Lasithi () is the easternmost

regional unit The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municip ...

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 Ierapetra (; ancient name: ) is a Greece, Greek city and municipality located on the southeast coast of Crete. History The town of Ierapetra (in the local dialect: Γεράπετρο ''Gerapetro'') is located on the southeast coast of Crete, sit ...

and

Sitia Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...

. The mountains include the

Dikti Dikti or Dicte () (also Lasithiotika Ori; "Lasithian Mountains"; anciently, Aigaion oros () or ) is a mountain range on the east of the island of Crete in the regional unit of Lasithi. On the west it extends to the regional unit of Heraklion. Ac ...

in the west and the

Thrypti Thrypti () is a mountain range in Lasithi in eastern Crete, Greece. It trends to the northeast from Ierapetra in the southwest in the direction of Sitia. However, it only goes half-way in that direction. The rest of the distance is completed by t ...

in the east. The

Sea of Crete 300px, Map of the Sea of Crete The Sea of Crete (, ''Kritiko Pelagos''), or Cretan Sea, is a sea, part of the Aegean Sea, located in its southern extremity, with a total surface area of . The sea stretches to the north of the island of Crete, eas ...

lies to the north and the

Libyan Sea The Libyan Sea (; ; ) is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the North Africa, African coast of Ancient Libya, ancient ''Libya'', i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica (the coast of what is now Butnan District, eastern Libya and Matrouh Gov ...

to the south. To the east of the village of Elounda lies the island of

Spinalonga Spinalonga () is an island in the Gulf of Elounda, north-eastern Crete, in the municipality of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka in the area of Kalydon (Elounda), Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsu ...

, formerly a Venetian fortress and a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East ...

. On the foot of Mount Dikti lies the

Lasithi Plateau The Lasithi Plateau (, ''Oropedio Lasithiou'') is a high endorheic plateau, located in the Lasithi regional unit in eastern Crete, Greece. Since the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, it is a municipality whose seat is and the second biggest village is Ag ...

, famous for its

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s. Vai is well known for its

datepalm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, ...

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 Myrtos is a coastal village and a community in the west of the municipality of Ierapetra, in the Regional Unit (previously called prefecture) of Lasithi on the Greek island of Crete. It is located from Agios Nikolaos and from Ierapetra, ...

, Makrys Gialos or Makrigialos, Xerokambos and Koutsouras. Lasithi is home to a number of ancient remains. Vasiliki,

Fournou Korifi Fournou Korifi is the archaeological site of a Minoan settlement on southern Crete. Geography Fournou Korifi was built at the top of a steep hill, with excellent views of the coast. Archaeology Fournou Korifi was first excavated in 1967 by Pet ...

, Pyrgos,

Zakros Zakros ( also Zakro or Kato Zakro) is a Minoan archaeological site on the eastern coast of Crete in Lasithi, Greece. It is regarded as one of the six Minoan palaces, and its protected harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial ...

and

Gournia Gournia () is the site of a Minoan palace complex in the Lasithi regional unit on the island of Crete, Greece. Its modern name originated from the many stone troughs that are at the site and its original name for the site is unknown.Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

date,

Lato Lato () was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the village of Kritsa. History The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay between two peaks, both of ...

and

Itanos Itanos () is a municipal unit (demotike enoteta) of the municipality (demos) Siteia in the Lasithi regional unit, eastern Crete, Greece. A former municipality itself, it was included in Siteia as part of the 2011 local government reform. The muni ...

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 Olous or Olus (, or ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' § 350.) was a city of ancient Crete; now sunken, it was situated at the site of present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece. According to the ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'', it had a harbour and was locat ...

and

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 Lyktos (Greek: or ) was a city in ancient Crete. During the Classical and Roman periods, it was one of the major settlements on the island. Its ruins are located near the modern-day village of Lyttos in the municipality of Minoa Pediada, He ...

'' (''Lyttus'' > ''Tselyttus'' > ''Tselethe'' > ''Xeethe'' > ''La Xeethi'' > ''Lasithi'') or ''

'' (''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) *

(2) *

Oropedio Lasithiou The Lasithi Plateau (, ''Oropedio Lasithiou'') is a high endorheic plateau, located in the Lasithi regional unit in eastern Crete, Greece. Since the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, it is a municipality whose seat is and the second biggest village is Ag ...

(3) *

Siteia Sitia (Latin and Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia's ...

(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 In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

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 *Province of

- Sitia

Transport

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

References

External links

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