The guests of Aspalathos Falassarna Villas have the opportunity to visit the archeological site of ancient Falassarna. It is found in a distance of about 1 km from the villas. You can discover that Falassarna is not only a very beautiful beach but a place of historical interest too.
Historical events
Ancient Falassarna was a well organized city-state founded from Dorians around the 7th century BC. However, little have been known for Falassarna until the 4th century where the city-state began to prosper.
Situated on the far west coast of Crete, ancient Falassarna controlled the sea-routes leading to Alexandria of Egypt. It was because of their position that Falassarna became one of the greatest maritime powers of their time. With their own currency,a closed port and defensive walls.
However, because of their continual conflicts with other neighboring cities and the frequent earthquakes, Falassarna were weakened. As a result their inhabitants, having a great knowledge of the Mediterranean Sea and its secrets, took to piracy. The harbor of Falassarna was completely destroyed by Romans in 69 BC in order to not be approachable from the pirates.
In 365 AD a great earthquake raised the west coat of Crete by 6-9 meters with result the port of Falassarna to be suddenly out of the sea.
This was the end of the port of Falassarna, the only “closed” port of Crete.
Ruins of ancient Falassarna
Nowadays, the visitors of ancient Falassarna can see that the port of the ancient city is at a distance of about 100 meters away from the sea. Paying a visit at the archaeological site they will have the opportunity to see the carved tombstones. They were discovered during the research excavations, which they started in 1986. They can also see the “acropolis” of the town on the rise of the hill, the relics of the temple of Apollo and Dictyna and the famous “throne” of Falassarna.
The “throne” of Falassarna is dedicated possibly to the goddess of Phoenician and protectress of sailors, Astarte. In accordance with the most widespread opinion, the throne was probably a forum of speeches instead of a symbol of power. It was a fact that witnesses that ancient Falassarna was a city-state with developed political structure.
Many of the finds of the excavations are on display at the Museums of Kissamos and Chania.
Visit the archeological site on foot, by bikes or by car in 5 minutes.
Ask us information for the schedule and the tickets of the archeological site and the museums.
The following links are related to an app you can download that gives a simulation of what the site at Falasarna would have looked like. Even if you aren’t interested in downloading the app, the videos are interesting to watch.
