Phalasarna

The ancient tower

At Phalasarna more than anywhere else in Crete the tilting of the island from south to north is plainly visible.

The pressure of the African plate on the European mass causes this geological phenomenon as it dips below it. The elevation of the land is in the order of some 69 m, and it occurred during a large tectonic earthquake, which took place in 365 AD.

The cemeteries of the city are spread out in the valley beyond the walls; they contain cist graves from the 6th to the 4th c. BC with rich grave goods, including vases and figurines. Next to the road beside which the graves occur is the "throne", carved out of the rock in the shape of a seat, 1 m wide and 2 m high.

The fortifications encircled the city from the sea at one side to the sea at the other, over a length of 600 m. The walls are preserved to a height of 8 m and have square bastions. On top of the hill was the acropolis, where the temple of Artemis Diktynna stood.

The most interesting construction in Phalasarna is the artificial harbour, the "closed haven" of the ancient geographers. It was a huge artificial basin, known to the ancients as a "cothon", measuring 100 x 75 m, cut into the land and connected with the sea by a manmade channel. The harbour was fortified and had four towers, which still stand to a height of 5 m. Today it is on dry land due to the elevation of the terrain mentioned above.

In recent years careful excavation of the harbour and city has begun under the direction of Elpida Hatzidaki, with interesting results.

Phalasarna was a prosperous commercial and maritime centre with its own fleet and coins, which depicted a female figure or two dolphins on one side and a trident with the letters F A on the other. The Ptolemies used it as a base, since it was the main harbour in western Crete. Most of the city's revenues came from piracy. Phalasarna was captured by Kydonia in 184 BC.