In Crete’s Mountains – The Legend of the 12 Archontopoula

If you are fortunate enough to visit one of the remote mountain villages of Crete, and if you are not fluent in the language, but have the services of a local translator, you will hear one of the most fascinating stories ever told. The tale has been transmitted as “oral history” for years in the mountain tavernas, but it is usually told as though it happened yesterday.

It is the compelling and intriguing tale of The Legend of the Twelve Archontopoula. While much of the story is unauthenticated, it has captured the attention of professional and amateur historians, genealogists, sociologists, mystery lovers, and a large number of Cretans.

While many Cretans claim they are descendants of one of the twelve, there are some actual descendants who are not aware of their true lineage. What is this tantalizing legend? What is truth and what is fiction?

Let us go back in time to the 12th Century in Constantinople, then known as Byzantium, when Byzantium ruled Crete. It is said there was unrest in Crete. Most believe there was a rebellion. And so, the story or legend goes, a Byzantine emperor sent the heads of twelve noble Byzantine families to settle in Crete and he divided the island amongst them. The largest piece, which included Sfakia, went to a man named Skordylis.

At some point, most likely during the time of Venetian rule, a claim was made that there was an official document (an order) signed by an emperor. The document was called a chrysobull (golden seal) and it gave the twelve men royal lineage. The chrysobull has never been found, but there are six documents concerning the Archontopoula that have been published; of the six, historians consider just two to be the most interesting.

These two documents, however, contain historical information that historians consider “mutually irreconcilable.” One document actually has the notation “Falsification,” and there are three versions of the second, two written in Greek and one in Italian, but only one of them (Greek) is dated. Historians cannot agree on whether the documents are authentic or “suspect.”

It is a fact, however, that by the beginning of the 13th Century certain Cretan families owned much land, lived as landed aristocracy and led revolts against the Venetians.

Whether they were actually sent here originally by an emperor has not been proven. Whether an “order” or chrysobull was ever issued has not been proven. And whether they were of “great and noble birth” is not known, but it makes for one of the most fascinating stories still told in the tavernas in the mountains of Crete.

Published in The National Herald.