Crete!

September 21, 2018

Up at 5:30 am to get on our beloved bus and head to the airport for our 35 min flight to Crete. Arrived too early to check in so we had a little lunch/shopping time in the town of Herakleion where we are staying tonite. Then a tour of the archeological museum. Sheila and Michele decided to contribute to the local economy rather than learn its history (yes, they extended their shopping time). The rest of us learned that all that’s known about Crete was discovered in 1878 and assumptions were made based on conclusions drawn from artifacts and frescoes.

This is a replica of the palace. 22,000 Square meters, 1200 rooms.

First we saw many of the original artifacts in the museum and then visited the site of the Palace of Knosos. The women in Crete participated in the athletic games which was quite unusual in the 1700’s BC. We see a fresco depicting one of their favorite games: Step 1: the person grabs a bull by the horns. Step 2: the person attempts to jump over the bull sideways. Both men and women are participating - we know this because they’re shown in the fresco often wearing very few clothes. If you survive, you win. The bull is sacrificed after, so even if it wins, it loses.

One would think that once women were allowed to participate, they would have come up with a better game. (But that hasn’t happened in golf either, so....)

This is our guide showing the 2-headed ax used to kill the bull.

There is a very long story about the Minotaur and the labyrinth that I won't go into here, but the root word means "2-headed ax", so a labyrinth is "the house of the 2-headed ax", in this case, King Knosos palace. That said, all evidence suggests that the Minoans were peaceful. No weapons or depictions of battles have been found.

Interesting fact: the bathtubs of the wealthy were also their sarcophagus (casket). Way to repurpose. Just saying.

Then we visited the site of the palace. Ruins show that in 1700 BC, the Minoans (Mino is the title of the King; we don't really know what the people referred to themselves as; this is the title the archaeologists have given them) had a plumbing system for running water as well as a kind of air conditioning using the strategic placement of doors to create a draft. The palace (and everything else) was destroyed in an earthquake in 1450 BC, so civilizations were doomed to reinvent. Sheila observed that “the problem with ruins is that they’re wrecked.”

The Kings chamber

The Queens chamber (with toilet and dressing room en suite!) the jewelry below was found in her dressing room. 1700’s BC. Incredible.

This was the media room of the palace (stone seating for 350 and a stage for performances).

We arrived at our hotel with time to rest (or post a blog!) before dinner. Kostas had arranged a tasting of traditional Greek liquors with appetizers. Then a buffet dinner of other Greek specialties.