Lyctus

Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: Λύκτος or Λύττος), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada.

Lyctus in mythology

According to Hesiod,Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a cave of Mount Aegaeon, near Lyttos. The cave has been identified since the late nineteenth century as Psychro. The inhabitants of this ancient Doric city called themselves colonists of Sparta, and the worship of Apollo appears to have prevailed there.

History

According to Polybius, Lyctus was the oldest city on Crete.

In the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III (1391–1353 BC), there's a list of Aegean place names; Lyctus is mentioned under the name Rikata.

According to some scholars, the name was mentioned in Linear B texts as ru-ki-to.

In 344 BCE, Phalaecus the Phocian assisted the Cnossians against their neighbors the Lyctians, and took the city of Lyctus, from which he was driven out by Archidamus, king of Sparta. The Lyctians, at a still later period, were engaged in frequent hostilities with Cnossus, and succeeded in creating a formidable party in the island against that city. The Cnossians, taking advantage of their absence on a distant expedition, surprised Lyctus, and utterly destroyed it. The citizens, on their return, abandoned it, and found refuge at Lampa. Polybius, on this occasion, bears testimony to the high character of the Lyctians, as compared with their countrymen. They afterwards recovered their city by the aid of the Gortynians, who gave them a place called Diatonium, which they had taken from the Cnossians.