Heraklion or Iraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. For centuries it was known as Candia, a Venetian adaptation of the earlier Greek name (Chandax, "moat") which in turn came from the Arabic rabḍ al-ḫandaq. The English form Candy, derived from French Candie, meant the city of Candia or all of Crete (as in Twelfth Night 5.1).
Under the Ottoman Empire, it was called Kandiye. In the local vernacular, it is often called Κάστρο (Kástro, "castle") and its inhabitants Καστρινοί (Kastrinoí, "castle dwellers").
Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion Prefecture, with an international airpot named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The ruins of Knossos, which were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans, are nearby.

The present city of Heraklion was founded in 824 AD by the Saracens who had been expelled from Al-Andalus by Emir Al-Haka I and had taken over the island from the Byzantine Empire.
They built a moat around the city for protection, and named the city ربض الخندق, rabḍ al-ḫandaq ("Castle of the Moat"). The Saracens allowed the port to be used as a safe haven for pirates who operated against Byzantine shipping and raided Byzantine territory around the Aegean.

In 1898 the autonomous Cretan State was created, under Ottoman suzerainty, with Prince George of Greece as its High Commissioner and under international supervision. During the period of direct occupation of the island by the Great Powers (1898-1908), Candia was part of the British zone. At this time the city was renamed "Heraklion", after the Roman port of Heracleum ("Heracles' city"), whose exact location is unknown.
With the rest of Crete, Heraklion was incorporated into the Kingdom of Greece in 1913.

Heraklion is close to the ruins of the palace of Knossos, which in Minoan times was the largest centre of population on Crete. Though there is no archaeological evidence of it, Knossos may well have had a port at the site of Heraklion as long ago as 2000 BC.


Heraklion is an important shipping port and ferry dock. Travelers can take ferries and boats from Heraklion to a multitude of destinations including Santorini, Ios Island, Paros, Mykonos, and Rhodes island. There are also several daily ferries to Piraeus, the port of Athens on mainland Greece.

Heraklion International Airport, or Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is located about 5 km east of the city. The airport is named after Herkalion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and philosopher. It is the second busiest airport of Greece, mostly due to the fact that Crete is a major destination for tourists during summer.

There are regular domestic flights to and from Athens, Thessaloniki and Rhodes with Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air. Also flying to and from Athens is Athens Airways, whereas Cyprus Airways and Aegean Airlines fly to Larnaca. Furthermore, Sky Express operates direct flights to Aegean islands such as RODOS island, Santorini, Samos, Kos, Mytilini and Ikaria.
During the summer period, traffic is intense and the flight destination are from all over Europe (mostly Germany, UK, Italy and Russia).
The airfield is shared with the 126 Combat Group of the Hellenic Air Force. Take-offs in a westerly direction pass directly over the town of Ieraklion, making it a very noisy city.