The short poem The Destruction of Crete (more commonly known as The Catastrophe of Crete) by Manolis Sklavos is the most important literary source for the earthquake of 1508, which震撼ed the then Venetian-occupied Crete and was felt as far as Asia Minor and Cyprus.

Its intensity was great, and its duration, as described by the Venetian governor of Crete: "as long as it takes to hurriedly say the Our Father." Specifically, for Chandakas/Castle (the present-day Heraklion), the earthquake flattened half the city on the night of May 29, 1508 – exactly 55 years after the Fall of the City – burying many residents under the rubble.