Volume X - 1956

Author Category Volume Page Year Language Society of Cretan Historical Studies, PAPERS AND STUDIES 10 399 - 403 1956 Greek Title Memorandum by the Society of Cretan Historical Studies on the danger of losing the toponymic wealth of Crete Summary PDF In preparing the publication of a Dictionary of Cretan Place-Names, the Society of Cretan Historical Studies has collected approximately 30,000 place-names from the whole island. Many of these go back to Prehellenic, Ancient Greek and Byzantine times, while a few indicate that foreign-language speakers settled on the island, and some are of unknown origin. This marvellous toponymic wealth reflects the historical adventures of Crete. It is, however, in danger of being lost or corrupted due to a tendency to ill-conceived refinement, arising from state policy for the Hellenisation of place-names. The Society requests that this unbridled trend for renaming places in Crete be halted, that the island be exempt from the legislation on renaming, and that EKIM be made responsible for processing proposals for renaming, or that its opinion should at least be sought.