Lyttos Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A cache over the ancient town of Lyttos. 
According to the historian Polybius, Lyttos (or Lyktos) is the oldest city of Crete. It is found at 1 km northeast of the current village of Lyttos in Kastelli Municipality.
Hesiod refers to it in Theogony as a rich country of Crete, as well as Homer, who refers to it as a well built town. It is reported by Skylakas, Stravonas and Ieroklis in Political Geography. According to the poem Theogony, by Hesiod, Rea was sent by her parents to Lyktos in order to give birth to Zeus. .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogony
It is also reported that Lyttos, often called Lyktos, took part in the Trojan War. It is also known that their leader Koiranos sacrificed himself to save Idomeneas from the arrow of Hector.
Lyttos became one of the biggest and most powerful cities of Crete. It dominated the whole Eastern Crete and especially the provinces of Pediada, Merabellos, Monofatsi and Viannos. Dominating from north to west, it disputed for a long time the primacy of Knossos and for that reason was often at war with it.
In the Archeological Museum of Heraklion the marble statues of Marcus Aurilius and Trajan, which were found in Lyttos, are displayed. The town of Lyttos is built on highlands with various peaks and very little level ground.
Lyttos has cut different types of coins. The emblem of its coins was the eagle with its wings wide open, as well as the head of a wild boar with the word Lyttion engraved in it.
The northern church (of the Holy Cross), was the Agora (market), the heart of the ancient city. Its ruins were found buried just a few meters beneath the soil, waiting patiently for the archaeologist’s pick-axe, which has made only a few investigatory cuts in this most important city.
At the summit of the hill to the south, where the church of St. George stands, is the council chamber of the city. The city itself was built like an amphitheatre on the hillside, and occupied a very large area. Its theatre was the biggest in Crete. It could still be seen in 1583, when the Venetian archaeophile, Onorio Belli (the personal doctor to the Venetian Duke of Crete) saw it and marked it with remarkable accuracy, but in the course of time it has been filled with earth and covered up and its exact position is unknown today.
The cache
The cache is located near the church of Saint George. You can reach to the church by the dirt road but is better to park in the main road.
You can always read our blog for more information about geocaching in Crete.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre n uhtr ebpx.