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{{Short description|Municipality in Crete, Greece}}
{{Infobox Greek Dimos
 |name              = Sfakia
 |name_local        = Σφακιά
|type = municipality
 |image_skyline     = Crete Sfakia4 tango7174.jpg
 |caption_skyline   = Sfakia landscape around [[Hora Sfakion]]
 |image_map         = 2011 Dimos Sfakion.png
 |periph            = [[Crete]]
 |periphunit        = [[Chania (regional unit)|Chania]]
 |pop_municipality  = 2002
 |area_municipality = 467.6
 |population_as_of  = 2021
 |elevation = 
 |coordinates       = {{coord|35|12|N|24|08|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 |postal_code = 
 |area_code =73011 
 |licence = ΧΝ
 |mayor = Ioannis Zervos<ref name=mayor>{{Cite web |url=https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9324/ |title=Municipality of Sfakia, Municipal elections{{snd}}October 2023 |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Greece)|Ministry of Interior]]}}</ref>
 |since = 2023
 |party = 
 |website =
 |seat = [[Hora Sfakion]]
 }}
[[File:Sfakia-sunset2.jpg|thumb|Sunset in Sfakia.]]
[[File:Sfakia-dance.jpg|thumb|Traditional dancers at "Sfakian Liberation Festival".]]

'''Sfakiá''' ({{langx|el|Σφακιά}}) is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of [[Crete]], in the [[Chania (regional unit)|Chania]] regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in [[Greece]] that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a 2021 census population of 2,002 inhabitants living on a land area of {{convert|467.589|km2|abbr=on}},<ref name=stat01>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf|publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece|title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)|language=el}}</ref> Sfakia is one of the largest and [[population density|least densely populated]] [[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|municipalities]] on the island of Crete. The [[etymology]] of its name is disputed. According to the prevailing theory, it relates to its rugged terrain, deriving from the ancient Greek word ''σφαξ'', meaning land chasm or gorge.<ref>[http://www.sfakia-crete.com/sfakia-crete/sfakia-name.html The derivation of the name of Sfakia]</ref>

==Description==

The road from [[Chania]] to Sfakiá crosses the island from north to south, through the village of [[Vryses]]. From this village the route crosses the White Mountains ([[Lefka Ori|Lefká Óri]]) to [[Hora Sfakion|Hóra Sfakíon]] ({{coord|35|12|N|24|08|E|}}) by the [[Libyan Sea]]. Halfway from Vrisses to Hóra Sfakíon is the fertile plateau of [[Askifou]], surrounded by high mountain peaks. From here to Hóra Sfakíon the road is particularly spectacular. The road hugs the western slope of the [[Imbros Gorge]] offering scenic views. Another scenic route is that leading from [[Kapsodasos]] to the plateau of [[Kallikratis]], northeast of Hóra Sfakíon. 

There are many beaches in Sfakiá which do not see the numbers of tourists of the northern coast. More adventurous visitors can follow the European hiking footpath [[European walking route E4|E4]] which crosses Crete through Sfakiá's mountains. The coastal villages are not connected by a coastal road, but can be reached by ferry boats.

Not far east from Hóra Sfakíon is [[Frangokastello]], literally "[[Franks|Frankish]] castle". The [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] fortress here was built in 1371 to deter pirates and unsuccessfully, to control Sfakiá. It is largely ruined but is picturesquely set on a wide sandy beach with the towering White Mountains behind. [[Daskalogiannis]] was captured here in 1771.

Accessible only by boat from Sfakiá is [[Loutro (Chania), Greece|Loutro]], a small seaside village with some archaeological ruins, a few houses, small hotels and tavernas. Loutro is car-free; cars must be parked in Hóra Sfakíon or Paleohóra. In the north of Sfakiá is the fertile plain of Askyfou. The Sfakía region is crossed by many gorges, among which is the famous [[Samaria Gorge]].  All these gorges run from north to south and all end in the sea. Many of them can be walked, several even by inexperienced walkers. The region is inhabited by rare animals, like vultures and eagles, and the ''[[kri-kri]]'' (or ''agrimi''), the wild Cretan goat. The coast of Sfakiá is on the Libyan Sea, which is inhabited by a diminishing fish population, but occasionally dolphins, and even whales may be seen. The idea of inaccessibility and ruggedness has played a key role in how Sfakia has been represented since at least the 18th century and it is reiterated in various ways today by tourists and locals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kalantzis |first1=Konstantinos |title=Tradition in the Frame: Photography, Power and Imagination in Sfakia, Crete |date=2019 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-03712-1 |url=http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=809238}}</ref>

The local speciality, "Sfakian Pies", are thin pancakes filled with [[mizithra]] cheese and served drizzled with honey.

==Resistance==

Hóra Sfakíon is famous as one of the centers of the resistance against the occupying forces of both the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] and the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]]. The impenetrable White Mountains to the north combined with the rocky beaches on the south helped the locals fight off all invaders. Anopolis, a village near Hóra Sfakíon, is the birthplace of one of the most celebrated Cretan revolutionaries, [[Daskalogiannis]].

A famous legend and unexplained phenomenon describes a procession of visions ([[Drosoulites]]) seen in the nearby village Frangokastello as troops that died in the war of independence against the Turks.

[[Patrick Leigh Fermor]] wrote about the tall proud Sfakians and their resistance to occupation. Many tales of revolts and uprisings in Crete start in the mountains of western Crete - mountain guerillas, [[pallikari]] fighters and rebel assemblies.

After the [[Battle of Crete]] during [[World War II]], the locals helped many [[Australia]]n and [[New Zealand]] soldiers escape from here on the night of May 31, 1941, suffering great reprisals. King [[George II of Greece]] had already escaped this way when the [[Germany|Germans]] invaded. Near the village of Komitades is the Church of Panagia Thymiani where the revolution of 1821 began. At the village of Loutro is the ruined "chancellery" where the first revolutionary government of 1821 met.

Sfakiá is notorious for the harshness of the environment and the warlike people. Sfakians themselves are still considered somewhat beyond the reach of the lawmakers and tax collectors of [[Athens]], with [[Feud|vendetta]]s over stolen sheep and women's honour still fought into the mid-20th century, with a whole village abandoned.

Stealing and banditry had been considered a way of life in the mountains, even appearing in a [[Creation myth]], which made God Himself a Sfakiot, as recounted by Adam Hopkins:

:''...with an account of all the gifts God had given to other parts of Crete - olives to Ierapetra, Ayios Vasilios and Selinou; wine to Malevisi and Kissamou; cherries to Mylapotamos and Amari. But when God got to Sfakia only rocks were left. So the Sfakiots appeared before Him armed to the teeth. "And us Lord, how are we going to live on these rocks?" and the Almighty, looking at them with sympathy, replied in their own dialect (naturally): "Haven't you got a scrap of brains in your head? Don't you see that the lowlanders are cultivating all these riches for you?"''

The Sfakians are also famous for their hospitality and generosity towards guests, resulting in a shift from traditional labour towards tourism, with now many families running their own small hotel or restaurant. Many northern European visitors to the area in the 1970s onward who still return today stress hospitality as key element that attracted them to Sfakia. Conversing with these visitors' impressions, locals are very interested in the idea of hospitality as a form of cultural distinctiveness and morality and they often debate what it means to speak of hospitality in the age of mass tourism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kalantzis |first1=Konstantinos |title=Tradition in the Frame: Photography, Power and Imagination in Sfakia, Crete |date=2019 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-03712-1 |url=http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=809238}}</ref>

==History==
The archeology and history of Sfakia is the object of a [[field survey]] undertaken by the [[University of Oxford]].<ref>''The Archaeology of Crete'', [[Simon R. F. Price]], L. Nixon, 2002 [http://crete.classics.ox.ac.uk]</ref><ref>''The Sphakia Survey: Internet Edition'', Simon R. F. Price, L. Nixon, J. Moody and O. Rackham, 2000 [http://sphakia.classics.ox.ac.uk]</ref>

==Province==
The province of Sfakia ({{langx|el|Επαρχία Σφακίων}}) was one of the [[provinces of Greece|provinces]] of the Chania Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality.<ref name=census91>{{cite web|url= http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00086.pdf |title=Detailed census results 1991 }}&nbsp;{{small|(39&nbsp;MB)}} {{in lang|el|fr}}</ref> It was abolished in 2006.

==See also==
* [[Sfakians]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* [http://www.sfakia-crete.com/ Portal site about the region of Sfakiá]
* {{cite journal |author1=Jane Francis |author2=Simon Price |author3=Jennifer Moody |author4=Lucia Nixon |title=Agiasmatsi: a Greek cave sanctuary in Sphakia, SW Crete |journal=Annual of the British School at Athens |volume=95 |pages=427-471 |date=November 2000 |doi=10.1017/S0068245400004755 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annual-of-the-british-school-at-athens/article/abs/agiasmatsi-a-greek-cave-sanctuary-in-sphakia-sw-crete1/FE45EB747C19E62149158C77E2FA03BA|url-access=subscription }}

{{Kallikratis-Crete}}
{{Sfakia div}}
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece}}

[[Category:Municipalities of Crete]]
[[Category:Populated places in Chania (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Sfakia| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of Greece]]