Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, and – according to people who know the country well – the finest. Crete has history, culture, traditions, a rich cuisine and some of the most beautiful beaches in Greece. A land of myth and imagination – where mythology and history are so intertwined it’s hard to tell them apart – Crete is Greece in a nutshell.
I grew up hearing about this magical island from an uncle born in Chania, Crete – uncle Christos, who came into our family when he married my aunt Maria. But what finally took me there was the mystery surrounding Europe’s first civilization: the Minoans, as the prehistoric Cretans are called. I had read about them as a child – about King Minos of Knossos – and had always imagined visiting his palace. The opportunity finally came up last month, and I was off to Greece in a matter of days.
The amazing Minoans, the first European culture
History tells that as far back as the year 3,500 BC, while the rest of Europe was still a land of barbarian tribes, this Bronze Age people built in Crete one of the most brilliant cultures the world has ever known. The center of their power was the Palace of Knossos, excavated in Crete in the late 19th-century by British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Not knowing the real name of the people who had lived in the palace, Evans decided to call them Minoans – for king Minos of Greek mythology. But whatever their name was, Knossos is considered Europe’s first urban center, the political, religious and economic capital of a society so refined and advanced that their legacy of art and architecture strongly influenced mainland Greece and the other Aegean islands.
Knossos and the Archeological Museum – which houses most of the artifacts found in the excavations – are the main reasons people come to Heraklion, Crete’s capital. Home to 150.000 people, Heraklion is a modern and not immediately appealing city – mostly a sprawling collection of apartment buildings and busy roadways. I arrived there by ferry from Santorini, after a three-hour ride south on the Aegean Sea (Crete is right in the middle between Athens and the coast of Egypt) on a boat full of lively tourists.
When we docked at the Old Port in Heraklion, I could see Hotel Aquila Atlantis, where I had a reservation. It looked close, and I decided to walk, instead of taking a taxi. It was a bad idea: my suitcase was heavy with travel brochures and books collected at each stop of my Greek-island hopping, and dragging it for the last few blocks to the hotel – on a very steep hill – took all my energy. I was so tired when I got to my room that I ordered room service instead of going out to eat. My meal was as fresh and tasty as if it had been cooked from scratch in a fine restaurant. You can never have bad food in Greece.
The next morning I left the hotel early to visit the Heraklion Archeological Museum, one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art. The sun was shining bright and the day was already hot. From the top of the hill, I could see the port in the distance, already crowded with ships coming and going. Heraklion’s importance has always come from the port – it was the main harbor for the Minoans, expert sailors and traders who made fortunes exploring the sea. It’s still vital today.
The Heraklion Archeological Museum is a modern building in a busy square crowded with buses, shops and locals. Founded at the turn of the 20th century and restored in 2014, the museum is in a class of its own, for guarding practically all of the Minoan treasures of Knossos – some of them 3,000 years old. Among the masterpieces displayed in its 27 rooms are treasures like a seal-stone called the Phaistos Disk, a 3500 year-old clay tablet, written in a script that is considered to be the earliest known example of Minoan text – Linear A – and not yet deciphered. The Linear B script, used in Minoan documents and considered an early form of Greek, has been deciphered by English architect and linguist Michael Ventris.
What struck me the most in the museum was how ‘modern’ and elegant the objects on display appeared. Sophisticated frescoes depicting tall, broad-shouldered and slim-waisted youths, delicate restored fragments, formal ritual processions and scenes from ‘Bullring,’ a sport widely practiced by young Minoans of both sexes. A mural depicting a group of elegant court ladies could fit very well in today’s fashion magazines.
The Minoans were a seafaring culture that dominated trade in the Mediterranean at their time, and their artists were constantly exposed to foreigners: Babylonian, Egyptian, Cypriot and Near East peoples. What was found in Knossos showed that they loved animals and the sea – which they depicted in their frescoes – pottery and jewels. They also delighted in flowing and naturalistic shapes and designs; there’s a vibrancy in their works that is not present in that of other contemporary cultures. Aside from its aesthetic qualities, Minoan art also gives valuable insight into their religious, communal and funeral practices. I was particularly impressed by the delicate workmanship of their jewelry – diadems, necklaces, bracelets, headbands – especially a masterpiece depicting a pair of golden bees rendered in great detail and realism, clutching between a drop of honey they are about to deposit into a granulated honeycomb. Cartier couldn’t do better.
Knossos, the first European capital
The Palace of Knossos is three miles south of the Heraklion Museum, and it is the most amazing archeological site ever discovered. Sir Arthur Evans brought this forgotten and sublime civilization to light in 1899 and introduced it to an astonished world. Now considered Europe’s oldest throne (the actual stone throne is still there, intact) Knossos also provides clear evidence of the great elegance and sophistication of King Minos’ court, something that still amazes visitors today.
To get there I took the number 2 bus, across the street from the museum, and in 15 minutes I was in front of the ruins. The sun was burning by then – thank God I never leave home without a hat. Around the entrance of the ruins there were stands selling souvenirs and food, but I had plenty of water in my bag and proceeded to get an English-speaking guide, to help me make sense of the imposing seat of Minoan power in front of me.
The Minoans – the Greek guide started – flourished on Crete from around 2700 to 1450 BC, and their palaces in Knossos, Phaistos and Gournia were centers of political power and luxury. Minoans were traders in tin, saffron, gold and spices in the Mediterranean, as far away as Spain. They loved art, farmed bees and worshipped many goddesses.
The guide proceeded to explain that the site where the Palace of Knossos was built had been occupied from Neolithic times, and that the population spread to the surrounding areas. The first palace in Knossos was built around 1900 BC, and the second around 1700 BC, after an earthquake destroyed the first; later-on Knossos became a Greek city-state. What we see now is the product of 20 years of excavation and reconstruction; it gives an idea of how this magnificent society lived, and of how advanced their engineers were: they brought water from the hills to the palace and built a perfect storm drain system – perhaps the first known to mankind – at least 1000 years before the Romans! The rooms in the palace were built to allow privacy, and elaborate tunnels guaranteed a permanent breeze to freshen them up – the first air conditioning. The frescos and decorations on the walls, especially in the throne room and in the queen’s mega room, show clearly the fine craftsmanship and taste of Minoan artists.
But with all we know about this brilliant people, there’s still a shroud of mystery surrounding them. How did such a strong and wealthy society disappear from the face of the earth? History doesn’t tell. The answers may be in scripts that have yet to be deciphered. At present, all we have are theories.
After hours on the ruins, with more literature collected at the front desk – and no idea how I would fit it in my suitcase – I took the number 2 bus back to Heraklion. After collecting my luggage from the hotel I took a taxi to Heraklion’s main bus station, to catch a bus to Chania, my final stop in Greece.
Waiting for the bus at the busy Heraklion central station, I watched groups of talkative Greek men smoking cigarettes (always) and passionately discussing something I could not understand, as I don’t speak Greek. Not far from them, a group of women dressed in black sat next to many shopping bags and conversed animatedly. “Probably people from other towns coming to the capital to go shopping,” I thought. “How proud they must be of their heritage, how much the modern world owes the Greeks.” I, for one, think I do.
Practical info:
Heraklion, the capital of Crete, is located 109 miles south of Piraeus harbor in Athens; it’s served by ferry from the capital and from other Aegean islands. Crete has direct flights from Athens – to Heraklion or Chania airports – and from major European capitals.
To read or watch about the subject:
- Architecture of Minoan Crete: Constructing Identity in the Aegean Bronze Age – John C. McEnroe (2010-06-25)
- Zorba the Greek – 1964 movie with Anthony Queen, a classic
- From the Land of the Labyrinth: Minoan Crete, 3000-1100 BC by Giorgos Rethemiotakis
thewriterontheroad.com 