Skouloufia

Skouloufia Village ; some historical remarks

Skouloufia, Municipality of Arkadi (Municipality of Arkadi official web page):some historical remarks.

The village of Skouloufia itself, has been included in the Cretan Village Lists in 15th and 16th century Venetian Tax Offices records as "Spilufia" ,named after the caves which were founded at the hills, around fountains across the area. OtherResources besides point out that the name was derived from an ancient temple, a meeting point there in antiquity, devoted to Skoulou,a divinity in the Olympian Gods background).

Skouloufia Village has constantly standed for a crucial revolutionary spot so far in Cretan History.

Skouloufia has sustained in the geographical crossroad where hellenic civilization was once used to be flourishing while heavy struggles for liberty were keeping bursting throughout centuries:

Ancient (since Minoan and Homer Times) years : ELEFTHERNA (about 5 km distance ) meets its acme years at the after-minoan era- . Eleftherna and Axos Town-States,mentioned in Iliad and Odyssey mythology Epics founded in the footsteps of Mountain Idi ( where Zeus-father God was born according to Mythology) and growned into Trade and Culture World centers in the Ancient Greece Times.

Ancient Greece and Byzantine era : remnants of antiquity graves and of ancient temples- byzantine churches .

Crete was finally conquered by Rome in 69 BC but as all Mediteranean coastal provinces it suffered from Barbarian raids and pirate intrusions.

Crete was part of the Byzantine empire, but then was captured by Iberian Muslims led by Abu Hafs who established a piratical emirate on the island. In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered the island, which remained under Byzantine control until 1204, when it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade.

Venetian Commonwealth : referred at the Barrozzi's record lists as "Spilufia" and known for backing up at revolutionaries coming from Mylopotamos Region and Mountain Psiloritis against Venetian authorities. During Venice's rule, which lasted more than four centuries, a Renaissance swept through the island as is evident from the plethora of artistic works dating to that period.

This state ended when the Ottomans conquered Crete in 1669, after a 21-year siege of the capital, Candia.

at the Turk Ottoman Empire era (in Crete 1645-1897) , a powerful defending tower shield force was constructed against Turks in terms of defence before Arcadi Monastery Hοlocaust (1866).

World War II : villagers operating against the Nazi parasuiters groups invading the island at Stavromenos hills region. ( 20-22/5 1940 )the island was the scene of the famous Battle of Crete where, in May 1941, German paratroopers sustained almost 7,000 casualties, meeting fierce resistance from both locals and the British Commonwealth force. As a result, Adolf Hitler forbade further large scale airborne operations and put off nazi invasion to Moscow till the following cold russian winter when Nazis had the first fatal defeat. During the German occupation, crucial resistance actions took place on the Cretan Mountains and particularly and particularly the area around Arkadi Monastery .

Famous Skouloufians :

Eleni Volanopoula A very beautiful slave Helen Volonaki, that became Soultans first wife before giving birth to Moustafa Ali Pasa who later became the first General Commander of Crete after the London Protocol treaty (1827) which promoted the Egyptian sub-King (under the authority of Soultan) as the ruler of crete. He was known with the name "giritli", which means “the Cretan”, because of his long time tarring at Crete.

Between 1833 and 1897, several more Christian uprisings took place, and in 1898, Crete, a complex autonomous Cretan State[[1]] under Ottoman suzerainty, was nevertheless garrisoned by an international military force, with a High Commissioner (Armostis), chosen by Greece[citation needed]. Finally, Crete was joined with Greece on 1 December 1913.

Leonidas Bogiatzoglou born in Skouloufia he fighted against the opressive Ottoman Empire Authorities and made Skouloufia a revolution fort place. Participating in co-ordination with other local Resistance Seniors throughout his lifitime into revolutionary actions and mainly at the coup of 1866 that caused the Holocaust of Arkadi Monastery the same year by the Turkish and Egyptian Troops.Later he was condemned to exhile in Athens.But returned some years ago again in Crete to contribute to the civilian safety against outlaws.

Modern Greeks

George Perrakis Former Minister of Environmental Afairs and Civil Works at the Greek Government (1986) and Member of the Parliament (1974-1993), still enjoying his vacations with his family at his birthplace.