Archaeological excavations certify that the city of Rithymna already existed in the postMinoan III period, as the Minoan cemetery of Ancient Rithymna was discovered in the Mastabas neighbourhood in 1947. The digs uncovered mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine periods. The city appears to have also flourished in the 3rd century AD, as it is referred to as a "komi" (large village) by Claudius Aemilianus.
The city's current name is attributed to a corruption of the pre-Hellenic Rithymna, now Rethemnos, Rethymni or Rethymnon. The Turks called it Rezime. The city was inhabited in the early Byzantine years, but Lappa and Eleftherna were considered more important, as they were the seats of the bishops.
Under Venetian rule, Rethymnon started to become a town, when the invaders exploited its geographical position and constructed the harbour, Mantraki, which still exists today. The populace started flowing into the town, and gradually it became the academic, financial and cultural centre of the county - then called a territorio (county). The Venetian prefect (the rettore) chose the town as his seat, and it is mentioned as Retimum, Rethimno and Rettimo. Rethymnon suffered much destruction from pirates (1538) and corsairs (1567), who raided the town, looted it and set it on fire. Later, in 1590, a great flood once again wrought havoc in the city. The Turks invaded the city after a 22day siege, in November 1 646. During the Turkish occupation, Rethymnon followed the example of many other towns and lost many heroes in the fight against the invader; their memory is still celebrated today.
You will encounter reminders of the city's history during your tour of the old town and in the museums.