A little history

The mountain of Dikti is crowned because according to mythology, Zeus there was born and raised by the Amalthia goat in the cave of Dikteon Andron.

In Kato Symi during the Minoans period (2000 before J.C.) was founded in Krya Vryssi the sanctuary of Hermes and Venus. Crowned place, the worships and the offerings took place there for a long period.

This sanctuary was the only one to function over many centuries without interruption and this until the Roman period by gathering the populations of the many cities of Crete Minoans (Ierapytna, Tsoutsouros etc) as well as continental Greece.

The site is hardly 5 kilometers from the place of Kato Symi. All the objects found at the time of excavations of the sanctuary, are exposed to the archaeological museum of Héraklion; statuettes bronzes some representing the mythical gods (Hermes and Venus) and of the animals such as bulls inter alia.

Today, the archeological site is worth visiting and accessible by car conveys or walking, combining a beautiful course in nature crossing a pine forest. By the heights of the site, we have a beautiful sight towards the beach of the Libyans sea.

At the period of  the revolution on 1866, 2 young women from  Kato Symi, Maria Panakaki and Ergina Tsagkatopoyla, pursued by the Turkish soldiers, preferred to throw themselves and die atrociously in the throats of Kybos (in the manner of women of Souli) rather than to be misused by the Turkish soldiers.

Kato Symi : Recent History

Important was also the role of the inhabitants - according to the newest history of the island of Crete. Thanks to the assistance and the participation of the inhabitants was organized on the mountains of Kato Simi, in 1942 the resistance against the Germans.

For the period of the German occupation, in 1943, a German armed section went to the village to punish the inhabitants following the execution of 2 German soldiers by the rebels.

At the entrance of the valley of Kato Symi, the resistant's well camouflaged attacked the Germans on September 12th, 1943. 84 German was killed.

Following that, the Nazi destroyed all the villages of Viannos and carried out all the male population of the area.

"The flaring villages and the inhabitants of Viannos" paid the heaviest price for their resistance to the occupant.