HISTORY At least two areas of the prefecture of Rethymnon are directly connected with mythology: The Idaion Andron Cave in the mountain range of Psiloritis and the Talarian Mountains (today's Kouloukounas) in the Milopotamos area. According to mythology, Rhea refuge from her furious husband, who gulped down his children, in the cave of Idaion Andron and here gave birth to Zeus. To hide the baby’s cries, the legendary demons of Crete were dancing wildly, hitting their shields and the nymphe Adrastea became its nurse. The golden bees fed him with their honey and the goat Amaltheia offered her milk. The Talean Mountains are connected with the legendary giant Talos. Talos protected Crete against its enemies and hindered them from getting close. It took the beauty of Medea arriving on the Argous to make him weak and by removing the nail from his foot spilled his blood and made him fall on the Cretan soil.

THE HISTORY OF Rethymnon - (3500 B.C. – 1200 A.D.) Archaeological findings show that man first arrived in today's area of Rethymnon in the later Neolithic years (3500-2800 BC). Until now, 13 instances of human presence in this period have been found, 5 of which are in caves. Τ'he most well-known is the Gerani cave which brought important archaeological and palaeontological findings to light. During the Minoan period (2800-1100 BC) human activity spread throughout the whole prefecture. Settlements and large building complexes (Elenes, Monastiraki, Apodoulou) appear. During the Geometric Period (710-270 BC) there is evidence of civilization in the area of Eleftherna and its eastern areas, including at least 15 cities founded between 710 and 470 BC, the majority of which were small towns. Of these, Axos enjoyed particular prosperity. During the Classical years (470-323 BC), Sivritos boomed as did Rithymna, the predecessor of today's Rethymnon. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Lappa appears as the most important city. The 5th, 6th and first half of the 7th centuries AD passed peaceful under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire. From the second half of the 7th century οn continuous Arab invasions disrupted Crete until it was finally conquered in 821 or 828. Τhe successive attempts of the Byzantines resulted in its re-conquest only 150 years later (961 AD). So, Crete and Rethymnon passed another 150 years under Byzantine rule.   THE HISTORY OF Rethymnon - (1200 A.D. – TODAY) Ιn 1204 Crete canιe under Venetian rule, a period of domination which lasted until 1669, the last centuries of which are characterised by the phenomenon of Cretan Renaissance. Rethymnon was the third largest town of the "Kingdom of Crete" and α considerable number of important monuments of the time have been preserved. Τhe Turkish occupation brought a dark period for Rethymnon and the whole of Crete. Economy became thoroughly agricultural, education ceased for centuries and oppression became unbearable. The revolution of Sfakia in 1770 prepared for the uprising of 1821, which in turn sparked off the events of 1866. It was in this revolution that the Arkadi Monastery near became known all over the world after the martyrdom of its defenders. In 1913 Crete was eventually unified with the rest of Greece and since then followed the nation’s history. In May 1941 Rethymnon was one of the German parachutists' three fronts. The memorable resistance of the local people led to the execution of hundreds of inhabitants and the levelling of whole villages. Both sides suffered considerable losses.