Archaeological sites and museums[edit]

Main article: List of museums in Greece §  Crete

The area has a large number of archaeological sites, including the Minoan sites
of Knossos, Malia (not to be confused with the town of the same name), Petras and Phaistos, the
classical site of Gortys, and the diverse archaeology of the island of Koufonisi, which includes
Minoan, Roman, and World War II era ruins (nb. due to conservation concerns, access to the latter
has been restricted for the last few years, so it is best to check before heading to a port).
There are a number of museums throughout Crete. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum displays
most of the archaeological finds from the Minoan era and was reopened in 2014. [69]

Harmful effects[edit]
Helen Briassoulis, in a qualitative analysis, proposed in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism that
Crete is affected by tourism applying pressure to it to develop at an unhealthy rate, and that informal,
internal systems within the country are forced to adapt. According to her, these forces have
strengthened in 3 stages: from the period from 1960 to 1970, 1970–1990, and 1990 to the present.
During this first period, tourism was a largely positive force, pushing modern developments like
running water and electricity onto the largely rural countryside. However, beginning in the second
period and especially in the third period leading up to the present day, tourist companies became
more pushy with deforestation and pollution of Crete's natural resources. The country is then pulled
into an interesting parity, where these companies only upkeep those natural resources that are
directly essential to their industry.[70]

View of Gortyn
 

Archaeological site of Phaistos

 
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Ruins of the Palace of Knossos

 

Archeological Museum of Chania

 

Archaeological Museum of Chania

 

Crete Naval museum

 
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Pluto and Persephone in Heraklion Museum
 

Jars in Malia, Crete

Fauna and flora[edit]

Main article: Crete Mediterranean forests

Fauna[edit]
Crete is isolated from mainland Europe, Asia, and Africa, and this is reflected in the diversity of the
fauna and flora. As a result, the fauna and flora of Crete have many clues to the evolution of
species. There are no animals that are dangerous to humans on the island of Crete in contrast to
other parts of Greece. Indeed, the ancient Greeks attributed the lack of large mammals such as
bears, wolves, jackals, and venomous snakes, to the labour of Hercules (who took a live Cretan bull
to the Peloponnese). Hercules wanted to honor the birthplace of Zeus by removing all "harmful" and
"venomous" animals from Crete. Later, Cretans believed that the island was cleared of dangerous
creatures by the Apostle Paul, who lived on the island of Crete for two years, with his exorcisms and
blessings. There is a natural history museum, the Natural History Museum of Crete, operating under
the direction of the University of Crete and two aquariums
– Aquaworld in Hersonissos and Cretaquarium in Gournes, displaying sea creatures common in
Cretan waters.
Prehistoric fauna[edit]
Dwarf elephants, dwarf hippopotamus, dwarf mammoths, dwarf deer, and giant flightless owls were
native to Pleistocene Crete.[71][72]
Mammals[edit]
Main article: Mammals of Greece
Mammals of Crete include the vulnerable kri-kri, Capra aegagrus cretica that can be seen in the
national park of the Samaria Gorge and on Thodorou,[73] Dia and Agioi Pantes (islets off the north
coast), the Cretan wildcat and the Cretan spiny mouse.[74][75][76][77] Other terrestrial mammals include
subspecies of the Cretan marten, the Cretan weasel, the Cretan badger, the long-eared hedgehog,
and the edible dormouse.[78]
The Cretan shrew, a type of white-toothed shrew is considered endemic to the island of Crete
because this species of shrew is unknown elsewhere. It is a relic species of the crocidura shrews of
which fossils have been found that can be dated to the Pleistocene era. In the present day it can
only be found in the highlands of Crete.[79] It is considered to be the only surviving remnant of the
endemic species of the Pleistocene Mediterranean islands. [80]
Bat species include: Blasius's horseshoe bat, the lesser horseshoe bat, the greater horseshoe bat,
the lesser mouse-eared bat, Geoffroy's bat, the whiskered bat, Kuhl's pipistrelle, the common
pipistrelle, Savi's pipistrelle, the serotine bat, the long-eared bat, Schreibers' bat and the European
free-tailed bat.[81]