Matala history - Crete

Matala was a seaport of Phaistos during the Minoan period and Gortys during the Roman period. From the sea there are traces of the ancient settlement. Menelaos' ships were wrecked here and are believed to be Cape Nisos between the Kommos-Matala bays.

Venetian documents refer to the church of Our Lady (La Madonna di Matala), at the entrance of which is inscribed Wash your head and cleanse your feet and then enter this sanctuary.

On the steep shore of the village there are artificial caverns (and underwater caves) carved into the rock. It is said that they were graves. But some have rooms, stairs, windows and patios. It thus appears that they were once used as dwellings. The beds resemble Etruscan tombs.

Cave in Matala
The caves remained empty for thousands of years until the 1960s when wandering hippies discovered and inhabited them for some time. Among those who passed by was Canadian creator Johnny Mitchell who immortalized her experience in the song "Carey." During the junta's demise, Metropolitan Gortyn's tourists were temporarily evicted from the caves. The caves appear to have been permanently closed around 1977