Itanos
Itanos (Greek: Ίτανος) is a municipal unit of the municipality Siteia in the Lasithi regional unit, eastern Crete, Greece. A former municipality itself, it was included in Siteia as part of the 2011 local government reform.[2] The municipal unit has an area of 197.406 km2 (76.219 sq mi).[3]
Itanos
Ίτανος | |
|---|---|
  Itanos Location within the regional unit  | |
| Coordinates: 35°12′N 26°15′E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Crete |
| Regional unit | Lasithi |
| Municipality | Siteia |
| • Municipal unit | 197.4 km2 (76.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Municipal unit | 2,108 |
| • Municipal unit density | 11/km2 (28/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Vehicle registration | AN |
Population was 2,108 in 2011, the time of the reorganization. The seat of the municipality was in Palaikastro, but now all regional units are administered from the municipal seat, Siteia.
Etymological speculations
Unlike most Greek demes (municipalities) Itanos did not have a modern city or town to serve as a namesake to the deme. There was a promontory named Itanos, the base of Cape Sidero, and Itanos Beach on its east side. There had been in fact an ancient city named Itanos, which presumably had given its name to the promontory and beach. Itanos in the histories had been abandoned in the 16th century because it could not be defended by the Venetian overlords against the depradations of the new Ottoman Empire. A beach north of Itanos Beach was named Erimoupolis as though there had been a polis when in fact there was only a beach.
The name, however, means "deserted city." Archaeological investigation discovered a rather large ancient city sprawling over the hills next to the beaches. Scientific studies showed that Itanos Beach was a sedimented harbor. There was no longer a question of the location of Itanos, as this city had had two large Christian churches, one on either side of the harber. It was walled, with two Akropoleis extending back into the hills.
Its territory is rich in ancient archaeological sites, notably a Minoan city in Roussolakkos and the ancient Greek city Itanos in Erimopolis. The Minoan settlement was called Utana (cf. Linear B U-ta-ni-yo [KN E 749]).
References
- "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
- "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
