Greece - Crete, Aptera

Aptera (literally meaning "without wings") is a lesser known archeological site not too far away from Chania. It was the most powerful city of western Crete from Minoan through Hellenistic times. The earliest mention of the Aptera is found as “A-pa-ta-wa” on the Linear B tablets of Knossos, dating back to the 14th-13th centuries BC. The currently findings of the excavations indicate that the place was inhabited from the 8th century BC until the 7th century AD, when abandoned due to a strong earthquake and attacks by the Saracen Arab pirates.

Archaeologists finished in 2009 the first face of the excavation at the carved-in-ground amphitheater of Aptera. Originally it was thought to be a Roman theater but actually it dates back to the Hellenistic times and was rebuilt during the Roman occupation of Crete. More recently the theater was restored.