Sunken city of Olus

This city, in spite of the fact that it is, in fact, invisible, is one of the most important places in Crete. Olus especially flourished, according to various sources, during the Minoan period (3000-900 BC). The ruins of the ancient city can still be seen at the bottom of the Poros Canal. Numerous artifacts were found here, including the 3 rd c. BC. From which one can draw a conclusion about the close ties between Olus, Lato and Knossos.
In 1937 the French archaeologist Van Effenterre found a fragment of a plaque above the arch of the early Christian basilica of Olus, the inscription on which told about the break of the alliance between Olus and Rhodes. And in 1960 Professor A. Orlandos discovered the missing fragment of the tablet, which today can be seen in the Museum of Agios Nikolaos. The inscription was made in a Dorian dialect. If you believe the inscriptions, the reason for the gap were humiliating conditions for residents of Olus, according to which they had to pay Rhodes too much tribute. By a similar alliance, Rhodes was associated with Ierapetra, seeking control over the entire eastern part of Crete.

After the Crete was captured by the Dorians, Olus inhabited about 30 thousand people. They extracted fresh water from sources that exist here to this day. Residents of Olus revered Zeus, Mars (Ares) and Artemis Vritomartis. Ancient writer Pausanias reports that in his time, in the 2nd century BC, BC. E., Olus was one of those cities where there was a revered statue of Vritomartis, erected by the mythical Daedalus, the father of Cretan art. In Olus were self-government and own currency, and the city was a major export center to the eastern and ionic ports.

It is not known when and by whom exactly the city was destroyed; But, most likely, it happened in the most miserable time for the whole of Crete. Different researchers agree that Olus existed even during the Greeks, Romans and the first Byzantine period (824 BC). The second Byzantine period was devastating for almost all Greek cities; In the period from 821 to 901 years. The internal problems of Byzantine governance and the confrontation of the rebels, led by St. Thomas, Emperor Michael gave the Saracens an opportunity to invade Sicily and Crete. Olus did not escape their raids, as he was close to the sea and, thus, represented an attractive target for Arab destroyers.

During the Venetian occupation (1210-1240), a canal appeared and work began on salt extraction. At the same time, the first fortress of Spinalonga was built. By that time, there was no trace of the ancient city of Olus.

Many will agree that much more could be done to increase the tourist attraction of this place, which has such a huge historical and cultural significance. To see Olus, you need to find it for the beginning, and it's not so easy. You will not find anywhere any signs, pointers or even tourist booklets that would advertise this place. And in any case, going to Olyus makes sense only in an ideal calm: only then you will be able to see something through the water column. And it is very, very unlikely that this will be the Minoan mosaic, the rave mentions of which are found in Internet sources. In the best and most likely case - just the remains of the walls. Of course, you can try to dive with a mask, but in this case, it would be good to know exactly where to do it, and even local residents do not know this.

Because of all this confusion and lack of order, very many travelers leave from Olus (that is, they think so from him) disappointed - just because they were not looking there.