🐂 Tracks of the Minotaur See my website at: https://emtbcrete.gr/ Kefalas stands at 352 m in the hills stretching from Drapanokefala to Georgioupoli. The name is thought to derive from the kefaládes—local lords or officials of the second Byzantine period (10th–12th century). The term comes from the Greek κεφαλή (kefalí), meaning “head,” and in Byzantine administration a kefalí was the head of a district or military command, acting as a governor, commander, or senior landholder. The plural, kefaládes, referred to the class of such leaders who controlled land, collected taxes, and organised military defence. Appointed by Constantinople, they often became semi-hereditary powers, particularly in Crete, where distance from the imperial centre allowed considerable autonomy. Place names such as “Kefalas” may indicate an association with one of these families or the site of such authority. Under Venetian rule, Apano Kefalas and Kato Kefalas were two separate settlements. Barozzi recorded them in 1577 as Chiefala Cato and Chiefala Apáno, and Castrofilaca in 1583 as Chieffalà Cato and Chieffalà. Over time, they merged physically, with administrative unification following in the mid-20th century. Kefalas retains a network of traditional alleys and numerous churches. The oldest is the Church of the Holy Cross, dating to the 16th century. Later churches, including those of Panagia, Agios Antonios, and Michael the Archangel, were built by Kefalas craftsmen in the 18th and 19th centuries and are fine examples of local folk architecture. These same craftsmen built the Kefalas Municipal School—now the Environmental Education Centre of Vamos—which has played a central role in Apokoronas’ educational and cultural life. Next to the school stands a small folklore museum, displaying old photographs, textiles, and everyday objects. In front of it, in the main square of Kato Kefalas, is the bust of Captain Mathios Milonoyiannis (1839–1916), a local figure active in the Cretan uprisings between 1858 and 1897.