Frangokastello — the Drosoulites, Crete

OVERVIEW

Drosoulites ('dew shadows') is the name the people of Sfakia give to a long procession of visions seen around Frangokastello, a 14th-century Venetian fortification on the south coast of Crete. Witnesses describe human-like shadows dressed in black, on foot or riding, armed, moving from the monastery of Agios Charalambos towards the fort. The name comes from the time of day: the phenomenon is seen when the sea is calm and the air moist, before the sun climbs high, and usually lasts about ten minutes. The shadows are visible from the valley at a distance of about 1,000 m.

HISTORY

On 17 May 1828, during the Greek War of Independence, Greek fighters under Hatzimichalis Dalianis of Delvinaki in Epirus took refuge in the fort and were killed after a seven-day siege; 350 of his men were lost. Legend holds that the Drosoulites are those fighters, led by Dalianis. The appearance is said to be documented over the ages: in 1890 a passing Turkish army took the images for rebels and fled, and during the Second World War a German patrol is said to have opened fire on them.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

DISPUTED. The article records many attempts at a scientific explanation, at one time a mirage from the coast of North Africa, with no accepted consensus; and an occult reading, clairvoyance, which it compares with ghost-army reports in Britain and Germany. The earliest dated report it gives is the Turkish army's in 1890.

VISITING

The fort stands by the beach at Frangokastello. The procession is said to be seen in late May or early June around dawn.