Matala: the beach and its rock-cut caves

Matala: bay, harbour and ancient rock caves

Matala lies on the south coast of Crete, where the fertile Messara Plain runs out towards the Libyan Sea, on the edge of the gulf of the same name. The sandy bay, small and sheltered, is framed by cliffs of soft, pale rock into which countless chambers have been cut. Today Matala is a seaside resort belonging to the local community of Pitsidia in the municipality of Phaistos; but its appearance is still determined by the juxtaposition of beach, cliff and archaeological monument. In the evening the sun goes down behind the open sea – one of the reasons why the sunsets of Matala in particular are so famous.

Matala was the seaport of Phaistos, one of the most important palatial centres of Minoan Crete. In later periods, too, the bay kept its importance for Phaistos and Gortyn: the Gortynians took possession of it in 220 BC, in Roman times it served as the harbour of the provincial capital Gortyn, and ancient geographers such as Strabo already mention it in this connection. The settlement flourished from the 4th century BC onwards, living from quarrying and fishing as well as from its shipping. Excavations, which began systematically in the 1980s, uncovered dwellings, metalworking workshops and installations for making pottery; remains of the ancient settlement can be made out from the sea. Caves and shore should therefore be understood as part of the historical landscape of the Messara. Phaistos, Kommos and the Odigitria Monastery lie close by.

Myth, too, has laid claim to the bay: according to one tradition Zeus, in the form of a bull, swam through these waters with the abducted Phoenician princess Europa before coming ashore on the south coast of Crete – some versions place the landing at Matala itself, others at Lebena further east. From the union of Zeus and Europa, the legend says, came Minos, the legendary king of Crete.

The caves of Matala: from necropolis to symbol of freedom

The caves have artificially hewn niches, chambers, steps, windows and small porches; some have stone benches that once served as funeral couches, and recesses in the walls for lamps and offerings. Entrances are mostly small and the ceilings often too low for an adult to stand upright. The archaeological evidence connects them chiefly with burial in the Roman and Early Christian periods; some of the chambers may have served other purposes at different times. To call the whole complex “the homes of the hippies” is therefore historically inaccurate – that name took hold only after the events of the 20th century. The rock is soft, and centuries of visitors have scratched their marks into it; erosion has brought down some of the front walls, leaving chambers open to the bay like balconies.

In the 1960s Matala was still a small fishing village. Then came first the beatniks and later the hippies, young travellers from many countries, and for a time the caves became an unofficial dwelling place. About a hundred of them wintered here, and in summer there were far more; they lived from fishing and casual work and preached peace and harmony with the world. Among the visitors was the Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, who spent some months here around 1970; her impressions of Matala are associated with her song “Carey”, on the album “Blue” of 1971, which recalls a red-haired fellow traveller, Cary Raditz, and the village’s Mermaid Café. Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin are also said to have come, though such stories are less well attested.

After the establishment of the military dictatorship in Greece in 1967 the authorities tightened their control over the bay. A report in a major American illustrated magazine had made Matala internationally known, the Greek press painted a disparaging picture of the cave dwellers, and the regime, which invoked “fatherland, religion, family”, saw in them a moral danger. There were police raids, and the Church too pressed for intervention. In 1970 the caves were closed to permanent habitation, sealed off with barbed wire and placed under archaeological protection, and the hippie community dissolved. Today the cliff is a fenced archaeological site with a ticket booth. The memory of that time lives on in the cultural history of Crete and in the annual Matala Beach Festival.

Matala today

Present-day Matala combines the protected archaeological zone, a well-equipped beach of sand and shingle about 300 metres long, and a lively tourist infrastructure of tavernas, cafés and small shops. The seabed shelves gently, which suits families, and in high season there are sunbeds and lifeguards. The caves are visited according to the rules of the archaeological zone; climbing on unstable sections of rock and entering chambers that have been closed off are forbidden, and the paths on the cliff call for care. The site is open from April to October from about 10 am to 7 pm, and in winter from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm; admission costs around 5 euros (reduced 3 euros). The pleasantest months are May, June and September into early October, when the sea is warm and the village less crowded; in high summer it is as well to arrive before eleven if one hopes to park.

The Matala Beach Festival was first held in June 2011 and has since generally taken place over three days in early summer, with free admission and on several stages – one of them with a view of the caves. Greek and international musicians perform, and there is street music and street painting besides; the exact dates change from year to year.

Matala combines well with a visit to Phaistos, Kommos, the Red Beach of Kokkini Ammos and the Odigitria Monastery. The Red Beach, named after its reddish, shimmering sand, lies in a neighbouring bay south of Matala and can be reached only on foot, by a path through the rocks, or from the water. The walk takes twenty to thirty minutes, uphill at first and over rough, exposed ground without shade – stout shoes and water are advisable.

What are Kommos and Phaistos?

Kommos is an ancient harbour on the coast of the Messara, around two kilometres north of Matala, connected with Phaistos and known through its excavations, directed from 1976 to 1995 by Joseph and Maria Shaw for the University of Toronto. They uncovered large storage halls, harbour buildings – among them a structure of six long, narrow galleries thought to be an early ship shed – and a sanctuary that remained in use into Greek times, with three successive temples, the second of which contained a three-pillared shrine of Phoenician type. No other Bronze Age site in the Aegean has yielded so much imported pottery. The site is fenced and not open to visitors, but it can be seen from the adjoining beach. Phaistos is a Minoan palatial centre on a ridge high above the plain, some 5.6 kilometres from the sea, excavated from 1900 by the Italians Federico Halbherr and Luigi Pernier; the first palace was built around 1850 BC, and the city was finally destroyed by Gortyn towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Its links with the sea explain the role of Matala and Kommos in the history of southern Crete.