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Kissamos () is a town and a municipality in the west of the island 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 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 ...
. It is part of the
Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...
regional unit and of the former
Kissamos Province Kissamos () is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as ...
which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as Kastelli Kissamou and often known simply as Kastelli after the Venetian castle that was there. It is now a port and fishing harbour, with a regular ferry from the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
via
Kythira Kythira ( ; ), also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira, is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, although it is dist ...
. A town museum is located in the old Venetian governor's palace and there have been important archaeological finds in the town, including fine mosaics, dating from the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
city of Kisamos (,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
ized as Cisamus). The head town of the municipality () is Kastelli-Kissamos itself.


History

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
said that ancient Cisamus was dependent on Aptera and was its naval arsenal. The
Peutinger Table ' (Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tables James Strong and John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. NY: Haper and Brothers ...
distinguishes two port towns in Crete called Cisamus, Modern Kissamos (at 35°29′38″N 23°39′25″E) is much further west than where Aptera is now placed (at 35°27′46″N 24°8′31″E). It was excluded already by Pashley in 1837 as being, of the two ancient maritime Cretan cities named Kisamos, the one associated with Aptera. In the past, when the port of Aptera was thought to be present-day Kissamos, some supposed Aptera to be identical with
Polyrrhenia Polyrrhenia or Polyrrenia (; modern ), Polyrrhen or Polyrren (Πολύρρην) or Polyren (Πολύρην), or Pollyrrhenia or Pollyrrenia (Πολλύρρηνα),'' Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'', p. 18 or Polyrrenion (Πολυρρήνιον) or Pol ...
, and Kissamos to be the port of Polyrrhenia. However, Strabo and other ancient sources say that Polyrrhenia's port was at
Phalasarna Falasarna or Phalasarna () is a Greek harbour town at the west end of Crete that flourished during the Hellenistic period. The currently visible remains of the city include several imposing sandstone towers and bastions, with hundreds of meters ...
on the west coast.


Ecclesiastical history

Ancient Cisamus became a Christian
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, a
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
of the
metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...
of
Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn was the Roman c ...
a, the capital of the
Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of Crete. Only two of its first-millennium bishops are named in extant contemporary documents: Theopemptus (according to 18th-century
Lequien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. Biography Le Quien studied at , Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made ...
), Nicetas (according to 20th-century Janin) at the
Trullan Council The Quinisext Council (; , literally meaning, ''Fifth-Sixth Meeting''), i.e., the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Ju ...
in 692, and Leo at the
Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...
in 787.Raymond Janin, v. ''Cisamus'', i
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. XII, Parigi 1953, coll. 844-845


Orthodox bishopric

The bishopric is still a residential see of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Crete.


Latin diocese

After the Venetian conquest of Crete in 1212, Kissamos became a
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
diocese. The names of more than 20 residential Latin bishops from then until the end of the 16th century are known, including :"Diocese of Kisamos"
''
Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...
''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
"Titular Episcopal See of Cisamus"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
* Angelo Barbarigo (1383 – 1406.09.21) *
Prospero Santacroce Prospero Pubblicola Santacroce (24 September 1514 – 2 October 1589) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. He was active in Church affairs as a diplomat and prelate in Rome. Biography Santacroce was born in Rome on September 24, 1 ...
(1548.03.22 – 1572?) The Latin residential bishopric of (Curiate Italian ''Cisamo'') was suppressed in around 1600, and only a
titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
remains.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 870


Municipality

The municipality of Kissamos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of three former municipalities, which became municipal units: * Kissamos * Inachori * Mythimna The municipality has an area of and the municipal unit has an area of . The municipal unit of Kissamos includes the
Gramvousa peninsula Gramvousa Peninsula () is a peninsula at the northwestern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently, it was known as Corycus or Korykos (), or as Cimarus or Kimaros (Κίμαρος); although the latter is ascribed to the cape at the northern e ...
(Chernisos Gramvousas ''Χερσόνησος Γραμβούσας'') in the northwest and the adjacent
Gramvousa Gramvousa, also Grampousa (, further names include ''Akra'', ''Cavo Buso'', ''Cavo Bouza'', ''Garabusa'' and ''Grabusa''), refers to two small uninhabited islands off the coast of a peninsula also known Gramvousa Peninsula (Greek: ''Χερσό� ...
islets, as well as the islet of
Pontikonisi Pontikonisi (, "Mouse Island") is a Greek islet near the island of Corfu. Its prominent feature is a Byzantine chapel of Pantokrator, dating from the 11th or 12th century. The island of Pontikonisi might have served as an inspiration for Arnol ...
, and the villages of Sfinari, Koukounaras, Polirinia, Platanos, Lousakia,
Sirikari Sirikari () is a small mountain village (elevation 512 m) located in western Crete, in the regional unit of Chania (regional unit), Chania, Greece. It is part of the municipality of Kissamos. It is 55 km to the west from Chania and 17 km ...
, Kallergiania and Kalathena. It forms the extreme western part of the Chania regional unit, and of Crete. It is bordered by
Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platani ...
to the East, and by
Kantanos-Selino Kantanos-Selino () is a municipality in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is numbered 4 on the map of the Chania region. The seat of the municipality is the village of Palaiochora. The municipality has an area of . A significant number of f ...
to the south.


Former province

The province of Kissamos () was one of the
provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
of the Chania Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality of Kissamos, and the municipal units of Kolymvari and
Voukolies Voukolies () is a town and former municipality in the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Platanias, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...
(partly).  It was abolished in 2006.


Notable locals

*
Manos Katrakis Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis (; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.IMDb pro ...
(1908–1984), actor * Giorgis Koutsourelis (1914–1994), Cretan music composer


See also

*
List of communities of Chania A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...


References


Sources and external links


Municipality description

Kissamos TV Official Website




{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece Municipalities of Crete Populated places in Chania (regional unit) Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Greece Castles in Greece Greek War of Independence Provinces of Greece