Dia is a small uninhabited island in the North Cretan Sea and is 7 nautical miles away from Heraklion. It is 5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. It has joined the European ecological network NATURA 2000 and is designated as a protected area due to its special biodiversity. There are a number of protected creatures on Dia Island, the Albinariaretusa snail, the Pdacriserchardiischiebeli lizard, the Oryctolagus wild rabbit, the kri-kri ibex and a special eagle called the Black Petrel. It is, also, an important habitat for small endemic plants only found in the southern Aegean Sea.
According to the legend, when Zeus, the King of the Gods of Olympus, saw the Cretans hunting his beloved wild goats, the kri-kri, the children of Amalthea, with bows and spears got angry, shot a thunderbolt and a monster emerged near Crete to destroy it. Amalthea was the goat that fed him with her milk when he was hiding from his father Kronus in the Diktaeon Andron cave. Poseidon, his brother and the God of the Sea, persuaded him not to do so by telling him that the Cretan Kouretes (guardians) had rescued him, when he was a baby by banging on their shields so that Kronus would not hear his cry. Zeus threw two rusks at the monster, stoned it and thus Dia and the two small nearby islands, Paximadi and Petalidi, were born. Dia is the Greek name for Zeus.
In 1976, the famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau with Calypso, the historic ship that has become a symbol of sea exploration and environmental protection, arrived in Crete to carry out underwater research on locations indicated by the officials of the Ministry of Environment around Crete, especially on Dia. Ancient objects were identified and collected in the southern bays of the island. Loads of four wrecks were raised to the surface. One shipwreck was Roman (1st-2nd century AD), the second was Byzantine (8th-9th century AD), the third Venetian (16th-17th century AD) and the fourth Turkish (17th-18th century AD). After the completion of the maintenance work of the Koules, the Venetian Fort at the entrance of the small port in Heraklion, the amphorae and the loads of antiquities were moved and displayed there. The excavations, carried out in the bay of Agios Georgios, have proven the use of the island as a naval shelter since the ancient times. A sunken jetty, probably built in the Byzantine times, had protected the bay from the southern winds.
In the summer, several sailing boats run day trips from the port of Heraklion (see www.avantisailing.com). Visitors enjoy the crystal-clear waters and secluded beaches while snorkeling and fishing. At a distance of 5 minutes from the bay of Agios Georgios, where the boats usually moor, there is the beautiful Church of the Ascension of Jesus. The view to Heraklion from the church is fantastic. A beautiful path leads to the buildings of the Forestry, towards the center of the island. In the bay of Panagia, the seabed is amazing and swimmers can see some of the many amphorae that come from the wrecks that Cousteau discovered. The return to Heraklion, at sunset, is a unique experience.
(More articles about Crete on www.gomega.gr )
