A large island in the southern Aigean Sea.
Referred to as Krete of the Hundred Cities, the island occupies a strategic location southeast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula and north of the coast of Africa.
During the Trojan War, Idomeneus commanded the Achaian soldiers from Krete, with Meriones as co-commander. Eighty ships sailed to Troy with Idomeneus, which would have carried approximately 9,200 men.
The kingship of Krete and the lineage of Idomeneus traced through his father Deukalion, son of King Minos, and ultimately, the god Zeus.
Cities on Krete that supplied soldiers for the assault on Troy were—Gortys, Knosos, Lykastos, Lyktos, Miletos, Phaistos, and Rhytion.
| References: Homer, Iliad book 2, line 649; book 3, line 233; book 13, lines 450, 453 |