The mountainous Marathos village of the Malevizi municipality is about 20 kilometers from Heraclion and 300 meters above the sea level. The Marathianos River is near the small settlement. The Arkalospilio cavern is in Aspro Maskali, a large part of which is still unexplored, while the impressive Doksa cavern is also in Marathos.

In Marathi, you can taste traditional food at the coffee houses of the village or buy sweets and knead bread from the women’s association of the settlement.

About 330 people live in the village and their main occupations are agriculture, livestock and bee keeping.

HISTORY

Marathos is mentioned in Kastrofilakas as “Maratto”, in 1583.

PLACE NAME

The name of the settlement is pre-Hellenic and comes from the fennel plant (i.e. “marathos”, in Greek).

CHURCHES

The churches of Agios Charalampos and Agios Georgios are in Marathi.

The Agios Panteleimon Monastery is also near Marathi.