Author(s):
Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Crete (Πολυρρηνία/
Polyrrhēnía). City in north-western Crete (Ptol. 3,17,10; Str. 10,4,13; Scyl. 47: Πολύρρηνα/
Polýrrhēna; Plin. HN 4,59:
Polyrhenum) south of the Bay of Kissamos in an exposed position on a steep hill on the site of a village still called P. today. P. is one of the oldest Doric settlements in Crete (the place name is pre-Greek with its own dialect [1]). At the beginning of the 3rd cent. BC, P., through the mediation of Sparta, entered into an alliance with the neighbouring city of Phalasarna [2. no. 1, p. 179-181]. In the internal Cretan war for Lyctus (221-219 BC), P. headed a coalition against the Cretan leading powers of Gortyn and Knossos and sought support from Philip [7] V and the Achaean League (Pol. 5,53,6; 55,1-5). The consequence of a Rome-friendly stance that existed and was articulated from the outset particularly in various inscriptions (addressees among others Caecilius [I 23], Augustus, Hadrian) was Roman protection in the period after the Roman conquest of Crete (67 BC) as well. In the 3rd cent. AD, P. lost importance and later the settlement was abandoned. Systematic excavations have to this date not yet been carried out. Dominant on the acropolis is a Venetian fort. Ancient remains: partly well preserve…