Panormo.
Panormo.
CRETE
266
416. Eleutherna, Soter (Ελεύθερνα, Σωτήρας)
417.
Panormo.
On the site of the present-day coastal village was the ancient
city of Panormos. In the years of Early Venetian rule the for-
tress Castel Milopotamo was built, the seat of the Castellany
of Mylopotamos. Very few traces of the fortress survive today.
At a short distance SW of Panormos are found the ruins of a
large, three-aisled, timber-roofed Early Christian basilica with
transept, dating from the late 5th c. In the centre of the atrium
is a cistern. In the E section of the S aisle is a font and in
the N a complex of graves. The church features rich sculpted
decoration. At a short distance from Panormos a small, three-
aisled, timber-roofed Early Christian basilica (6th c.) has been
revealed recently.
founder’s inscription the church was dedicated to Archangel
Michael and was built by Bishop Euphratas in the 6th c. The
church was deserted after its destruction by earthquake in the
7th c. After this Eleutherna declined, although it remained a
see throughout the 8th c. and was converted into a small, rural
settlement. A short distance away a bath house and remains
of habitation have been detected, both of the Early Byzantine
period. At the Aghios Markos site a second basilica has been
found, while a third is located outside the boundary of the set-
tlement at the funerary church of the Soter. This single-nave
building, with a heavy cylindrical dome, was built circa the late
12th c. At a later period, the aisleless church of Saint John was
added to the S side. In its dome can be seen the impressive
fresco of the Pantokrator (late 12th c.).
