Lasithi
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Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on 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 ...
, to the east of
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 ...
. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the east. The Sea of Crete lies to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. To the east of the village of Elounda lies the island of Spinalonga, formerly a Venetian fortress and a leper colony. On the foot of Mount Dikti lies the Lasithi Plateau, famous for its windmills. Vai is well known for its datepalm forest. Thanks to its beaches and its mild climate year-long, Lasithi attracts many tourists. Mass tourism is served by places like Vai, Agios Nikolaos and the island of Chrissi. More off-beat tourism can be found in villages on the south coast like Myrtos, Makrys Gialos or Makrigialos, Xerokambos and Koutsouras. Lasithi is home to a number of ancient remains. Vasiliki, Fournou Korifi, Pyrgos, Zakros and Gournia are ruins of Minoan date, Lato and Itanos were Doric towns.


History

The history of Lasithi can be traced over at least three millennia. The region has considerable ancient history antecedents, including the Dorian era settlement of Olous and Lato.


Name

It has been speculated that ''ra-su-to'', found in
Linear B Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...
, corresponds to an unattested ancient ''Lasynthos''. There is also a Lyttian tribal name ''Lasynthioi'', presumably reflecting the same name. Earlier proposals that it is derived from a Venetian 'la' preposed to derivatives of '' Lyttos'' (''Lyttus'' > ''Tselyttus'' > ''Tselethe'' > ''Xeethe'' > ''La Xeethi'' > ''Lasithi'') or '' Sitia'' (''Sitia'' > ''La Sitia'' > ''Lasithi'') are unlikely, as the name Lasithi was attested as early as 1211, whereas the Venetians only first arrived in Crete in 1205. Another unlikely etymology derives it from ''lakkos'' 'hole or basin' (''Lakkos'' > ''Lakkidion'' > ''Latsidi'' > ''Lasidi'' > ''Lasithi'').Philip Betancourt, ''Hagios Charalambos: A Minoan Burial Cave in Crete'' 1:9, 2014 The area was known as Laşid () under Turkish rule..


Administration

The regional unit Lasithi is subdivided into four municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Agios Nikolaos (1) * Ierapetra (2) * Oropedio Lasithiou (3) * Siteia (4)


Prefecture

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Lasithi was created out of the former
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of Lasithi (), which was created while Crete was still an autonomous state and was retained after the island joined Greece in 1913. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit, except Viannos area that belonged to Lasithi but was annexed to Heraklion prefecture in 1932. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.


Provinces

Before 2006, Lasithi was divided into 4
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 ...
: *Province of Mirambelos - Neapolis * Province of Lasithi - Tzermiado *Province of Ierapetra - Ierapetra *Province of Sitia - Sitia


Transport

* GR-90/ E65, NW, Cen., E, NE * GR-99, Cen., S


See also

* Ieropotamos River * 2021 Lasithi earthquake


References


External links


Geographical profile of Lasithi
{{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Crete