Activities | Agrielia Villa | Sgourokefali | Heraklion

The Canyon of Karteros is 1.5 km far away from Villa Agrielia

The canyon of Karteros is full of history, traditions, rich vegetation, a lot of waters and fauna that we meet in the rivers of Crete.

Recently the municipalities of region did lots of work in order that the canyon will be approachable, in all its length.

There are three names referring to the canyon. The name Karteros (Karteros
was a Byzantine General that got off in the beach of the river with his army, intending to release Crete from the Arabs Sarakinoys Koyrsarous, that possessed the island from 824 until 961 a.C). The second name is Aitanion, from the homonym village that is found in the middle of gorge, and the third name is gorge Astrakon, from where it begins the river.

In the antiquity the current arroyo had a lot of water, and was named Amnisos, in the firth of the river the Minoan town Amnisos had flourished.
The mythology reports this river also with the name Third person. It is said that in his sources the goddess Athena the Tritogeneia had been born. There was also a temple in a cave that today is known as Neraidospilios.

According to the Homer in the beach of Amniso, where the river Karteros flows, Thiseas got off ,the son of King of Athens Aegeas, that came in Crete with 7 young boys and 7 girls as heavy tax of Athenians to Minoa, in order to become prey in Minotayro.

Also Odysseus got off there, at his adventurous roaming, at the end of Troian war, in his effort of return to Ithaca.

Walking up to the canyon we meet various old buildings such as old little churches on the rocks, old watermills, and other ruins, thus we can easily draw the conclusion that in the old days the Human presence was intense
in the canyon.

In the middle of the canyon the water increases, the trees are larger, the river is thicker.
There exists Neraidospilios.

According to tradition one day at a nearby village, there lived a handsome young man who was a good lyra player. One evening as he passed near the cave he heard beautiful singing voices that he had not heard before. Spellbound, but out of curiosity, he entered the cave and saw the Fairies with unbraid hair peplontymenes, bathed in the light of an eternal spring. The young person does not get enough to see them dance and song. Enchanted by what he saw, without realizing it, he grabbed the lyra and accompanied to the dance and song of the fairies. At dawn as they were lost, he didn’t know whether that was once a dream or lived reality.

The young went again the next night, and the next night in the cave and saw the fairies dancing in the wild. He couldn’t take his eyes away from a fairy. He was in love with her and did not know what to do. An old woman advised him to grab her from the hair and not let her go whatever happens.

The very next night, the young went to the cave and grabbed her by the hair.
The Fairy resisted, but finally followed him to his house, married him and later she gave birth to a boy. The lyre player though was unhappy because he had never heard a word of the Fairy.

In order to hear her voice he pretended that he would throw the child into the fire. The Fairy dived over him, dragging a loud voice, she snatched the child from his hands and disappeared.