The revolt was led by the Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos and is named after his mother's native village, Theriso, the focal point of the revolt.
The revolt stemmed from the dispute between Venizelos and the island's ruler, Prince George of Greece, over the island's future, particularly over the question of Cretan union with Greece.
The conflict's origin can be traced to 1901 when Prince George dismissed Venizelos from the government. The hostility between Venizelos and the prince was precipitated by the latter's attitude toward foreign relations and by his refusal to engage in dialogue with his advisers over the island's internal affairs.
After a prolonged political struggle, Venizelos and his followers decided upon an armed uprising to unite Crete with Greece and usher in a more democratic government for the island.
In November 1905, the revolt came to a negotiated end. While it failed to achieve enosis, it did effectively bring an end to the reign of Prince George who left the island in September 1906.
The Theriso revolt not only established Venizelos as the leading politician in Crete but also brought him to the attention of the wider Greek world and in 1909, he became the Prime Minister of Greece.