Not much is known about the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean due to the lack of written recorded records, however, the palaces, houses, roads, paintings and sculptures that still do remain suggest the Cretans were a people much advanced for their time. This island forms a southern boundary to the Aegean Sea and is southeast of Greece however, paintings say that the first people on Crete did not speak Greek. Being 156 miles long and thirty-five miles wide has made it a valuable piece of land to add to ones empire. Adding to its popularity, in ancient times, by the sea made Crete a steppingstone from Greece to Africa and from Africa to Asia Minor because of its central location. Recent archaeological finds, in Eleftherna, puts Cretan existence in the Neolithic ages due to the discoveries of the small communities. Before that, Crete is widely known from the Minoan civilization in 2.6000-1.100 BC. From the massive volcanic ashes and dust that covered the ancient site of Knossos suggests that the civilization tragically ended when an unexpected volcanic eruption in Thira caused a tsunami and swept away the residents.

The history of Crete is also surrounded by immense legends such as Theseus and the Minotaur, as well as Daedaus and lcarus. The Cretans are charged with the introduction of the myth of the most famous of the Gods, Zeus, but the only legend to be proven true is the one of King Minos in 1894 by Sir Arthur Evans.

Similar to Cyprus, Crete has centuries of fighting and controlled by a number of foreign empires. The invasion of the Achaeans and Dorians ended the Minoan period in Crete but more wars were waged to gain control of the island. In the Classical and Hellenistic period Crete became a pattern of combative city-states for harboring pirates until roman interference. Rome gained supremacy by sending Quintus Caecilians Metellus with three other legions to the island for a ferocious three-year battle. Just as they did in Cyprus, Romans did little to damage the island or its contents maybe because when all other empires just wanted the land, Romans wanted a beautiful, cultural richen empire. Rome established a Christian city, Gortyn, and named Paul of Tarsus the archbishop. Crete remained to be apart of eastern Roman power until 824 when it slipped into the hands of the Arabs. The Arabs built a city, Candia, but only after the assassination of the Gortyn archbishop and the devastation of the city. 920 marked the return of Crete to Roman or Byzantines and they kept it until 1204 when the Venetians gained control shortly after taking Cyprus. For four hundred years the Venetian held control until 1669 when the Ottoman Turks captured it in the 17th century and it remained a part of the Ottoman Empire for two centuries.

Due to the Ottoman conquest almost 45 percent of the population was converted to Islam and the numbers rounded at about 100,000. In 1821 marking the start of the Greek War of Independence, an uprising by the Christians resulted in a fierce response from Ottoman officials and several archbishops were executed. Between 1821 and 1828, the island was home to repeated hostilities pushing the Muslims into fortified towns as far as the north coast where nearly 60 percent died from plaque and famine. In 1840, Palmerton forced Egypt to return Crete to direct Ottoman rule. Fifty-eight years later in 1898 when Prince George of Greece became the first governor-general of Crete he was able to successfully detached Crete from the Ottoman Empire making Crete apart of Greece.

Similar to the Phoenix rising out of it's own ashes, Crete has sustained its rich culture due to the countless palaces, churches and communities that surprisingly has stayed standing throughout the centuries of war and foreign rule. Today Crete is yet another beautiful island in the Mediterranean to visit. Unlike the island of Capri and Cyprus there are no mystical features on the island but instead an island of advanced palace building such as a palace complex in Knossos that is a multi-story stone-built palace containing a drainage system and a bath with a flushing toilet for the queen. The exquisite hydraulic engineering was that of a high level for the people of that time. The earthly devastation to Crete cause by an earthquake in the 16th century can be visited as well as European style pottery from the Greek Mainland's as well as former empires. The plus side to Crete having numerous rulers is that the art, the religion and the languages are plentiful and diverse on the island making it a nice vacations site. The beaches are rich with wine dark water and the sites are as far as the eye can see.