Because to its cave (Diktaion Antron), which is located immediately above the settlement, Psychro is the most renowned and touristic village on the Plateau. According to legend, and because of numerous cult relics discovered in the cave, it is where Zeus, the father of the Olympian Gods, was born and primarily revered.
Of course, the cave is one of Crete’s most remarkable caverns, with hundreds of little and enormous stalactites. It is one of Crete’s most popular tourist destinations, with tens of thousands of visitors every year for the past 60 years.
The settlement of Psychros, like all of Lassithi’s communities, is a product of Venetian domination in the previous centuries.
Following the catastrophic devastation of the province in 1364, Venice began to develop the plain for grain production a century later, in 1465. Seasonal stays on the plateau during sowing and harvesting began after then. It was the capital of the eastern municipality of the Plateau in 1900 under the Cretan State, and is constructed at the foot of the peak Toumba Moutsounas (1537m).
Some attribute its name to the place where it was created (where the continuous lava tree is planted), some say it has pre-Hellenic roots, and still others believe it is owing to a cold water spring in the hamlet.
It is originally referenced as Mettocchio Psicro, but no indication of the population is given, as is customary in other urban regions. It was most likely deserted at the time. It is listed as Psihro with 42 households in the Turkish census of 1671.
