VACATION FUN: BEAUTY, HISTORY, AND MYSTERY! By Angela G. Slevin

The throne room

      Summer always puts me in mind of vacations and travel. This year, I’m thinking of two places, one I’ve been to many times and where I have family, and the other a place I’ve always wanted to go. Surprisingly to me, they have a connection.

     The island of Crete, Greece, sits in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and is huge in comparison to the other Greek isles. Crete measures 160 miles wide from west to east, and varies in width from 7.5 to 37 miles from north to south, making its area 3,218 square miles. Crete was an independent nation from 1898 until 1913, when it joined modern Greece.

    Crete is home to the ancient Minoan civilization that birthed the myth of the Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, and the labyrinth he prowled. Every ninth year, to avenge the murder of his son, Androgeos, by the Athenians, King Minos demanded the sacrifice of seven young men and seven young women from Athens to the Minotaur. He hunted the youths in the dark labyrinth and devoured them (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Minotaur). This tale is part of the history of the ancient Minoan civilization, whose stone palace at Knossos still stands in the present-day city of Heraklion. Knossos is said to be Europe’s oldest city. I visited there for the first time in 1984, and it is one of the most memorable moments of my life.

     My family and I toured the stone palace, walking through one cool, dimly lit room after another. My little sister and my Dad took turns sitting in the replica throne, imagining how King Minos might have felt sitting there, trying to ensure his city would thrive and grow.  We admired the colorful frescoes of athletes vaulting over bulls despite their dangerous horns, dolphins frolicking in the Mediterranean Sea, a depiction of a tall youth dressed in clothing of the time, and many more.

Ruins of the palace

      We exited the palace ruins and walked down some wide and broad stone steps. I was tired from all the walking, and sat for a moment to rest. I imagined what that spot would have looked like 3,000 years ago. I felt a connection to the men, women and children who had walked there before me that I have never felt anywhere else in the world. My mother’s family had lived in Crete for as long as anyone could remember. This place, the art, the legends were all in my blood; on that day, I felt a sense of belonging, a sense of home and history, that I’d never felt before.

The broad stone steps

Ruins outside the palace grounds

     The Minoan civilization is thought to have been advanced, with Knossos using the first known underground clay pipes for sanitation and supplying water. The Minoans had their own customs, skills and even their own language, called Linear-A. The ancient site was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos, and excavations began in 1900, led by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team. They continued for 35 years.

Excavation site aerial view. Courtesy of https://www.interkriti.org/crete/iraklion/knossos.html

      There is evidence that this location was inhabited as far back as 6000 BC. In fact, the first Minoan palace was built on the ruins of an earlier settlement in approximately 1900 BC. This palace was destroyed in 1700 B.C and a new one built in its place. It covered an area of 237,000 square feet, with multiple stories and an intricate architectural plan. Between 1700-1450 BC, the Minoan civilization was at its peak, and Knossos was an extremely important city-state in the Mediterranean region. During these years, the city was destroyed twice by earthquakes (1600 BC, and 1450 BC) and rebuilt. It was destroyed by fire in 1350 BC.

     One hundred thousand people lived in Knossos. This civilization was a sea-faring power between 2700 BC and 1450 BC, a thousand years before the Golden Age of Greece. But all of a sudden, their timeline stopped, and nothing more was found; scientists have not found any evidence of their existence after 1100 BC. This would indicate either that the entire community moved – but where and why? – or that something cataclysmic took place and wiped out humanity on that spot. So, what happened?

Present-day map of the area

      One theory connects Crete to that other place I’ve always wanted to visit: the lovely island of Santorini (also called Thira).  At its longest point, Santorini is 11 miles long and 7.5 miles wide, with an area of approximately 28 square miles. It is famous for its blue domed white churches, beautiful beaches, and a caldera created by the eruption of a huge volcano. The caldera is surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of yards deep. It has long been believed that the volcanic eruption was the root cause of the disappearance of all the inhabitants of Knossos. This event is thought to have set off a tsunami so enormous that waves of unbelievable height (the palace is about 300 feet above sea level) and power set out from Santorini, 92 miles away to the north, and devasted Knossos. The volcano of Santorini exploded with unprecedented violence, sending millions of tons of volcanic ash into the air and creating intense atmospheric shock waves, thus triggering the tsunami.

Aerial view of present-day Santorini. The body of water in the center and west of the island was once a volcano. The island’s name was once Strongili, meaning “the round one.” This eruption was so enormous it dramatically changed the shape of the island forever.

      This theory seems to be confirmed by archaeological evidence that, around 1480 BC, some huge natural disasters, including earthquakes, were responsible for the destruction of the Minoan palace, and brought about changes that resulted in the rapid decline of the Minoan civilization. Professor A. G. Galanopoulos of the University of Athens found wood and human teeth in the ruins of an ancient city in Santorini that was buried by volcanic ash. Radiocarbon dating of these artifacts indicated that this eruption took place sometime around 1450 to 1480 BC. The eruption on Santorini is estimated to have been one of the most destructive eruptions in human history, a 7 out of 8 on the volcanic explosivity index. Some researchers feel it was similar to the detonation of millions of atomic bombs. In addition, it is known that the eruption was preceded and followed by numerous violent earthquakes. Further, the story of such a traumatic event would almost certainly have been passed down for generations; many scholars believe that the tale of the sunken city of Atlantis, written by Plato, is based on this event.  The far-reaching impact of this earthquake-eruption-tsunami may also be reflected in the biblical Ten Plagues.

     Back on Santorini, the settlement of Akrotiri was buried under hundreds of feet of ash, and was preserved. It is a popular archaeological attraction, sometimes being compared to Pompeii. The ruins there have been significantly protected and are in a covered area with paths for people to walk through the structures. It was discovered that Akrotiri had an elaborate drainage system, similar to Knossos, and was also comprised of multi-story buildings that were decorated with magnificent frescoes and murals. The furniture and ceramics discovered here are of high quality and quantity, evidence of Akrotiri’s wealth.

Present-day Santorini

Present-day Santorini

      The history and mystery of Knossos and Santorini invite us to experience so much more than just the natural beauty and the delectable food of Greece. Imagine what we may still learn. Perhaps the next time someone takes a walk in a flower field, a little shard of pottery or a few pebbles forming an ancient mosaic will be revealed. Perhaps they will be a critical piece of the civilization puzzle. And perhaps you or I could be the lucky explorer who finds them. Now that’s what I would call a vacation to remember!