Crete facts for kids

Crete
Crete; Περιφέρεια Κρήτης
	Region of Greece
	Crete
Country	Greece
Area
• Total	8,336 km2 (3,219 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,456 m (8,058 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	621,340
• Density	74.537/km2 (193.050/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	GR-M

A satellite photo of Crete

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands.

Like the Fertile Crescent, Crete had rich soil, a warm climate, and plenty of water. With less time spent fighting to live, the Cretans began to make complicated things. From the wild crocus flowers which covered their island, the Cretans collected saffron used in yellow dye, in food, and in medicine. From the Egyptians, they received rich cloth and jewels. From the Hittites, they learned how to use iron. From the wealty Lydians, they learned to use money. From Phoneicia, the Cretans received the alphabet which is used today.

Cretan capital

Greece and Crete

Cretans chose kings to rule over them for seven years each. The king was known as Minos, and the people Minoans. The capital of Crete was Knossos (nos' us). Beautiful friezes (decorating bands) were on the walls. The symbol of the double-ax was used, and is thought to represent the power of a king. The throne was only a seat with a high back, and the nobles had only benches to sit on. However, the benches were covered with red and white plaster. On the walls were painted fish, dolphins, and seaweed. The queen had her own private staircase so she could go upstairs without bothering the men. Several rooms in the palace had jars which were six feet tall, and were used to keep wheat, oil, dye and other things.

Cretan life

Landscape in Crete

Religion

On Crete the Minoan Culture started 4700 years ago. The palace of Knossos is well-known and is a labyrinth. Visitors were lost in the labyrinth unless they used a string behind them to find their way back. In this place, it was said that a Minotaur, half bull and half man, lived. Every year seven young men and seven girls were sacrificed to the Minotaur. Many scholars think sacrifices to a bull were made because the Cretans thought the sound of an earthquake was an angry bull.

The Cretans also worshipped the Great Mother Cybele, or Snake Goddess. Often, her picture was carved in statues with gold decorations and with snakes curled around the arms. Snakes were thought to protect houses, so each home had a special room for snakes. Sometimes a little table with grooves cut into it was put in a comfortable place so snakes could sip some milk from a cup.

Games and art

The Cretans loved games, food, athletics, music, and beautiful clothes. They were the first people to build stone theaters where many people were amused by parades and music. Girls could even help bullfighters. In bullfighting, the Minoans did not kill the bull, but the male fighter had to grab the horns of an attacking bull, throw himself on the back of the animal, and then land on the ground; the girl helped the bullfighter keep his balance.

Clothes

Women wore long, full skirts with very tiny waists, complicated hairstyles, and lots of jewelry. The men wore small belts around their waists. They shaved with stones, rubbed their teeth with pumice stone, and had their body hair burnt by a barber.

Food

The Cretans ate fish, birds, and beef. They had barley cooked in many ways and ate lots of cheese, nuts, and honey. They thought only uncivilized people drank cow's milk, so they drank goat's milk instead. The Cretans sang, played games, and guessed riddles. Even though they ate with their fingers, they had the food cut into tiny pieces before it was served.

Cretan conquest

The Cretans were peaceful people without fortifications (something like a wall to stop or protect from an attack). In about 1450 B.C., the Greek Mycenaeans captured Crete, after Knossos, Crete's capital, had been shaken by an earthquake.

Images for kids

The island of Crete as photographed on June 22, 1973 from Skylab
Lefka Ori
Port of Heraklion
Lefka Ori (White mountains).
View of Psiloritis.
Ha Gorge
The palm beach of Vai.
Chania
Rethymno
Modern windmills in Agios Georgios, Lasithi Plateau. These mills in fact, are wind-moved pumps and are local patent which serve the local population since 1880. But now are in decline because of use of diesel engines and electric motors
European route E75 near Heraklion
Matala beach
View of Gortyn.
Archaeological site of Phaistos.
Male Cretan ibex.
Samariá Gorge
Aradaina Gorge
"Psychro Cave", Mount Dikti
Minoan rhyton in form of a bull; Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
Minoan fresco from Knossos, Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
Palace of Knossos
Small Byzantine church Holy spirit (Agiou pneumatos) in Limnakaro plateau; dates back to the second Byzantine period.
Arkadi Monastery
A map of Crete by Piri Reis
Depiction of the Siege of Candia.
Greek Orthodox (blue) and Cretan Muslim / Turkish (red) ethnic makeup of the island in 1861
Kara Musa Pasha mosque, Rethymno
Revolutionaries at Theriso
German paratroopers landing on Crete during the Battle of Crete.
Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco)
Eleftherios Venizelos
Snake lily (Dracunculus vulgaris)
Valley of Messara.
The Ophrys Cretica orchid.
The Kri-kri (the Cretan ibex) lives in protected natural parks at the gorge of Samaria and the island of Agios Theodoros.
Cretan Hound or Kritikos Lagonikos, one of Europe's oldest hunting dog breeds
The loggerhead sea turtle nests and hatches along the beaches of Rethymno and Chania and the gulf of Messara.
Map of Crete, Venetian period.
Frangokastello was built by the Venetians in 1371–74.
Dancers from Sfakia.
Old man from Crete dressed in the typical black shirt.
Dakos, traditional Cretan salad.