Eleutherna Treasures

Eleutherna, also called Apollonia, was an ancient city-state in Crete, Greece. It is located on a narrow northern spur of Mount Ida, the highest mountain in Crete. It flourished from the Dark Ages of Greece’s history until Byzantine times.

The Eleutherna museum is in an area where excavations were conducted and is enclosed within the Eleutherna archaeological park's boundaries.

Located in the heart of Crete, near the island's geographical center, the archaeological site is nestled in a slope of Mount Ida overlooking the sea. Time has erased most traces of the ancient city-state from the surface – with a human presence dating back to 3000 BC. But the ground itself has yielded many treasures.

The site of Eleutherna includes an acropolis, a polis, and a necropolis. Excavations over the years have shown that the people who lived here were of the Bronze Age civilizations of both the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, as well as the Dorians, warriors from the Greek mainland.

Plaques with the Life of Achilles, about A.D. 300–350, made in Thessaloniki; found in Eleutherna

Greek Bee Fibula, 4th century BC

Bee Goddess - From Eleutherna on Crete, c. 700 BC.