150th Anniversary of the Burning of Arkadi Monastery

The Arkadi Monastery with the inscription "ARKADI MONASTERY" in Greek below. Along the left inner edge, also in Greek, the words "HELLENIC REPUBLIC" are engraved. The issue year 2016 appears at upper right, and a palmette — the mint mark of the Greek mint — is centred along the lower edge. The coin designer's monogram (Georgios Stamatopoulos) is visible at lower right.

The Arkadi Monastery on Crete holds a central place in Greek national consciousness. On 8 November 1866 — in the midst of the Cretan uprising against Ottoman rule — hundreds of Cretan insurgents and civilians took refuge in the monastery near Rethymno. When Ottoman troops stormed the site, the defenders set fire to the powder magazine to avoid capture. An estimated 700 to 900 people died, including many women and children. The event, known in Greece as the Ólokaftoma — the "holocaust" or burnt offering — drew international attention and solidarity for the Cretan struggle for freedom, even though the island was not finally united with the Greek state until 1913.

The monastery itself, a Venetian-influenced complex from the 16th century, is today regarded as a national monument of Crete and attracts numerous visitors each year. Its church and the surviving monastery walls stand as architectural testimony to a turbulent history whose significance reaches far beyond the region. In Greece, 8 November is observed as a day of remembrance; students and politicians regularly visit the monastery near Rethymno to honour the victims. With the issue of a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2016, Greece honoured the 150th anniversary of the burning of Arkadi Monastery, highlighting an event that remains formative for Cretan and pan-Greek self-understanding to this day.