Eleftherios Venizelos Statue

The white statue of Eleftherios Venizelos greets the city between the Panagia Chalkeon and the Turkish baths, at the beginning of the avenue that leads to Aristotelous square. Eleftherios Venizelos (Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος) was born in Mournies near Chania, Crete in 1864 and died in 1936. He probably was the most important politician of modern Greece. He studied law at the University of Athens. When he returned to Crete he was elected to the local Assembly for the Liberal Party. He became a prominent figure during the Cretan uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1897. He led the anti-Ottoman forces