Some of the archaeological finds revealed during excavations at the Doric temple of the goddess Demeter in ancient Falasarna were presented at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymbari on the evening of Thursday 30th October.

Quite a large audience had gathered to hear the director of the excavations Dr Elpida Hatzidaki speaking about what she described as “a monumental temple, constructed on the holy rock with a past deep in prehistory going back 9,000 years. It is a timeless place of worship where people met the divine, a god! Thus there is a god on that rock which we should honour and reveal!”

Giving more details of the excavation, she said that following the removal of fallen rocks and backfilling, “hundreds of devotional offerings began to show up among the debris. Weapons, jewellery, seals, goddesses with daedalic coiffures. Also bone needles and stone tools from neolithic times, some of which could be dated as far back as 9,000 years.”

Subsequently it was found that of the two temple buildings the eastern one was the sanctuary, with eight stone receptacles for the placing of offerings, and the western one served either for the worship of Persephone, or as the remainder of the temple, a subject which is still being investigated.

Amongst the pilasters were found two ruined Doric columns from which the capital and the termination were saved, while inside the eastern door of the sanctuary were found ashes and a pile of oil lamps, a fact which indicates that the ceremonies took place at night. Inside the cave, the archaeologists discovered finds relating to an older cult of a female deity – a strong goddess who was connected with the Mother Earth and Water.

Dr Hatzidaki said that the excavation had not been at all easy and paid special tribute to the her team for their scientific quality and the excellent cooperation which they had throughout the duration of the work and afterwards.

Neolithic finds
Neolithic discoveries from the holy rock of ancient Falasarna were presented by the archaeologist Panagiotis Zervoudakis, who explained that they had been found at a deep level below the finds from the Iron Age and with a gap between them. “We did not know that there were neolithic settlements at the Western end of Crete: they can be seen in Eastern and Central Crete but we did not expect to find them at Falasarna and at this particular spot. [There were] stone tools, polished stone implements such as hand axes, grinding stones and some tools of obsidian and quartz which may have been earlier,” Mr Zervoudakis said. He related the finds to similar ones which have been made on Antikythera as a point of connection with the Southern Peloponnese, although the obsidian comes from Mylos. “The excavation will continue, as there are many finds not only from prehistory but also from later antiquity,” he concluded.

Dr Michalis Milidakis related details of the cult at the temple of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, presenting a rich body of photographic materials and detailed information.

Among those in the audience were the director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania Eleni Papadopoulou, the former secretary general of the Ministry of Culture Maria Vlazaki, former Deputy Minister for Higher Education Vasilis Digalakis and former director of the Academy Alexandros Papaderos, while messages of greeting were sent by the Deputy Immigration Minister Sevi Voloudaki and the current director of the Academy Dr Kostas Zorbas.
(Haniotika Nea, 31/10/25)

Dr Elpida Hatzidaki
Dr Elpida Hatzidaki is a Greek marine archaeologist specialising in ancient shipwrecks and harbour towns, and former Head of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture. She grew up in Chania and was interested in maritime history from an early age. Dr Hadjidaki learned to dive shortly after finishing high school and was friends with Honor Frost, the British Cypriot pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology and one of the first female scuba divers, who died in 2010. She earned her Master’s degree in History at Manchester University with a thesis on ancient harbours.

Dr Hatzidaki first began exploring the archaeological site of ancient Falasarna in 1986, and her most notable underwater finds were the site of the Peristera shipwreck off the island of Alonissos and the Minoan shipwreck off Pseira island in Lasithi. Investigating the latter site between 2004 and 2009, she and her team brought up some 209 ceramic vessels, about 80 of which were nearly whole and clearly identifiable as types of amphoras and large jars that would have transported liquids.
(Wikipedia, Archaeology.org)