Crete

Crete is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea south of Greece, currently part of Greece. It is centered at 35 degrees 15 minutes of North latitude and 24 degrees 45 minutes East longitude.

Greece and Crete

Economy

Crete has the lowest unemployment in Greece. The tourist sector forms the largest part, but there is substantial agricultural production and processing.

Current military

There is a large Royal Air Force base at Heraklion and a US-UK signals intelligence facility.

Second World War

In Operation Mercury, Crete was conquered by German air assault forces, but at extremely heavy cost that prevented Germany from using large airborne forces in the rest of the war.

Ancient society

Crete in the context of ancient Greece

It was the site of the Minoan civilization.

In stories from Greek mythology, King Minos had a Minotaur inside a giant labyrinth, but it was killed by the Athenian hero Theseus who used string to find his way out of the maze.

Not much is known about the languages of early Minoan civilization which are called Linear A and Linear B, but are believed to be the precursors to the Greek language.