Sfentyli was a village after Potamies and Avdou, on the foothills of the Lasithi Plateau, built panoramically on a hillside, the village had the vantage point of anticipating danger while being protected from pirates. It is dated back to the early 16th century and is known today as the Atlantis of Crete.

Sfentyli once lied within a lush and fertile valley, and had about 80 permanent dwellers. In 2012, there came into fruition a plan to collect water that would benefit the northern parts of eastern Crete, which had always faced a water supply and irrigation problem. Thus the Aposelemi dam was built, an artificial water reservoir that now supplies with water the cities of Agios Nicolaos and Heraklion.

Depending on the levels of the artificial lake, that are affected by rainfall and drought, the village of Sfentyli appears and disappears. This eerie and otherworldly beauty attracts visitors who, in the summer months, and even from afar, can see the Byzantine Church of Saint Theodore with its dome and Cross, appearing majestically above the surface of the water.