Island (pop., 2001: 601,159) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and an administrative region of Greece. It stretches for 152 mi (245 km) and varies in width from 7.5 to 35 mi (12 to 56 km), with a total area of 3,218 sq mi (8,336 sq km). Dominated by mountains, it was home to the Minoan civilization from &circa; 3000 &BC; and was known for its palaces at Knossos, Phaestus, and Mallia; it reached its peak in the 16th century &BC;. A major earthquake &circa; 1450 &BC; marked the end of the Minoan era.
In 67 &BC; Rome annexed Crete; in &AD; 395 it passed to Byzantium. In 1204 Crusaders sold the island to Venice, from which it was wrested by the Ottoman Turks in 1669 after one of history's longest sieges. Taken by Greece in 1898, it was autonomous until its union with Greece in 1913. Agriculture is the economic mainstay, and the island is one of Greece's leading producers of olives, olive oil, and grapes; tourism is also important. The museum at Iráklion houses a fine collection of Minoan art.
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