Hermes and Aphrodite Sanctuary
a Pleiades
place
resource
Creators: J. Bennet, G. Reger
Creators: J. Bennet, G. Reger
Contributors:
R. Talbert, Gabriel Mckee, Brady Kiesling, Sean Gillies, Jeffrey Becker, Antonis Kotsonas, Tom Elliott
Copyright © The Contributors. Sharing and remixing permitted under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (cc-by).
Last modified
Nov 12, 2025 08:04 AM
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History
This large, open-air sanctuary near Syme Viannou in southern Crete was in use from 2000 BCE until at least the sixth century CE. It attracted pilgrims who are assumed to have camped at the site, which is far from any contemporary settlement. Monumental construction began in the early second millennium BCE and multiple phases and changes are evident, including the construction of Christian chapels in late antiquity. Although the identities of the deities worshiped here at the earliest periods are uncertain (as are the saints venerated in the Christian period), the association with Hermes and Aphrodite seems to have begun as early as the 10th century BCE.
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https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/589805
35.0559173507, 25.5000133187
- Representative Locations:
- OSM location of Ιερό Ερμή και Αφροδίτης Κάτω Σύμη (2000 BC - AD 799) accuracy: +/- 20 meters.
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- Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Syme Viannou (English, modern)
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- Κάτω Σύμη (Kato Simi: Modern Greek, AD 1900 - AD 2099)
- Krya Vrysi (Modern Greek, AD 1900 - AD 1999)
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- Hermes, Aphrodite (Hermes Aphrodite: English, AD 1900 - AD 1999)
- None
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None
spring, sanctuary (religious center), archaeological site
- See Further:
- Related:
Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 60 E2 Hermes, Aphrodite, T.
The Barrington Atlas Directory notes: spring and shrine, Kato Symi: Krya Vrysi
J. Bennet, G. Reger, R. Talbert, Gabriel Mckee, Brady Kiesling, Sean Gillies, Jeffrey Becker, Antonis Kotsonas, and Tom Elliott, 'Hermes and Aphrodite Sanctuary: a Pleiades place resource', Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places, 2025 <https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/589805> [accessed: 09 February 2026]
{{cite web |url=https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/589805 |title=Places: 589805 (Hermes and Aphrodite Sanctuary) |author=Bennet, J., G. Reger |accessdate=February 9, 2026 1:12 am |publisher=Pleiades}}