Polyrrhenia is some 7km inland from Kissamos

Kissamos

Kissamos is a town and municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania peripheral unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The city of Kissamos is also known as Kastelli-Kissamou and often known simply as Kastelli...

 in the prefecture of Chania

Chania Prefecture

Chania is one of the four regional units of Crete; it covers the westernmost quarter of the island. Its capital is the city of Chania. Chania borders only one other regional unit: that of Rethymno to the east. The western part of Crete is bounded to the north by the Cretan Sea, and to the west...

 of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. It was an important Archaic Period settlement co-temporaneous with Lato

Lato

Lato was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the small town of Kritsa. The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay between two peaks, both of which became acropolises to the city...

 and Prinias

Prinias

Prinias , Crete, 35 kilometres southwest of Iraklion, about halfway between Gortyn and Knossos, is an archaeological site that has revealed a seventh-century BCE temple with striking similarities to Egyptian architecture, and an Egyptianizing seated goddess...

.

Polyrrhenia was a Hellenistic port city which continued to flourish in the Roman period, when the center shifted to its erstwhile port, Kisamos, and in this urbanistic configuration lasted into Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 times. According to Strabo

Strabo

Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

 it was an Achaean

Achaeans (tribe)

The Achaeans were one of the four major tribes into which the people of Classical Greece divided themselves. According to the foundation myth formalized by Hesiod, their name comes from Achaeus, the mythical founder of the Achaean tribe, who was supposedly one of the sons of Xuthus, and brother of...

 foundation. A small town now occupies the site, where rock-cut tombs, vestiges of ruined and an acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...

 remain. A Roman aqueduct built in the age of Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

 improved water supplies. Systematic archaeological excavations have been conducted at the site since 1986.

External links

• Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Polyrrhenia