Rhaucus or Rhaukos () was a town of
ancient Crete
The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe.
During the Iron Age, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-i ...
. From the story told about the Cretan bees by
Antenor
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Antenor (, ''Antḗnōr''; BC) was an Athenian sculptor. He is recorded as the creator of the joint statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton funded by the Athenians on the expulsion of Hippias. These statues were ...
in his ''Cretica'' it seems that there were two cities of this name in Crete. The existence of two places so called in the island might give rise to some such legend as that which he mentions.
The site of one Rhaucus is at or near modern
Agios Myronas
Agios Myronas (, formerly Άγιος Μύρων ''Agios Myron'') is a village in the Heraklion regional unit of Crete, Greece, named for Saint Myron of Crete. In 2021, its population was 569.
Agios Myronas is built on two hills. The school's clo ...
,
between
Knossos
Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...
and
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 ...
, and from its proximity to
Mount Ida
In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida' ...
, we can infer that it is the more ancient.
References
Populated places in ancient Crete
Former populated places in Greece
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