Vikelaia Library digitizes Spanakis’s register of Crete’s cities and villages
The Vikelaia Municipal Library of Heraklion has published online a digitized version of Cretologist Stergios Spanakis’s two-volume work, “Cities and villages of Crete through the centuries (register of settlements),” making his research on the island’s history freely accessible on the internet.
Spanakis served as curator of the Vikelaia Library, where he also donated his personal archive and library. According to Vikelaia, he left a major intellectual legacy through his extensive body of research and this donation.
What the register contains
The two-volume work is described as the primary source for the history of every city and settlement on the island. According to Vikelaia, readers can find the name, etymology, history and traditions of each village in Crete.
Vikelaia states that Spanakis was one of the most learned and prolific researchers of Cretan history and culture, in the field now known as “Cretology.”
Accessing the volumes
Both volumes of “Cities and villages of Crete” are available to view and download as PDF files through the Vikelaia Library. Readers interested in how many Cretan villages changed names during the 20th century, or in the historical roots behind village name suffixes, may find additional context in related research on the island’s settlements.
