The Municipality of Ararnon-Asterousio, Heraklion Prefecture, was created by the merger of the former Asterousia municipalities, Nikos Kazantzakis and Archanes, according to the Kallikratis plan.
The municipality has an area of ​​335,38km2 and a population of 16,692 at the last census of 2011.
The headquarters of the Municipality of Arhanon-Asterousio are Peza and historic churches, Archanes and Pyrgos.
The area of ​​Archanes is of great archaeological interest. At the site where the city is today, a palace and an ancient city were located. This palace was as luxurious as that of Knossos and Phaistos, and was the administrative center of the area. North of the city, on Fourni Hill was discovered one of the most important necropolis of the island used by the Minoans from 2400 BC to 1000 BC.