Eleftherna Bridge

The archaeological site of ancient Eleftherna is located about 30 km southeast of Rethymno Town, on a narrow spur of Mount Psiloritis. It is one of the most important ones in Crete and has provided a fascinating insight into burial customs in Homeric times.

Though inhabited since the Prehistoric times, ancient Eleftherna flourished from the Greek Dark Ages till the Byzantine times. It gained prominence during the 9th century BC, when it was colonized by the Dorians, as it constituted a natural crossroads between Kydonia, Knossos, and the Ideon Andron Cave on Mount Psiloritis. Moreover, the ruins of luxurious villas, baths and other public buildings indicate that the city continued to be a prosperous center after the Roman conquest of Crete. Its demise began as a result of a tremendous earthquake in the early Christian times and was completed in the 9th century AD, in the aftermath of Arab raids.