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Dia (island)

Greek island

Summary

Greek island

Field	Value
name	Dia
native_name	Δία
native_name_lang	el
image_name	Dia_Island.jpg
image_caption	The island of Dia
coordinates
map	Crete#Greece
archipelago	Cretan Islands
area_km2	11.909
elevation_m	220
country	Greece
country_admin_divisions_title	Region
country_admin_divisions	Crete
country_admin_divisions_title_1	Regional unit
country_admin_divisions_1	Heraklion
country_admin_divisions_title_2	Municipality
population	2
population_as_of	2001
density_km2	0

Dia ( ), also pronounced locally Ntia (Ντία ), is an uninhabited island off the northern coast of the Greek island of Crete. The island is 5 km long, 3 km wide and is located approximately 13 km north of Heraklion. Administratively, Dia is part of the community of Elia within the municipal unit of Gouves, Hersonissos municipality in Heraklion.

In the south coast of Dia there are four coves, from west to east Agios Georgios, Kapari, Panagia (Madonna) and Agrielia. One more cove, Aginara, is to the east.

History

The island was formerly known as Standia, by juncture loss in the phrase στήν Δία (Greek for 'on Dia').

It was the principal port of Crete for centuries. Its four south coves have been used as anchorages since the Minoan period.

Mythology

The islet looks like a giant lizard when viewed from the city of Heraklion. Greek mythology tells of a giant lizard that tried to destroy the island of Crete, however, Zeus turned it into stone with a thunderbolt, thus creating the island.

The island is visible from Crete's capital city of Heraklion, as it would have been in the time of the Minoans, from Knossos. Because of this, it was sometimes identified as the island that Theseus escaped to after killing the minotaur.

Environment

On Dia there are a number of protected wildlife species including the snail Albinaria retusa, the lizard Podarcis erchardii schiebeli, a wild subspecies of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus cnossius), and Eleonora's falcon, known as el in Greek. The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of 300–380 pairs of the Eleonora's falcons. Dia is part of the European Network of Nature (Natura 2000) and is a protected hunting ground. There are also a number of protected plants such as Carlina diae.

Ancient port

Venetian times]], [[Francesco Basilicata

In 1976, Jacques Cousteau carried out underwater exploration around Dia and found the remains of an ancient port in the waters between Heraklion and Dia.

Visiting

Day trips, but no camping, is allowed to Dia. Swimming, snorkeling and walking along the beach are popular activities. No cars are allowed.

References

T.A.B. Spratt, ''Travels and Researches in Crete'', '''1''':[https://books.google.com/books?id=SS1OAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA35 35] (1865)
[http://www.ornithologiki.gr/gr/oiwnos/cur/show_article.php?artID=162&locale=gr O μαυροπετρίτης στη Δία της Κρήτης] Greek Ornithological Organisation (Greek)
. (2022). ["Dia Island, Crete"](http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dia-island-crete-iba-greece). *BirdLife International*.
Δίκτυο Natura 2000 [http://www.ekby.gr/ekby/el/PP_main_el.html Protected areas]
"NISOS DIA".
Greekislands.com [http://www.greekhotel.com/crete/heraklion/heraklion-sightseeing/shipwreck-la-therese-gr.htm French Rear Admiral's ship "La Therese" (1669)] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-03-26)
[https://www.rental-center-crete.com/blog/dia-island-crete/ Dia Island: History, Myth, Attractions, Beaches and Car Rental]

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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