Heraklion - Airport, Sporting teams, Famous Natives

35°20N 25°08E, pop (2000e) 275 000. Administrative centre and capital town of Crete region (since 1971), S Greece; on N coast of Crete I; airfield; ferries to Piraeus; commercial harbour; leather, soap, tourism, agricultural trade; Church of St Titos; Cathedral of St Minas (19th-c); old city within Venetian walls (begun 1538), archaeological museum; Navy Week (Jun–Jul).

Coordinates: 35°20′N 25°8′E

Heraklion (Ηράκλειο)
Coordinates	35°20′ N 25°8′ E
Country	Greece
Periphery	Crete
Prefecture	Heraklion
Population	137,711 source (2001)
Area	108.8 km²
Population density	1,266 /km²
Elevation	33 m
Postal code	70x xx, 71x xx, 720 xx
Area code	2810
Licence plate code	ΗΚ, ΗΡ
Website	www.heraklion-city.gr

Heraklion or Iraklion (Greek: Ηράκλειο Italian: Candia), is the largest city and the capital of Crete.

The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 AD by the Saracens (an Arabic Muslim people).

In 961, the Byzantines attacked and defeated the city, slaughtered the Saracens, looted the city, and burned it to the ground.

In 1204, the city was bought by the Venetians as part of a complicated political deal which involved among other things, the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade restoring the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus to his throne.

The biggest monument of the city is the Venetian medieval fortress Rocca al Mare (also known as Koules) located on the port.

Airport

Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5km east of the city.

Sporting teams

The city hosts three soccer clubs:

OFI Crete in Heraklion, plays in the first division.

Famous Natives

Heraklion has been the home town of some of Greece's most significant spirits, including the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis, the poet and Nobel Prize Winner Odysseas Elytis and the world-famous Greek painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco).

Elli Alexiou, writer 1894-1988 Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, business woman and politician *1955 Michael Damaskenos, painter of icons 1530/35-1592/93 Rika Dialyna, actress and model, Miss Hellas 1952 El Greco, Mannerist painter, sculpturer and architect 1541-1614 Odysseas Elytis, poet, Nobel Prize in Literature 1911-1936 Nikos Kazantzakis, the prominent modern Greek writer 1883-1957 Georgios Klontzas, painter of icons 1540-1607 Vitsentzos Kornaros, most important Cretan Renaissance writer 1553-1613 Nikos Machlas, football player *1973 Giannis Markopoulos, composer *1939 Sapfo Notara, actress 1907-1985 Theodoros Poulakis, painter of icons 1622-1692 Andreas Ritzos, painter of icons 1422-1492 Georgios Samaras football player *1985 Giannis Smaragdis, film director *1970 Emmanuel Tzanes, painter of icons 1610-1690 Konstantinos Volanakis, painter 1837-1907