Agios Myronas (, formerly Άγιος Μύρων ''Agios Myron'') is a village in the

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

regional unit of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, Greece, named for Saint Myron of Crete. In 2021, its population was 569. Agios Myronas is built on two hills. The school's clock tower is a familiar landmark in the region. Most residents are farmers producing

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

s and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

History

The ancient name of Agios Myronas was (Raukos, latinized as Rhaucus). There are archaeological finds dating as early as 1900 BCE in the

Archaeological Museum of Heraklion The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the largest museums in Greece, and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts of t ...

. A chamber tomb of the Late Minoan IIIa period was discovered in 1941. The modern name comes from Saint Myron the Wonderworker (c. 250-350), born in Raukos, who became a bishop of

Gortyna Gortyna (; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of Byzantium it was or ...

. The first attestation of the name is in a contract from 1281. In 1837, its population consisted of 70 families, of which 3 were Muslim. The village was known for its wine. Under the late Ottoman Empire, several natives of Agios Myron participated in resistance to Ottoman rule, including in the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

, the Theriso revolt, and the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. The village was completely rebuilt after being destroyed by an earthquake in 1856. Until the Kallikratis reorganization of 2011, it was the seat of the Municipal Unit of

Gorgolainis Gorgolainis () is a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city ...

within the Province (Επαρχία) of

Malevizi Malevizi () is a municipality in Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Gazi. The municipality has an area of . Municipality The municipality Malevizi was formed at the 2011 local government reform by t ...

, which included Ano Asites,

Kato Asites Kato Asites () is a medium-sized village in the heart of the Heraklion regional unit, Crete. It is part of the Gorgolainis municipal unit. It has a population of around 1,100 inhabitants. It is situated 24 km southwest of Heraklion City. Th ...

, Pentamodi, Petrokefalo, and Pyrgou.

Facilities

The church of Saint Myron sits in a prominent position, and contains relics of the saint. Below the church is the

skete A skete () is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, alo ...

where Myron is said to have worshipped, now a chapel. The village also has a primary school, a middle school, a secondary school, a police station, a post office, and an office of the

Agia Varvara Agia Varvara (, meaning Saint Barbara) is a suburban town in the western part of the Athens agglomeration in Attica, Greece and a municipality in the West Athens regional unit. Geography And Demographics Agia Varvara is situated east of the ...

health center.

Notes

Bibliography

* Το Ηράκλειον και ο Νομός του (Heraklion and its region), published by the Prefecture of Heraklion Populated places in Heraklion (regional unit) Heraklion {{Crete-geo-stub