Early years and legacy Several years after the public housing development of
Nea Alikarnassos was founded (in 1925), former
Halicarnassus residents and refugees established a sports club in order to strengthen the collective consciousness ties between the inhabitants of the settlement. The club was named after
Herodotus (), thus commemorating the ancient historian native to
Halicarnassus. The club was officially established as
Podosferikos Athlitikos Syllogos Alikarnassou Irodotos (or P.A.S.A. Irodotos) by then community president, Michalis Eleftheriadis and other prominent figures of the refugee community. In its early years, and until the end of the
German occupation of Crete, Irodotos' sporting activities were primarily mild, before reverting to full activity in 1948. Irodotos joined the Third Division of the regional
Heraklion Football Clubs Association, managing consecutive promotions to reach the First Division and compete against historical clubs such as
OFI and
Ergotelis. Irodotos promoted to national competitions (e.g. the
Beta Ethniki, second tier of the
Greek football league system) in 1960, and played in the competition until 1965, when the club was relegated to the newly established
Gamma Ethniki (third level in the
league pyramid). In total, Irodotos has played 12 seasons in the Second National Division (relegated for the last time in 1982) and 16 times in the
Gamma Ethniki, thus making it the club with the third most appearances in professional competitions based in
Heraklion, behind ex-
Greek Super League local rivals
OFI and
Ergotelis. Furthermore, Irodotos has reached the
Greek Football Cup Quarter-finals once in
1987–88 (losing to competition finalists
Panathinaikos) and the Round of 16 twice, the first time during the
1981−82 season (eliminated by eventual competition winners
AEK Athrns) and for a second time during
1988−89, when they were eliminated by club rival
OFI.
Recent years In recent years, Irodotos have played primarily in the
Gamma Ethniki, from which they were last relegated in the end of the
2014–15 season after being deducted fifteen points by the
Hellenic Football Federation in response to the murder of visiting fan Kostas Katsoulis by Irodotos hooligans in the municipal
Nea Alikarnassos Stadium during a
Football League 2 home match vs.
Ethnikos Piraeus. After the tragic incidents that took place in 2015, Irodotos made a triumphant return to the
Gamma Ethniki winning four trophies in a single season during 2016−17. More specifically, Irodotos was crowned champion of the
Heraklion FCA Championship, while also managing to win the
Heraklion FCA Cup, along with the
Greek Football Amateur Cup and eventually the
Greek Amateurs' Super Cup. Their next season in the
Gamma Ethniki saw them win the Group 8 title and qualify to the
Football League promotion play-offs, where they eventually celebrated their return to the 2nd tier of the
Greek football league system after a 36-year absence. ==Players==