List of people from Crete

The following is a list of people from the island of Crete in southern Greece.

Ancient

Mythology

See also Category:Cretan mythology and History of Crete

• Acacallis daughter of Minos.
• Aerope granddaughter of Minos.
• Androgeus son of Minos.
• Ariadne daughter of Minos.
• Asterion first king of Crete.
• Bianna immigrant to ancient Gaul.
• Catreus son of Minos.
• Deucalion son of Minos, father of Idomeneus.
• Dictys Cretensis legendary companion of Idomeneus, and the alleged author of a diary.
• Glaucus (son of Minos)
• Idomeneus son of Deucalion. He led the Cretan armies to the Trojan War in the side of Achaeans.
• Minos son of Asterion, king of Crete and judge in the Greek underworld.
• Rhadamanthus son of Asterion, king of Crete and judge in the Greek underworld.
• Zeus father of the gods of Olympus, god of the sky, thunder and lightning.

Dorian

Archaic era

• Thaletas early musician and lyric poet
• Epimenides (6th century BC) seer and philosopher-poet
• Chersiphron and Metagenes, father and son, architects, builders of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• Aristocles, sculptor
• Dipoenus and Scyllis sculptors
• Hybrias lyric poet

Classical era (ca.500-335 BC)

• Ergoteles (5th century BC) Olympic runner of Knossos, migrant to Himera, Sicily.
• Kresilas (5th century BC) sculptor, famous for his "Pericles statue".
• Brotachus of Gortyna, mercenary mentioned in an epigram of Simonides.
• Sotades (early 4th century BC) Olympic runner. In his second Olympic victory, he ran for Ephesus.

In the army of Alexander the Great

• Eurybotas and Ombrion, generals of archers
• Nearchus admiral, geographer and explorer.
• Sibyrtius general and satrap of Arachosia and Gedrosia.

Hellenistic period (323 BC- 69 BC)

• Rhianus (3rd century BC), poet and scholar.
• Lagoras (3rd century BC) mercenary in the service of Ptolemy IV Philopator.

Roman period (69 BC-330)

• Aenesidemus 1st century BC, Skeptical philosopher.
• Lasthenes and Panares, generals who fought Metellus.
• Saint Titus (1st century) follower of Paul and first bishop of Crete.
• Lucillus of Tarrha writer.
• Mesomedes (2nd century) composer and lyric poet.
• Saint Philip (2nd century) bishop of Gortyna.
• Saint Pinytus (2nd century) bishop of Knossos.

Byzantine period (330-824, 961-1204)

• Moses of Crete (5th century) Jewish Messiah claimant
• Saint Andrew (7th-century) bishop of Gortyna, theologian and hymnographer
• Saint Eumenes (7th century) bishop of Gortyna
• Saint Andrew (8th-century) martyr under Iconoclasm

Venetian period (1204-1669)

• Pedro de Candia (1485–1542) mercenary and naturalized Spanish conquistador.
• Constantine Corniaktos (1517–1603) wine merchant and wealthiest man in the Eastern European city of Lviv.

Clerics

• Pope Alexander V (ca. 1339–1410) antipope during the Western Schism.
• Maximos Margunios (1549–1602) bishop of Cythera, scholar and philo-Latin theologian.
• Patriarch Cyril of Constantinople and Alexandria (1572–1638).

Artists

• Francisco Leontaritis (1518–1572) Renaissance composer, singer and hymnographer.
• Michael Damaskinos (1530/35-1592/9) icon painter
• Georgios Klontzas (1535-1608) icon painter
• Theophanes the Cretan (?-1559) icon painter
• El Greco (1541–1614) painter, icon painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance.
• Theodore Poulakis (1622–1692) icon painter
• Emmanuel Tzanes (1637–1694) icon painter

Writers

• Stephanos Sahlikis (1330 - after 1391) Greek satyrical poet in Cretan verse.
• Francesco Barozzi (1537–1604) Italian mathematician, astronomer, translator and writer in Latin.
• Georgios Chortatzis (1545–1610) Greek dramatist in Cretan verse.
• Vitsentzos Kornaros (1553–1613/14) Greek romantic poet in Cretan verse.

Scholars

• John Rhosos (15th century) scribe, calligraphist and translator.
• Marcus Musurus (1470–1517) professor of Greek at the University of Padua, scholiast and epigrammatist.
• Nicholas Kalliakis (1645–1707) classical professor in universities of Italy.

Ottoman period (1669-1898)

Christian

• Erasmus of Arcadia (18th century) Greek Orthodox bishop.
• Daskalogiannis (?–1771) rebel against Ottoman rule.
• Dimitrios Kallergis (1803–1867) statesman.
• Eleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936) politician, Prime Minister of Greece.
• Evangelos Sarris (1881–1917) army officer.
• Emmanouil Tsouderos (1882–1956) economist and politician.
• Nikos Kazantzakis (1885–1957) poet and author.

Muslim

See also Cretan Turks

• Ahmed Resmî Efendi (18th century) statesman, diplomat and author.
• Giritli Ali Aziz Efendi (18th century) Ottoman author, diplomat.
• Salacıoğlu (1750–1825) (18th century) Turkish folk literature poet.
• Giritli Sırrı Pasha (1844–1895) Ottoman author, statesman.
• Leyla Saz woman poet and composer.
• Rahmizâde Bahaeddin Bediz (1875–1951) the first Turkish professional photographer.
• Paul Mulla (1882–1959) (alias Mollazade Mehmed Ali) Roman Catholic bishop and author.
• Ali Fuat Cebesoy (1882–1968) Turkish statesman.
• Mustafa Ertuğrul (1892–1961) Turkish naval officer.

Modern

Name	Born	Died	Age	Profession	Notes	Ref.
Alexis Minotis	1900	1990	90	Actor
Sapfo Notara	c. 1907	1985	78	Actress
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• Manolis Hatzidakis (1909-1998) art historian and author.
• Manos Katrakis (1909–1984) actor.
• Odysseas Elitis (1911–1996) poet, Nobel laureate.
• Stylianos Pattakos (1912-2016) member of Greek military junta.
• Konstantinos Mitsotakis (1918-2017) politician, Prime Minister of Greece.
• Rena Kyriakou (1918–1994) pianist.
• Ilya Livykou (1919–2002) actress.
• George Psychoundakis (1920–2006) World War II resistance fighter, poet and translator.
• Thanasis Skordalos (1920–1998) Cretan folk singer and composer.
• Mikis Theodorakis (1925) musician.
• Kostas Mountakis (1926–1991) folk singer and composer.
• Terpsichori Chryssoulaki-Vlachou (1926–1944) member of the Greek resistance.
• John Aniston (1933) actor.
• Rika Diallina (1934) actress.
• Nana Mouskouri (1934) singer and politician.
• Rita Sakellariou (1934–1999) singer.
• Nikos Xilouris (1936–1980) composer and singer.
• Konstantinos Volanakis (1937) painter.
• Giannis Markopoulos (1939) composer.
• Manolis Mavrommatis (1941) sports journalist and politician.
• Psarantonis (1942) musician and singer.
• Christoforos Liontakis (1945) poet.
• Yannis Smaragdis (1946) film director.
• Maro Douka (1947) author.
• Giannis Dragasakis (1947) politician.
• Fotis Kafatos biologist
• Joseph Sifakis (1946) computer scientist, laureate of the 2007 Turing Award.
• Nikolaos Sifounakis (1949) politician.
• Mimis Androulakis (1951) author and politician.
• Maria Damanaki (1952) politician.
• Manolis Kefalogiannis (1959) politician.
• Kostas Hatzidakis (1965) politician.
• Nikos Machlas (1973) footballer.
• Georgios Samaras (1985) footballer.