instead all the Minoan farms, dams and lookouts seemed centered around “the villa of Vai,” a major site. The volcanic explosion of Santorini with tsunami destroyed civilization on the promontory. Life at Vai went on in LMIII with a diminished capacity, yet the settlement disappeared altogether in the Early Iron Age, to be replaced by an Itanos newly placed close to the shore in the 8th century BC during the Geometric Period.

Geometric, archaic, and classical periods

Herodotus is the first Greek historian we know who mentioned Itanus. According to him, the Therans, when founding Cyrene, were indebted for their knowledge of the Libyan coast to Corobius, a seller of purple at Itanus.

According to Stephanos of Byzantium, Itanos was founded by Itanos, son of Phoenix, or a bastard son of one of the Kouretes.

Some of the coins of this city present the type of a woman terminating in the tail of a fish.

Ancient Itanus was one of the most powerful cities in Crete in Hellenistic times owing to geography and a flourishing trade. The city controlled a vast territory that stretched from Cape Samonio (Cape Sidero today) on the north tip of Crete to Cape Erythrae (Cape Goudouras) on the far-southeast tip of the island.

The importance of Itanos can be seen in the city's issuance of its own currency, as well as in many significant ruins. The capital of the greater regional power, Itanus had the temples of Asclepius, Athena, Tyche, and Zeus, and was a historic rival of both Praesus and Ierapetra (Ierapytna).

Many Greek inscriptions were found in situ; the most famous one, kept now in the monastery of Toplou, relates a decision by the Roman Senate about Itanos' conflicts and territorial disputes with the neighbor cities Praisos and Hierapytna.

The toponym u-ta-no, and the corresponding adjective, u-ta-ni-jo, appears on Linear B tablets found in Knossos. However Itanos seems to be too far away from Knossos to be u-ta-no, and J. Bennet ruled out the possibility that any Linear B tablets found at Knossos referred directly to classical Itanos.

The Itanos promontory, today nearly deserted, has 55 Bronze Age and Final Neolithic sites. A Minoan site at Itanos seemed theoretically possible, and yet the survey uncovered no Minoan material on or around the site at all. Instead all the Minoan farms, dams and lookouts seemed centered around “the villa of Vai,” a major site. The volcanic explosion of Santorini with tsunami destroyed civilization on the promontory. Life at Vai went on in LMIII with a diminished capacity, yet the settlement disappeared altogether in the Early Iron Age, to be replaced by an Itanos newly placed close to the shore in the 8th century BC during the Geometric Period.

Herodotus is the first Greek historian we know who mentioned Itanus. According to him, the Therans, when founding Cyrene, were indebted for their knowledge of the Libyan coast to Corobius, a seller of purple at Itanus.

According to Stephanos of Byzantium, Itanos was founded by Itanos, son of Phoenix, or a bastard son of one of the Kouretes.

Some of the coins of this city present the type of a woman terminating in the tail of a fish.

Herodotus is the first Greek historian we know who mentioned Itanus. According to him, the Therans, when founding Cyrene, were indebted for their knowledge of the Libyan coast to Corobius, a seller of purple at Itanus.

According to Stephanos of Byzantium, Itanos was founded by Itanos, son of Phoenix, or a bastard son of one of the Kouretes.

Some of the coins of this city present the type of a woman terminating in the tail of a fish.

Ancient Itanus was one of the most powerful cities in Crete in Hellenistic times owing to geography and a flourishing trade. The city controlled a vast territory that stretched from Cape Samonio (Cape Sidero today) on the north tip of Crete to Cape Erythrae (Cape Goudouras) on the far-southeast tip of the island.

The importance of Itanos can be seen in the city's issuance of its own currency, as well as in many significant ruins. The capital of the greater regional power, Itanus had the temples of Asclepius, Athena, Tyche, and Zeus, and was a historic rival of both Praesus and Ierapetra (Ierapytna).