At a distance of 9km from Kapsaliana, nestled in the slope of Mount Ida, the ancient city of Eleftherna, has existed, and flourished, for a very long time. The birthplace of poet Linos, philosopher Diogenes, and sculptor Timochares, Eleftherna was built in the 9th century B.C. while it prospered until 796 A.C. Most traces of the ancient city-state had been erased until the Ministry of Culture granted the University ofCrete permission to excavate the site in 1985.
Eleftherna nowadays
Nowadays Eleftherna is the most important archaeological site of Western Crete, while its recently launched archeological museum is considered tantamount to those of Olympia, Delphi, and Vergina.
