List of people from Crete

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

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.

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.

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

 * 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.