Arkadi Monastery is a historical Monastery in the area of the Community of Amnatos of the Municipality of Rethymno in the Regional Unit of Rethymnon of Crete. The first form of the monastery is believed to have been built either in the period 961 to 1014, or in the first years of the Venetian rule.
It is located on a fertile plateau 23 kilometers southeast of Rethymno on the island of Crete in Greece.
The current katholikon (church) dates from the 16th century and is characterized by the influence of the Renaissance. This influence is visible in the architecture, which mixes both Romanesque and Baroque elements. Already in the 16th century, the monastery was a place of science and art and had a school and a rich library. On a plateau, the monastery is well fortified and surrounded by a thick and high wall.
The monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance to Turkish rule during the Cretan rebellion of 1866. 943 Greeks, mostly women and children, sought refuge in the monastery. After three days of fighting and on the orders of the abbot of the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender.
