Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete rests about 160 km (99 mi) south of the Greek mainland, and about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Anatolia. Crete has an area of 8,450 km2 (3,260 sq mi) and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi). It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. Crete covers 260 km from west to east but is narrow from north to south, spanning three longitudes but only half a latitude.
The geography of France consists of a terrain that is mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in the north and west and mountainous in the south and the east. Metropolitan France has a total size of 551,695 km2 (213,011 sq mi). It is the third largest country in Europe by area and the largest in Western Europe.
Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 7,726 km2 (2,983 sq mi). 5,743,402 people live in the province, of whom about 29% (1,664,182) live within the administrative limits of the city of Barcelona, which itself is contained in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
Phaistos ), also transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Latin Phaestus, is a Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Faistos, a municipality in south central Crete. It is notable for the remains of a Minoan palace and the surrounding town.
The Messara is a light riding and draft horse found on the island of Crete off the coast of Greece.
Heraklion is one of the four regional units of Crete. The capital is the city of Heraklion.
Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete 45 km (28 mi) away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn was the Roman capital of Creta et Cyrenaica. The area was first inhabited around 7000 BC.
Koumasa is the archaeological site of a prepalatial cemetery on Crete. The cemetery is located between the villages of Loukia and Koumasa near the southern border of the Mesara plain, right at the foothills of the Asterousia-Mountains. This Minoan archaeological site was first excavated by Stephanos Xanthoudides from 1904 to 1906, which was published in The vaulted tombs of Mesara. After another campaign within the years 1991 and 1992 by Alexandra Karetsou and Athanasia Kanta, the site is investigated by the University of Heidelberg supervised by Prof. Dr. Diamantis Panagiotopoulos.
Kamares is a village in south-central Crete, Greece. It is the location of an archaeological site of a Minoan sacred cave. The sacred cave at Kamares is slightly offset from a saddle in the Psiloriti Range virtually aligned with the location of nearby Phaistos. Some of the best examples of Middle Minoan pottery have been recovered from the Kamares cave. Kamares has provided the type name for Kamares ware, a ceramic type dating from MM IA, or the First Palace Period. This pottery is a light-on-dark polychrome ware, with forms including jugs and cups.
Hagia Triada is a Minoan archaeological site in Crete. The site includes the remains of an extensive settlement as well as a large structure known as the Royal Villa. It is located in the Mesara Plain near the Palace of Phaistos, with which it appears to have had close political and economic ties. Excavations at Hagia Triada have provided crucial evidence concerning Minoan everyday life. Notable finds include the Hagia Triada sarcophagus, the "Harvester Vase", and the largest cache of Linear A tablets found at any Minoan site.
Monastiraki is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan town on the island of Crete. The site is on the plain of Amari, west of the Ida massif, 38 kilometres from Rethymnon.
Odigitria is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan religious complex including two tholos tombs located near the modern Odigitria Monastery in the Asterousia mountains of southern Crete.
The Messara Plain or simply Messara is an alluvial plain in southern Crete, stretching about 50 km west-to-east and 7 km north-to-south, making it the largest plain in Crete.
Galia is a village in Greece located 58 kilometres (36 mi) from Heraklion, and is administratively part of the municipal unit of Moires in the municipality of Faistos.
Charakas is a village in the municipal unit of Asterousia on Crete, Greece with about 1000 inhabitants. It is about 45 km south from Heraklion, which is the largest city of Crete. The village lies on the foothills of Asterousia mountain and near (15 km) the south coast of Crete, behind the mountain Libyan Sea.
The Geropotamos is a watercourse in southern Crete in Greece. Its drainage area is 553 km2 (214 sq mi). It rises on the north slope of the Asterousia Mountains, near the village Sternes. It flows west through the Messara Plain and discharges into the Libyan Sea near Tympaki. This river was a source of water supply for the ancient Minoan settlement of Phaistos. The Ieropotamos was heavily drawn upon by the Minoans because of the intensity of farming, even in the Bronze Age at Phaistos. Scientists have determined that the groundwater basin may have been overdrafted some time in the Bronze Age, being a contributing factor to the mysterious depopulation of Phaistos.
Kommos is an archaeological site in southern Crete. During the Minoan period, it served as a harbour town for nearby Phaistos and Hagia Triada. After the Bronze Age, a sanctuary was built over the ruins of the earlier town. It is notable for providing evidence about international trade and local daily life.
The Libyan Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica. This designation was used by ancient geographers describing the southern Mediterranean, but the term is also used by modern travel writers and cartographers.
Kamares ware is a distinctive type of Minoan pottery produced in Crete during the Minoan period, dating to MM IA. By the LM IA period, or the end of the First Palace Period, these wares decline in distribution and "vitality". They have traditionally been interpreted as a prestige artifact, possibly used as an elite table-ware.
Kapetaniana is a small village in the municipality of Gortyn on the island of Crete in Greece. The village has approximately 80 inhabitants and is built on the slopes of Asterousia Mountains at an altitude of 750m, with views of the Libyan Sea and the Messara Plain.
