Itanus

Itanus or Itanos (Ancient Greek: Ιτανος)[1][2] was a town 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.

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 purple, suggests a Phoenician origin.

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.[6]

The site has been excavated recently by an international team under the supervision of the Ecole française d'Athènes and the local Archaeological Ephoria.[7]

  • Slab from the Basilica
  • Basilica
  • Basilica from above
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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. Syll.³ 685 - English translation at attalus.org.
  7. 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.

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