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The island of Crete consists largely of nappes of contrasting lithologies and metamorphism that were stacked southward during an Oligocene‐early Miocene N‐S compression, with the lower nappes undergoing a high‐pressure/low‐temperature (HP/LT) metamorphism. This was followed by a N‐S Miocene crustal extension that caused thinning of the nappes and uplift of the HP/LT metamorphic rocks. Ductile conditions took place in the lower nappes associated with a retrograde greenschist metamorphism, while semiductile to brittle conditions took place in the upper nappes. A major normal detachment fault separates the lower and the upper nappes. The quartz texture analyses and the symmetry of structures indicate bulk coaxial deformation, while the results of strain analysis suggest both constrictional and flattening strains. A younger NE‐SW compression affected both the thinned nappe pile and the late Miocene‐Pliocene sedimentary basins. Finally, a Pliocene NE‐SW extension led to further uplift and exhumation of the HP/LT metamorphic rocks. This cyclic tectonometamorphic process of alternate compression and extension took place during the migration of the Hellenic orogenic belt toward the most external units, including successive tectonic events.

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