Ausgrabungsstätten Geheimtipp

Ancient Lyttos

Minoa Pediadas, Heraklion

About

Ruins of a powerful Dorian city in the hills.

Lyttos lies on a hill above the village of Xidas, south-east of Kasteli. It was one of the oldest and most powerful cities of ancient Crete, mentioned by Homer, and in myth it was linked with the birth of Zeus. It flourished again in Roman times, when it had a theatre, baths and an aqueduct that brought water from the Lasithi mountains.

Excavations in recent years have revealed a Roman council house and statues, and work continues. The site is quiet, among olive trees and fields, with views over central Crete. The early Christian basilica and the church of Timios Stavros stand among the ruins.

Minoa Pediadas is the farming heartland of central Crete, a land of vineyards, olive groves and villages east of Heraklion. Kasteli is the main town, and the new airport of Crete is being built nearby. The area has many Byzantine churches with frescoes, the ruins of ancient Lyttos and quiet villages where tourists are rare. It's a good area for discovering the everyday life of rural Crete.

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

Around Minoa Pediadas

Heraklion is the heart of Minoan Crete and the island’s busiest region. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the two places almost everyone visits, and they work well together on one day. In the south, the wide Messara plain holds the palace of Phaistos, the Roman ruins of Gortyna and the famous caves above the bay of Matala. More about Heraklion