Anemospilia packs major importance into its small frame. Excavation of this middle-Minoan three-room temple yielded evidence that human sacrifice played at least some role in Minoan society. The site is closed to the public, but you can peek through the fence and enjoy the sweeping views over Arhanes and surrounds. Anemospilia is about 1.5km northwest of Arhanes.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.1 MILES
Crete’s most famous historical attraction is the Palace of Knossos, the grand capital of Minoan Crete, located 5km south of the city of Iraklio. The…
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
5.77 MILES
This state-of-the-art museum is one of the largest and most important in Greece. The two-storey revamped 1930s Bauhaus building makes a gleaming showcase…
17.39 MILES
Gortyna (also Gortyn or Gortys) has been inhabited since Neolithic times but reached its pinnacle after becoming the capital of Roman Crete from around 67…
23.43 MILES
Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…
29.35 MILES
The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…
18.13 MILES
Although just a huge and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as the place where Zeus was reared by his mother,…
27.19 MILES
A must-see for anyone visiting the ruins of Eleutherna is the accompanying modern museum that contextualises the ancient city through the exhibition of…
24.76 MILES
About 2km outside the village of Melidoni is this stunning cathedral-like cave, an evocative underworld of stalactites and stalagmites. A place of worship…
Nearby Iraklio Province attractions
0.44 MILES
Driving south from Arhanes, look for the turn-off for Giourtas. The narrow (but drivable) road leads to the top of Mt Yiouhtas. After a bone-rattling 5km,…
1.04 MILES
On a hill west of town and reached via a steep footpath, Fourni is the most extensive Minoan necropolis in Crete. Burials took place here over a period of…
3. Archaeological Museum of Arhanes
1.63 MILES
This small museum displays many important finds from regional excavations, especially from Minoan times. Among the highlights are clay larnakes (coffins)…
3.09 MILES
The West Court may have been a marketplace or the site of public gatherings.
3.1 MILES
Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans believed that this pretty space in the residential eastern wing, with its painted pillars and playful dolphin fresco on the…
3.1 MILES
Storerooms, and site of the giant pithoi (clay jars) that once held oil, wine and other staples.
3.1 MILES
Next to the queen's bedroom, but barely visible through glass, the ruler's wife's 'bathroom' may have had a clay bathtub and a primitive type of water…