The monastery of the village of Myriokefala is famous with the miraculous church of Panagia Myriokephalitissa. It is one of the most important monuments of Byzantine Crete, and is commemorated at the Entrance of the Virgin on September 8. The church and the monastery were built by John the Stranger or Hermit around 1000. He describes in his will the circumstances that led him to build the church and the monastery.
Its frescoes are of various periods, a few parts from the founder's time, more from the 12th century and a few from the 16th in the narthex. We do not have any written information about the historical course of the Monastery during the Venetian occupation. It was certainly in decline, but it was functioning. The same thing happened during the period of the Turkish occupation.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou