Crete macrocarpa" forest in Europe. Samaria Gorge is a World Biosphere Reserve and Richtis Gorge is protected for its landscape diversity. Crete has a rich mythology mostly connected with the ancient Greek Gods but also connected with the Minoan civilisation. According to Greek Mythology, The Diktaean Cave at Mount Dikti was the birthplace of the god Zeus. The Paximadia islands were the birthplace of the goddess Artemis and the god Apollo. Their mother, the goddess Leto, was worshipped at Phaistos. The goddess Athena bathed in Lake Voulismeni. The ancient Greek god Zeus launched a lightning bolt at a giant lizard that
Leto forward to explain the origin of the goddess and the meaning of her name. Older sources speculated that the name is related to the Greek λήθη "lḗthē" (lethe, oblivion) and λωτός "lotus" (the fruit that brings oblivion to those who eat it). It would thus mean "the hidden one". In 20th-century sources "Leto" is traditionally derived from Lycian "lada", "wife", as her earliest cult was centered in Lycia. Lycian "lada" may also be the origin of the Greek name Λήδα "Leda". Other scholars (Paul Kretschmer, Erich Bethe, Pierre Chantraine and R. S. P. Beekes) have suggested a Pre-Greek origin. According