Where Sea, Story and Silence Meet

From the deck of the sailboat, Thodorou first appears as a long ridge of pale rock against the deep blue of the Cretan Sea. As you draw closer, the island reveals two profiles — the larger Thodorou and, beside it, the smaller islet known locally as Glaronisi, the “little seagull”. Together the two are often called “ta Thodorou” in the plural by Chaniotes, a quiet reminder that this place was never truly one thing alone.

Sailing here from the Old Venetian Harbour takes around forty-five minutes at an easy pace. The island lies roughly three and a half nautical miles to the north-west of Chania town, directly opposite the long beaches of Agia Marina and Platanias. It is uninhabited, protected, and almost untouched — exactly as it has been for the better part of a century.

The Venetian Fortress & Byzantine Roots

The island’s name comes from a small chapel of Agios Theodoros — Saint Theodore — that once stood on its slopes, now reduced to fragments. But its history runs far deeper than its Byzantine name suggests. In antiquity it was known as Akoition or Letoa, and in the Minoan period it was considered a sacred sanctuary. Locals still speak of its strong, quiet energy.

The most striking remains belong to the Venetian era. In 1574, recognising the strategic value of the island for defending the Chanian coast, the Venetians began constructing two fortresses on Thodorou — a larger one on the heights and a smaller one lower down, named San Theodoro. For more than half a century, a garrison of around seventy soldiers lived on the rock, watching the sea for Ottoman ships and pirate sails.

Then came 1645. The Ottomans landed in force. According to the chronicles, the small Venetian garrison, knowing the battle was lost, chose to detonate their own gunpowder magazine rather than surrender — taking many of the invaders with them. Today, the surviving walls and arches of those fortresses are visible from the sea, weathered but unmistakable.