Candia

or CRETE, (kan'de-ah.) [Anc. Creta.] An island situated at the entrance of the Grecian archipelago,belonging to Turkey, bet. Lat. 34° 50′ and 35° 55′ N., Lon. 23°40′ and 26° 40′ E.; area, 3,200 sq. m. It is very irregular in form, its length being about 160, and its breadth varying from 6 to 35 m. The island of C. is for the most part mountainous, and contains the celebrated Mount Ida (now Psiloriti), 7,674 feet high, on which Jupiter is said to have pa ed a great part of his youth in the exercise of hunting and drawing the bow. The climate is very healthy, the soil fertile, and the vegetation luxuriant; the modern Greek is the language generally spoken. The history of C. begins with Greek mythology, and Minos gave it laws, B.c. 1,300. It was conquered by the Romans, B. C. 67; was bought by the Venetians from the Marquis de Montserrat, 1204; and was conquered by the Turks, 1669. In 1867, the Cretans broke out in open revolt, seeking the annexation of C. to Greece, but after resisting for more than one year the forces of the Turkish empire, they had to submit again to the Ottoman yoke. Pop. 1879, abt. 270,000.Candia, its capital, is a fortified city and seaport, on the N. shore of the island. Pop. 11,000. [s. 136]