The Crete University Press (CUP) was founded in 1984, with a mutual agreement between the Pancretan Association of America and the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) and it functions as a financially independent non-profit publishing organization, within the framework of FORTH.

The aims and objectives of Crete University Press are:

• a) scholarly and scientific publications of international academic standard,
• b) the promotion of scholarly research in the domain of Arts and Humanities with emphasis on subjects of Greek interest, through publishing activities, and
• c) the dissemination of scientific ideas and culture to a wider reading public.

The success of Crete University Press can be gauged from

• a) the 20 prizes and awards by academic societies and organisations,
• b) from the fact that about 1700 lecture courses in Greek universities use books by Crete University Press as textbooks, and
• c) the high sales rate in the Greek market (circa 100,000 copies per annum).

As of today, about 600 titles have been published from CUP – at an average of 30 new titles per year – and approximately 2 millions copies of these titles have been sold within Greece.
CUP has been honoured with numerous and important distinctions, both for its publishing activity as a whole and for the high quality of specific editions – including prizes from the Academy of Athens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, the Greek Association of Music and Theatre Critics, etc.