Kallikratis () is a small village belonging to the municipality of

Sfakia Sfakiá () is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. ...

, in southwest

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 Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. According to tradition, it was named after the admiral (

droungarios A ''droungarios'', also spelled ''drungarios'' (, ) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as '' droungos''. Late Roman and Byzantine army ...

) Manoussos Kallikratis, who in March 1453 led a campaign to reinforce the defense of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

with 5 ships and 1500 Cretan volunteers. As reported by Sphrantzes in his ''Chronicle'', these volunteers manned three towers on the

walls of Constantinople The Walls of Constantinople (; ) are a series of defensive wall, defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (modern Fatih district of Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire b ...

and continued to fight bravely even after the city had fallen. In recognition of their gallantry, sultan

Mehmed Mehmed or Mehmet is the most common Turkish form of the Arabic male name Muhammad () (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Origina ...

allowed them to safely sail back to Crete, retaining their weapons.

Geography

Kallikratis is situated off the beaten tourist path and is made up of four widely separated neighborhoods that are scattered on a small

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

Lefka Ori Lefka Ori (, meaning 'White Mountains') or Madares ( from the Cretan Greek meaning 'without coverage, bald, bare of any vegetation for high mountain areas') is a mountain range located in Western Crete, in the Chania prefecture. The White Mounta ...

with an average altitude of 540m. It can be reached via Myriokefala,

Asi Gonia Asi Gonia () is a mountainous village and a former community in the eastern part of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit in Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Apokoronas, of which it i ...

or Asfendos, or via a recently paved road with more than 25 tight hair-pin turns, which starts in Kapsodasos and overlooks the Frangokastello plain and the South Cretan Sea in the distance. Kallikratis is also on the E4 walking route. Kallikratiano (i.e. Kallikratis') gorge starts southwest of the village and ends in the village of Patsianos, maintaining important natural habitats. The gorge can be crossed on a 4 km path. Before 1900, Kallikratis was a large village with more than 130 families. Today, only a few tens of inhabitants still live in the village and many of the houses are deserted. Kallikratis is almost uninhabited during the colder months of the year, since in that time the local shepherds move with their herds in

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

to the warmer climate of the villages near the shore.

History

Kallikratis never lived under permanent foreign rule and its residents have a long tradition of participation in national fights for freedom.

Wars against the Ottoman Turks

In 1770, Kallikratis was destroyed during Daskalogiannis'

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1821, a group of

Sfakians The Sfakians (or Sphakians or Sfakiots; ) are the inhabitants of the region of Sfakia located in western Crete. The Sfakians hold themselves to be the direct descendants of the Dorians who came down to Crete around 1100 BC. The inhabitants of Sf ...

led by Kallikratis native Georgios Demonakis () fought with

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

after his crossing of the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

river to start a

in Romania. In July 1821, during the revolt of 1821, part of Kallikratis was burnt while many of its residents were away fighting the Turks near

Rethymno Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built ...

. In 1866, during the great Cretan revolt, Kallikratis was burnt for the third time. The following year (1867), Ottoman forces under the command of

Omar Pasha Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas (, ; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in the Austrian Empire to Serbian Orthodox Christian parents, he initially served as an Austrian soldier. When f ...

unsuccessfully attempted to invade Sfakia from Kallikratis.

Macedonian struggle

At the beginning of the twentieth century, several Kallikratians voluntarily took part in the struggle for Macedonia between 1904 and 1908 under the leadership of Efthimios Kaoudis, Georgios Dikonymos, Emmanouil Benis and Lamprinos Vranas.

World War II

During the first months of the Axis occupation of Crete, the AEAK resistance organization was established at the house of Colonel Andreas Papadakis, located between Kallikratis and

. Later on, the resistance operated a radio station hidden in a cave near Kallikratis. In October 1943, in

reprisal A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extremel ...

for aiding the partisans operating in the area, Friedrich Schubert's Jagdkommando accompanied by German occupation forces subjected the village to a collective punishment. Around 30 civilians were executedBeevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 1991. Penguin Books, 1992. and another twenty were imprisoned. Houses were looted and burned and the remaining inhabitants expelled. In memory of these events, Kallikratis was declared a martyred village on 3 October 2018 (Presidential Decree 29, ΦΕΚ Α 54/2.4.2019).Επίσημα μαρτυρικό χωριό ο Καλλικράτης, Χανιώτικα Νέα, 3 Οκτωβρίου 2018
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Miscellaneous

The family of Kostas Mountakis, one of the most celebrated Cretan music artists, originated from Kallikratis. On Sep. 5th 2008, a Cretan music night dedicated to his memory was held in Kallikratis.
During summer, a couple of coffee shops and taverns serving local specialties are open in the area.

References

External links

Kallikratis gorge photos & videos

Car commercial for which Kallikratis gorge provided the setting

Kallikratis from e-sfakia.gr
(in Greek -
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{{Sfakia div Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Sfakia