Plakias (Greek: Πλακιάς) is a village on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete, in the Rethymno regional unit, about 21 kilometres south of the city of Rethymno. It is part of the municipality Agios Vasileios, and of the municipal unit Foinikas. It is surrounded by mountains to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. The name in Greek means "flat", because the town stands on an alluvial fan of material that has washed down the Kotsifou gorge directly to the north. This material has formed along the sea's edge into a long, fine, gold-hued sand beach, which shelves very gradually out into the bay, making it quite safe for swimming and hence, for family holidays. Initially just a fishing jetty and a few houses, Plakias developed during the last few decades into a tourist resort. The first official mention of Plakias was in 1961, when it was recorded in a census as the permanent home of six fishermen. The recorded history of surrounding mountain villages like Myrthios and Sellia goes back to the 10th century, when the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (961 AD) built roads and bridges in order to link those villages, and there are some fragments of wall remaining from a fortified area on a hill top just northeast of the present main town. The local area is geographically suitable for a settlement, having plenty of agricultural space, and there may well have been a settlement there since Minoan times. Plakias has a 1300-metre-long sandy beach and there are several other beaches within walking distance (Souda, Damnoni, Ammoudi, and Skhinaria). The southeastern end of the beach, near the Kakomouri headland, is used by nudists. The town is not on any major passage for traffic and hence traffic is minimal and it is quieter and less dusty than many other Greek resorts.