The Plague

From as early as Byzantine times, the island was frequently afflicted by plague epidemics. In Venetian times at least 22 epidemics struck Crete, claiming thousands of lives.

The worst epidemic of all broke out in 1592, when a ship sailing from Constantinople under Yiorgis Pakopoulos docked in the port of Chandax on 28^th Jaunary. One of the sailors on board, named Lorenzo, fell ill and died. Doctors examining the body found "a swelling with some blackness above the right thigh." (Report by Filippo Pascaligo, former Captain of Chandax and Provveditor of Chania, 1594, Stergios Spanakis, Monuments of Cretan History, vol. IIII, Heraklion 1953, p. 69 - in Greek).

Despite the measures hurriedly implemented by the authorities, the epidemic lasted for three years, with the district of Chandax being worst hit. 8 600 people died in the city, leaving only 8 233 survivors. When the epidemic came to an end, the inhabitants of Chandax donated money to build a church dedicated to St. Rocco, patron saint and protector against the pestilence according to Western tradition.