Hello! We’re the Primary School of Elia. We are a relatively small school. Elia is a sub-mountainous village, only 12 min. away from the city of Heraklion and lies under the administration of the Municipality of Hersonissos but has its own Local Community, as well.
The cave of Eileithyia, the Goddess of childbirth, lies on the outskirts of Elia. It is the biggest cave dedicated to Goddess Eileithyia and is located to the east of Karteros river. Initially, prehistoric people used to live there but around 3000 B. C. it became a place of Minoan worship.
Goddess Eileithyia is the Goddess of childbirth and this cave in Karteros was the main place of her worship. Eileithyia’s mother was Hera, the mother of all Gods. According to Homer, she was born in that cave. There are stalagmites and stalactites in that cave.
Moreover, the island of Dia, a trademark of the northern coast of Heraklion, belongs to the Local Community of Elia. There is a myth concerning the shape of the island that reminds someone of a huge stone monster.
It is common knowledge that Zeus was particularly fond of Crete because his mother Gaia hid him there to rescue him from the rage of his father, Kronos, who ate all his children out of fear they would steal his throne. So, Zeus often fixed his attention on our island and observed everything. When he saw that Cretan people were killing the wild goats, he got really angry because he would have wanted them to show more respect to them. The reason is Amalthea, the wild goat that offered her milk to baby Zeus and is, therefore, considered to be his foster-mother. Zeus (as we all remember from 3rd grade mythology) was very quick-tempered and decided to punish the Cretan people by sending them a huge monster that ate people. The other Gods got very upset when they saw this disaster, because they all loved the beautiful island of Crete, and finally managed to change his mind. So, Zeus threw 2-3 rusks to the monster to fool it, and the minute it went away from the island he petrified it.
Furthermore, the sandy beach of Karteros was known in ancient times as a very prominent port. Today, we can be certain that Minoan people had organised a big port in the area of Karteros-Amnissos. In ancient times, the name of the river Karteros was Amnissos. According to Homer, both Theseus and Ulysses disembarked on this beach during their voyage
