Venizelos graves, Monument and cemetery on Prophitis Ilias hill in Chania, Greece

The Venizelos graves lie beside the church of Prophet Elijah on the eastern edge of Chania, at the start of the Akrotiri peninsula. Two flat rectangular stone slabs, each bordered by a darker strip and inlaid with a long dark cross, are set flush into a floor of irregular grey-beige tiles; raised dark metal lettering runs along the upper edge of each slab. The nearer tomb is that of Eleftherios Venizelos, seven times Prime Minister of Greece; the farther one is that of his son Sophocles, also a Prime Minister.

The graves stand beside the church of Prophet Elijah on the eastern edge of Chania, the birthplace of Eleftherios Venizelos, who served seven times as Prime Minister of Greece. His son Sophocles also held the office for short periods in the mid-20th century. On the wall behind the two tombs is an inscription of verses by the poet Kostis Palamas.

On the wall behind the two graves is a dedication by the poet Kostis Palamas, and beside Eleftherios Venizelos's tomb his own 1932 funeral oration, delivered in the Greek parliament, is mounted in metal letters. Each 9 February the municipality of Chania marks the 1897 bombardment and lays wreaths at the statue of Spyros Kagiales.

The graves lie on the eastern edge of Chania, at the start of the Akrotiri peninsula on the road to Kounoupidiana, beside the church of Prophet Elijah. The park is planted with pines and looks over the city. The ground is paved with irregular grey-beige stone tiles, and the two slabs sit flush with it, so watch your step.

The bronze statue of Spyros Kagiales stands where, on 9 February 1897, Cretan rebels were entrenched during the Cretan Revolution. When a shell shattered the flagstaff, he held the Greek flag aloft with his own body. The admirals of the Great Powers ordered a ceasefire, and the Italian fleet commander Felice Canevaro later wrote that he would never forget it. The statue was unveiled on 21 July 1997, and wreaths are laid there every year on the anniversary.