The GECO cruise (Greek and Eratosthenes COrals) was designed to recognize deep-water coral occurrences in the Eastern Mediterranean as a contribution to ESF Euromargins Moundforce and EU Hermes (WP2: Deep Water Coral and Mounds) programs. Although primarily aimed at the discovery and mapping of deep-water coral sites, GECO contributed to other Hermes targets by acquiring data related to WP1 (Open Slopes) and WP4 (Cold Seeps and Anoxic Environments) by sampling the Atalante and Urania Anoxic Basins (a deep permanent anoxic basins) and the continental margins between Crete and Rhodes. The samples collected from the innermost part of the Mediterrranean basin may help to shed new light on the temporal, evolutionary and genetic relationships existing with Hermes coral hotspots in the Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Cruise GECO has also contributed to the assessment of microbial communities and meiofauna inhabiting anoxic basin in the south Ionian Sea and open slopes as well as to a better knowledge of the biodiveristy of the bathyal zone of Eastern Mediterranean.