EASTERN CRETE

C H A P T E R 1
The grotto of
Trapeza was a
site of cult
activity up to
the Early
Minoan period
Once an inaccessible region, the
plateau has been inhabited since the
Neolithic period, around 7,000 years ago,
as testified by the bone fragments and tools
discovered in the grotto of Trapeza, which
remained sacred for the Minoans, as a
dwelling place of the gods of the
underworld. Because of its protected
position amid the mountains, Lasithi
became a place of refuge for the native
populations from the period of the Dorian
invasions to the Venetian and Turkish
occupations, and even during the Second
World War. For fear of the rebel groups, in
1263 the Venetians deported all the
inhabitants of the plateau down towards the
valley, prohibiting any form of cultivation
for 200 years. Without its fruits, this fertile
land suffered terrible famine and in the mid
1400 s it was decided to repopulate the
plain, which in the meantime had become a
swampland requiring large-scale
reclamation. During the Turkish dominion
too, Lasithi was continuously besieged, but
never completely taken.
There are numerous grottos and
caverns in the rocky walls around the plain,
ideal hiding places from the most ancient
of times. The most famous cave is Psychro
or Diktaion Antron which contends with
another grotto (that on Mount Ida in
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