Itanus

Itanus or Itanos (Ancient Greek: Ιτανος)[1][2] was an important city and port on the east coast of ancient Crete, near the promontory which bore the name of Itanum.[3] Its ruins are now visible in Erimopolis, in the modern district of Itanos, of Lasithi prefecture.

Location of the ancient city of Itanos on the map.

History

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.[4] Some of the coins of this city present the type of a woman terminating in the tail of a fish.[5] This type, recalling the figure of the Syrian goddess, coupled with the trade in Tyrian purple, suggests a Phoenician origin.

Ancient Itanus was one of the most powerful cities in Crete in Hellenistic times owing to geography and a flourishing trade in Tyrian purple and other commodities. 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.[6]

The importance of Itanos is 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).

Archaeology

The archeological site of Itanos is open to the public. It is possible to see the ruins of houses, city walls and Christian churches. 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.[7]

While much of the Neolithic and Minoan history of Itanus are either lost to the forces of time and erosion or as yet undiscovered, extensive ruins from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and the Venetian eras dot the landscape.[8]


The site has been excavated recently by an international team under the supervision of the Ecole française d'Athènes and the local Archaeological Ephoria, as well as the Belgian School at Athens, and others.[9][10]

  • Slab from the Basilica
  • Basilica
  • Basilica from above

References
  1. Ptolemy. The Geography. 3.17.4.
  2. Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. s.v.
  3. Pliny. Naturalis Historia. 4.12.
  4. Herodotus. Histories. 4.151.
  5. Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 314.
  6. "The Itanos Archaeological Survey". HAL. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Syll.³ 685 - English translation at attalus.org.
  8. Vafidis, Antonis; Economou, Nikos; Ganiatsos, Y; M. Manakou, M; Poulioudis, G; Sourlas, G; Vrontaki, E; Sarris, Apostolos; Guy, Max; Kalpaxis, Th. (2005). "Integrated geophysical studies at ancient Itanos (Greece)". Journal of Archaeological Science. Retrieved 2020-12-28. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. T. Kalpaxis et al., Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 1994. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXIX, 1995, p. 713–736; E. GRECO et al., Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 1996. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXXI, 1997, p. 809–824; E. GRECO et al., Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 1997. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXXII, 1998, p. 585–602; Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 1998. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXXIII, 1999, p. 515–530; Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 1999. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXXIV, 2000, p. 547～559; Travaux menés en collaboration avec l'Ecole française en 2001. Itanos (Crète orientale), Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique CXXVI, 2002, p.577–582.
  10. "Itanos: Excavation project 2011 - 2015, study 2011 - 2019". University of Brussels-CReA-Heritage.

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