Watermill of Kalogeroi in Stylos
Church of Agios Nikolaos in Kyriakoselia
Watermill in Kalyves
Early Christian basilica at Almyrida
Wells of the Venetian period in Gavalochori
Wells of the Venetian period in Palailoni
Hellenistic bridge of “Elliniki Kamara” in Vrysses
Church of Agios Nikolaos (St Nicholas) in Maza
The Route of Water
either near natural water sources, or, where these are not available, by feats of engineering and architectural innovations that allow people to locate, treat and use water. The importance of this chemical element to survival is reflected in the view of many philosophers who consider it the origin of all things, while entire cultures have deified water or attributed to it curative and purifying properties. The worship of water was also incorporated into Christianity, as believers are baptised to purify themselves and drink holy water to heal and protect themselves from demonic influences. Folk tradition often uses water to express various concepts in proverbs, riddles and metaphors.
The hydrography of the Apokoronas region played a vital role in the development of human societies there from as early as the prehistoric period. Apokoronas extends from the coastal lowlands in the north, washed by the Sea of Crete, southwards to the semi-mountainous areas with their picturesque plateaux and hills, ending in the imposing landscape of the White Mountains (which reach a maximum altitude in the province of about 1800 m above sea level). Apokoronas is a catchment basin for most of Chania Prefecture, with natural underground reservoirs and famed springs, rivers and lakes. The villages of Stylos and Armenoi have springs with excellent drinking water, while the Zourbos springs are brackish. Important rivers in the region are the Mouselas/Moursellas, the Delphinas, the Almyros/Armyros, the Boutakas or Vryssanos, the Xides/Xydeis/Xydas, the Mesopotamos and the Koiliaris/Kyliaris. The brackish Lake Almyros supplies large quantities of water and hosts aquatic fauna, as does the river of the same name.
However, the most important lake of Apokoronas is none other than Lake Kournas or, as it was known in antiquity, Lake Korrisia. It is the only natural lake on a Mediterranean island and the southernmost lake in Europe. Its dark waters have given rise to the myth that it is bottomless. Its geomorphology makes the layers beneath it impermeable, preventing its water from flowing away underground. The gorges and caves of the Apokoronas region highlight the value and importance of its natural landscape. Names of villages such as Embrosneros (“forward water”), Vrysses (“springs”) and Armyros (“brackish river”), demonstrate the importance of water in the province.
Ancient Aptera or Aptara was founded in the Geometric period (8th c. BC) on the wide plateau (200 m) of Paliokastro, a site of unique natural beauty, with Suda Bay to the north and the imposing range of the White Mountains to the south. Its prosperity is largely due to the location’s relationship with water: on the one hand, the hill, overlooking Suda Bay, ensured its security, while its proximity to the sea allowed the operation of two harbours (Minoa in Marathi and Kissamos in Kalyves), ensuring control of trade. The city flourished from Classical and Hellenistic times onwards, with the minting of its own currency, a dynamic economy and foreign policy, strong fortifications, a theatre and organised sanctuaries.
During the Roman period, despite the use of Kydonian coins, indicating administrative subordination to that city, Aptera evolved and prospered.
This development is also reflected in the construction of cisterns in the area, as the large plateau of the city does not appear to have had any springs. The two vaulted cisterns, one three-aisled and the other L-shaped, probably incorporating parts of an earlier form, are largely rock-hewn with a built upper part. They are reinforced with exterior buttresses to counteract the water pressure. Rainwater was collected through openings in the roof and via a network of conduits connected to small domestic cisterns. The two cisterns were self-standing rather than being incorporated in building complexes, houses or villas, but served public needs. They had a capacity of up to or even over 3,000 cubic metres. The lack of an aqueduct in the area, and the fact that the closest springs, at Stylos and Kalami, lie at least 150 m lower down, support the hypothesis that the city was supplied with water by cisterns as early as the Hellenistic period.
The cisterns fed the large bath complexes lower down the slope to the north. The limited excavation and partial study of the two baths that have been uncovered offer relatively little information, but firm conclusions can be drawn on their layout and use. The eastern Bath I, north of the three-aisled cistern, is divided into the east side, consisting of three rooms with hypocausts, and the west side, consisting of two rooms with bathtubs, an arched room, a corridor and three other partially excavated rooms. It includes corridors with auxiliary rooms and praefurnia (the furnaces used to heat the hypocausts), while parts of a hot and cold zone appear to be preserved. Part of an inscribed lintel, probably from the main entrance of the bath, records the name of an Athenian, perhaps the benefactor who funded the building’s construction. The western Bath II, which is connected to the L-shaped cistern, features eight vaulted rooms, a hypocaust system, an arched room with two bathtubs, the praefurnium, chimney ducts and other auxiliary spaces. The destruction of the facilities by earthquakes is visible, especially in parts of Bath I.
The bridge of Elliniki Kamara, meaning “Greek Arch”, is an important surviving engineering work of the Hellenistic period. It is an iconic, timeless structure that demonstrates respect for the natural flow of the river’s waters through functional, non-destructive interventions. The bridge remained in use into the modern era due to its position on the route connecting Chania to Rethymno.
Water in “Elliniki Kamara” in Vrysses
The single-arch bridge, also known as Philip’s Bridge, is located east of Vrysses. It spans the River Boutakas or Vryssanos, linking the two sections of the road along the north coast of Crete.
The proximity of Almyrida to the sea seems to have played a vital part in the development of an important settlement there during the Early Byzantine period. Its significance is reflected by the large 6th-century basilicas, whose remains are visible in the present-day village. The remains of a bathhouse east of the cemetery of the first basilica also belonged to the pre-eminent settlement. The excavation data so far, however, do not allow the precise identification and categorisation of the site as public, private or monastic.
The Water in the Basilica at Almyrida
Its proximity to the sea determined not only the rate of development of the settlement but also the end of its life. The coastal settlements of Crete shrank from the 7th century onwards due to Arab raids, as the dangers were now greater than the benefits provided by sites on the island’s shores.
The healing properties of water are reflected in the Christian art of the region, indicating its importance on a religious level, too. A typical example is the fresco of the Healing of the Blind Man in the church of St Nicholas in Kyriakoselia. The Baptism of Christ depicted in a fresco in the same church reveals the sanctity of water.
The Water in Agios Nikolaos in Kyriakoselia
The complete iconographic cycles of the church, rarely preserved in full, date from the 13th century, in a building of the 10th-11th centuries.
Similarly, in the church of St Nicholas in Maza, dating from the 14th century, the Birth of St Nicholas is preserved in the middle zone of the north wall.
The Water in Agios Nikolaos in Maza
The holy nature of Nicholas is indicated by the upright posture of the newborn infant in the font-shaped bath. The Baptism is depicted on the side wall of the sanctuary, above the impost of the supporting arch. At the bottom of the painting are personifications of the Sea and the River Jordan.
Important evidence of everyday life from the Venetian period to modern times is preserved in various infrastructure works in the villages of Apokoronas. Water shortages were averted by digging wells and building rainwater cisterns. Individual and/or communal installations were constructed in order to ensure there was sufficient water. Rainwater was often collected in these, as well as rainwater runoff. A representative picture of such installations is provided by the six surviving circular wells of the Venetian period in the small village of Palailoni near Kefalas. Also known as the Lygenia wells, they include three more which have been filled in.
The Water in the Wells of the Venetian period in Palailoni
Local residents who remember the site in use say that shepherds from the nearby pastures gathered here to water their flocks, making the wells a social meeting place.
The exceptional group of 24 wells with an arch bridge in Gavalochori, in the level bottom of a small gorge, date from the same period. Some of the wells are protected by a drystone vaulted structure.
The Water in the Wells of the Venetian period in Gavalochori
Used for various purposes, they were a gathering place important both for survival and as a communal space for socialising.
In the Cretan countryside, water resources have been exploited for crop irrigation and watermills since the Byzantine period. During the Early Byzantine period, water management, the construction of engineering works such as bridges, and the ownership of watermills were the responsibility of the communities. Although no Byzantine watermills have been found in the region, the word hydromylos, meaning “watermill”, appears in Byzantine dictionaries as early as the 6th century, when they were becoming more widespread. By the 12th century, in fact probably as early as the 10th century, there were many watermills in the Byzantine Empire. As the power of the aristocracy increased in the Middle Byzantine period, the landowners assumed the responsibilities of the communities, and the large monasteries played a similar role. Thus the aristocracy and founders of monasteries were able to “move heaven and earth” in order to ensure “abundance at their table and pleasure in all things”.
The archaeological remains demonstrate that the Byzantines used watermills with a horizontal waterwheel. This is the simplest type of mill, utilising only 15-20% of the available water, but it is suitable for places with limited water resources. Mills were often supplied with water via flumes which irrigated orchards at the same time.
More is known about the period of Venetian rule. During this time, water resources were managed by the village and then by the feudal lord who owned the village. Mills could be owned by various groups of people: some are recorded as being publicly owned, while others were private, belonging half to the owner of the land and half to the mill-builder, and yet others were the property of important monasteries. During the Venetian period, the millers lived in the mills they operated. They were paid either in cash or in kind, keeping part of the flour they ground.
When the Venetians arrived in Crete, they found many watermills, operational or ruined. Watermills were constructed all over the island during the Venetian and Ottoman periods, indicating the desire of the central administration to increase production.
The Venetian watermill of Kalogeroi (of the “Greek” or “oriental” type), near the village of Stylos, is one of the largest watermills on the island, exploiting the waters of the River Koiliaris or Kyliaris to the full. It originally had a single room, subsequently expanded to three.
Abundance of water was a decisive factor in the productivity of a mill. It also determined the operating periods of watermills, as many water resources dried up during the summer months. The River Koiliaris is one of the few rivers on the island that run all year round. An overabundance of water, on the other hand, was the chief danger for mills, as floods caused the most serious and costly damage.
The Water in the Watermill of Kalogeroi in Stylos
The name of the watermill (kalogeroi means “monks”) is due to the fact that it belonged to the Monastery of St John the Divine of Patmos, making it a typical example of a monastic watermill.
Another very important watermill (also of the “Greek” or “oriental” type) is located in the centre of the village of Kalyves. Dating from the second half of the 16th century, it remained in operation, with various modifications, up to the second half of the 20th century.
The Water in the Watermill in Kalyves
It was used as an olive mill, a motorised corn mill and even a hydroelectric power plant. It is the most important watermill on the island, not only due to its size but also because of the different ways it has made use of water through the ages.
Author: Sonia Konstantinidou
Fun fact
Although Crete is famous today for its beaches, it did not enjoy the sea in the same way in the past. Until the early 19th century, the sea was considered dangerous, as it was associated with conquerors, pirates, epidemics, and losses, especially for the families of sailors and fishermen. The fashion for bathing began in Britain and spread to other countries, while in Greece it was established by Queen Amalia. In Crete, sea bathing became popular in the early 19th century, mainly in the island’s cities. At first, men and women swam separately and there were strict rules regarding clothing. Beaches were often the subject of media coverage, with topics such as voyeurism and the gradual reduction of swimwear, and even today, reports on beaches continue to be a topic of moral commentary and the promotion of provocative images.
