Place · region

Mesara Plain

Also known as Messara

The Mesara is the largest plain of Crete, in the south of the island between the Asterousia mountains and the foothills of Mount Ida. Farmed since the Neolithic, it supported the Minoan palace of Phaistos and the early tholos tombs of the region, and later the Greek and Roman city of Gortyn. It remains Crete's main agricultural area.

Mesara Plain
Image: Nat Pikozh · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Palace State of PhaistosPhaistosGortyn

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mesara Plain. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mesara-plain
MLA
“Mesara Plain.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mesara-plain. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Mesara Plain.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mesara-plain.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mesara Plain’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mesara-plain (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻