The archaeological site of Aptera is situated 15 kilometers far from Chania at the Southeast, close to the village Megala Chorafia with a good view all around the area. It had been an active city-state since the Geometric period (8 th century b.C.). Due to its location it controlled exchanges and commercial activities; as a result it was one of the most important Doric city-states of Crete.
The ruins are dated in all periods up to the Roman era and later; the most important of them are the walls of the Doric city, cyclopean like, the cisterns of the Roman period, the “two-part” sanctuary of the 5 th-4 th century, the tombs of Geometric times, etc, as well as buildings of the Byzantine period. |
