Myrtia

Myrtia Crete

The village of Myrtia or Varvari is mentioned in Kazantzakis'  book Report to Greco as where his father's family hailed from and the village boasts a fine museum dedicated to this famous author son of Crete. The modern name, Myrtia, was given to the village as an attempt to Hellenicize the village but its history goes back to the Byzantine Empire.

It was here that the remaining Arabs from the battle to rid the region of Turks and Arabs were herded together to live in one place. That place was known as Varvari (or Barbari, Barbarian). The site of the museum is located on land formerly occupied by the author"s family. The exhibits include manuscripts, photographs, costumes, souvenirs and personal effects as well as many other interesting artefacts. .