EASTERN CRETE

C H A P T E R 4
The Minoans from war and work
to religion
On the road that leads from Sitia to
Makryyialos along the coast of the Libyan
Sea we come across a series of settlements
and sanctuaries of the later generations of
Minoans and Eteocretans who, amid these
hills, sought refuge from the Dorian invaders
in around 1000 B.C.. These sites enable us to
better-understand three of the fundamental
aspects of Minoan culture: country life, town
life and the religious cults.
Minoan country
villas like that of
Zou were very
important in the
Eteocretan period,
since they provided
the population's
sustenance
Near Zou, famous for its springs which
provided fresh water for all of the
surrounding area as far as Sitia, a rural villa
has been discovered dating back to around
1600 B.C., built of dressed stone on a very
steep slope on a sandy and fragile terrain
that threatens to crumble. The house is
composed of various rooms, workshops and
a kiln for ceramics, and a large number of
tools and agricultural instruments have been
found there.
Travelling south one can make out a
small sandstone ridge in the middle of a
dense grove of olives: this is the Minoan
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