Amari

The village Amari in the prefecture of Rethymno is located approximately 40 km from the city of Rethymno.

The Amari is built at an altitude of 460 meters in a verdant valley that is a home to most species of endemic to Crete wildflowers.

The earliest reference to the name of the village Amari or New Amari is mentioned in an inscription of the church of Agia Anna, located near the village, and corresponds to the year 1225 AD. On the other hand, there are many kinds of versions of how its current name was acquired. Some speak of a Venetian feudal lord of the area, who named the village after himself, others mention the Latin word for love and the Homeric word amari, which means “ditch”, and, finally, some believe that this name comes from Kritagenis Amaris Zeus, who grew up on Psiloritis and used to go swimming in the river of the village, the waters of which renewed and reborn him.

The wider area of Amari is inextricably linked to ancient mythology. In the Amari region, bordered by the villages of Vistagi, Platania and Kouroutes, the God Pan was worshiped, so the area formerly was called Panakron. Moreover, the history of the village stretches centuries back and the first traces of habitation are dating to the Neolithic Age.

Also, the village of Amari played its own special role in all liberation struggles in Greece, participating in numerous uprisings and the area was the center of the resistance forces and refuge to the rebels.

The visitors to Amari will be impressed by many Byzantine churches, which are erected on the outskirts of the village and in the nearby settlements. A trip to Amari can be combined with a few more stops in the villages of Thronos, Ano Meros, Gerakari or the archaeological site of Monastiraki. Finally, the Patsou gorge is located nearby as well as the famous monastery of Arkadi.