Category Archives: History

Welcome

Early days: at the beach of Phalasarna, on the far western coast of Crete.

This blog recounts our experiences in January 2014, during a travel course across Crete – all across Crete: up mountains, through ravines, from coast to coast to coast. You will see that we devoted much time to the archaeology and history of this island, from the Bronze Age through World War II. And we hope you will also be interested in our investigation of Cretan identity: we asked all kinds of people if they felt more Greek or more Cretan, and thought about the shifting status of Cretans in relation to external forces – especially through years of occupation by Roman, Ottoman, and Venetian empires, and even by other European powers in the 20th century.

All the students enrolled in “Crete through the Ages” contributed to the blog, so you are sure to note the diversity of their interests and hopefully how committed they all were to getting the most out of our experience. If you want to follow chronologically, start at the bottom of this page!

Our last day: on the steps of the Hellenistic city of Lato

Cretan Religious Identity

The Late Minoan I town of Gournia

Crete, as we have certainly seen, has a complex religious history. From the Mycenaean introduction of early Greek deity names, Crete saw a devotional shift with each foreign occupation. Wednesday we visited three sites – Gournia, Panagia Kera, and Lato – where we saw three examples of devotional spaces wherein these fluctuations are manifest.
Gournia was originally excavated by Harriet Boyd Hawes, a Boston native and Smith College graduate, in May 1901; Boyd, having been blocked from participating in pre-existing major excavations on Crete, used her fellowship to fund her own excavations, and thus became the first woman to direct a major field project in Greece as well as the first to speak before the Archaeological Institute of America. Boyd’s excavation of Gournia uncovered both a Goddess with Upraised Arms and a sacred stone, or baetyl.

A short drive away we reached a monastery that some have called the most important Christian monument on Crete, Panagia Kera. Built in the late 12th century, the façade is unassuming, straightforward, making the interior frescos all the more impressive. Each aisle has its own decorative programme: the south aisle is dedicated to Saint Ann and illustrates her and Joachim’s apocryphal story as Mary’s parents; the north is dedicated to Saint Antony and illustrates the second coming; the central is dedicated to the assumption and illustrates, among other scenes, the last supper, Herod’s feast, and men and women in hell.

The frescos date to the mid and late 13th century, which makes the presence of Saint Francis of Assisi rather remarkable, particularly because he hold such a prominent position on the east-facing pillar, visible immediately upon entering. It is easy enough to attribute this oddity to Crete’s contemporary occupation by Venice, but that all these frescos survived intact throughout the long period of Ottoman rule is not so easily explained. Molly Greene says of the occupation:

By the time the Ottoman navy appeared off the island’s northwestern coast in the spring of 1645, Catholic and Orthodox Cretans had lived together for almost five hundred years in a relationship whose complexity had no rival in the Greek East. The Ottoman conquest added another layer to this already complicated past by setting off a process of conversion to Islam that resulted in one of the largest Muslim communities in the Greek world. (A Shared World, 2002, Princeton University Press)

Maybe it’s survival is evidence of lenience, or maybe simply of Ottoman priority on prominent monuments in large cities, such as Chania and Heraklion.

The “Large Temple” at Lato

At Lato (the Dorian form of the more recognizable “Leto,” mother of Apollo and Artemis), we saw a prytaneion, an agora, and an Hellenistic temple, which for us is a canonical example of a “Greek temple,” unlike most of the benched temples with central hearths we’ve seen before. Lato’s inhabitation, however, dates as early as the LMIIIC on the acropolis, indicating, perhaps, that this site was sacred well before developments such as cut-stone altars and massive cult-statue bases, visible today.

From these three close-together sites we saw and felt the development and inter cultural exchange of devotional practices through Crete’s immense and equally rich history. We will likely never fully understand the identity of a G.U.A. or the function of a lustral basin, the reason Panagia Kera was left untouched, or to which deity Lato’s temple was dedicated, but these open questions add up to a distinct Cretan identity that we were lucky enough to taste.

Reconciling Ancient and Modern Crete

This trip we have not only been learning about ancient Greece and its inhabitants but also about the experience of modern Crete and the interactions of the island’s people with their rich history. We visited a weaving workshop in Zaros and met with Kyria Maria, who crafts her own designs, ones inspired both by ancient and modern motifs.

We also met with a potter who emulates the ancient pottery techniques but also creates his own modern designs.

Vassilis Politakis creating a clay vase on the electric wheel

These designs and themes remain similar across time, with the meander and rolling waves patterns, the octopus and dolphin images. Even the theme of the flora and vegetation of the island remain common embellishments like they do in Minoan wall frescos and pottery. There is a entire industry that thrives on producing replicas of famous archeological finds and I wonder how many of these artistic tropes and themes are a product of Greece capitalizing on what tourists expect to see and be able to purchase for their own mementos and how much of it remains in the artistic canon because of pride in their heritage. We have asked numerous people whether they consider themselves Cretan or Greek, and many responded that they are a Cretan first and a Greek second. This immense pride is evident in everything they do from creating textiles to producing olive oil and I’m sure that many of these artistic choices are deliberate in order to keep the Cretan spirit alive. Even with a history of 800 years of continuous occupation, the language, culture, and art of Crete has thrived and remains a core part of their identity today.

As an Art History and Classics double major, it’s extremely easy to only focus on the ancient side of things and forget that life continued beyond the second century A.D. This trip is not only about visiting as many archeological sites as possible but about experiencing the lives of the modern Cretans.

Heraklion Archaeological Museum: Scholarly Debate / Should We Accept What We See?

Having gotten used to waking up to the smell of pies and feasting on goat cheese, chocolate, and spinach pies and mountain tea for the past few days, I was a little disoriented this morning waking up to the sounds of cars from the streets and eating a more “American-like” breakfast with sausages, bacons, and milk.

After a pretty relaxed morning, our first site was the Heraklion Archaeological Museum at the center of town with a large Minoan art collection. Stepping foot into the museum, I quickly noticed the difference between this museum and the others we have visited. Here, we were greeted a guard at the door to check our tickets and every room that was separated by the the different time periods also had a guard. The gray wall color and the blend of a white and gray colored floor matched with clear glass windows to protect the art provided us with a new experience in seeing the details of the paintings and the pottery. The lighting in each of these rooms were bright enough that small details could be noted and good photographs could be taken. We were also alongside many other tourists, which is definitely different than some of the other museums we had visited where we were the only people.

The Heraklion museum has collections ranging from the archaic to the Late Roman period, and most of the pieces of findings were from nearby sites including Knossos, Gortyn, and Ierapetra. In the first room, we entered we saw that the pieces that were found were included on a larger canvas and the missing parts were restored. This restoration process takes in what is known from what is found and completes the remainder of the paintings by interpreting the findings to provide a more complete picture of what they were depicting. This process can be problematic in the sense that as viewers we cannot “un-see” things, so we would only take into mind what is restored and not try to figure out from the pieces that were actually found.

One of the pieces we saw was the “Tripartite Shrine”, which is also known as the “Grandstand Fresco”. This scene is thought to depict a scene taking place at the Central Court of the palace of Knossos with open space in the front and spectators on the side. The building has the horns of consecration. The females conversing in the front are more detailed in their depiction and their higher class status is noted, and a large crowd of people are in the back and only their heads are visible. This painting gives people a general ideal of what kind of place Knossos was, but it should be noted that whether or not the setting is Knossos is still under debate by scholars.

This is the first time that we also saw art pieces with high relief composition. One to take note is the “Prince of Lilies”, which is very characteristic of Minoan Crete. The life-sized figure is composed of parts that are not joined together, so the majestic headdress is still under debate as in whether it’s for the man or for the bull who is part of this larger mural composition but not depicted here. Likewise, the identity of this man is still much under debate because Sir Arthur Evans who excavated Knossos argued that he was the ruler of Knossos or a priest king, while other scholars suggest that he is an athlete.

So is it a good idea to try to complete a piece provided that you only retrieve minimal information from the findings? This may not always be accurate as shown by Sir Arthur Evans. He made a copy of the pieces that he found at Knossos and using the pieces that he had recovered as shown on the left, he thought that the painting was of a boy placing flowers in a basket as a offering. After a piece of the muzzle of the monkey was identified, it was determined that the fresco was actually a portrait of a money picking up flowers and placing them in baskets that is offered to a goddess as a gift as shown on the right. Monkeys play an important role in Minoan culture and religions. If that extra piece had not been recovered, everyone would have assumed that it was a boy doing the offerings and not the monkeys. This revelation provides a more accurate and new view of the Minoan culture that would have otherwise been misunderstood. Therefore, the process of restoration, which is important and easier for viewers to see a more complete piece, is helpful but can sometimes be misleading.

We continue our tour of these museum and see a wonderful collection of terra cotta pots, dedalic figurines found in tombs and sanctuaries, and sculptures of Roman emperors. After more free time to explore the vibrant city, we are off to another tour of Heraklion with Marinella!

Gortyn: Public Spaces & Recycling

Today, we explored the Roman city of Gortyn (or Gortyna), capital of the province of Crete and Cyrene. As the largest Roman city on Crete, it boasted enormous structures including an amphitheater, two theatres, an odeion, and a bath.

When we first entered the site however, the first remarkable landmark was in fact the earlierst church built in Crete. Built in the 6th century CE, the church also used architectural fragments from what believe to be an earlier temple. You could see this by looking at the stones used in the architecture – differing shapes, reused in unusual formations point towards recycling on the Roman architects’ end. This church was built to be a basilica with a cross dome plan and an eastern influence.

The church really was in marvelous condition, but we were unable to go inside due to current excavation/conservation work going on. We watched and discussed the workers on the site, with Bryan and Cashman explaining the specificities in working on archaeological sites in Greece: while the finds and the land of a field site belong to the country, different “international schools” can apply to excavate there – excavating without being part of an international school isn’t allowed.

Moving on from the church, we walked over to the Odeion. The first few rows of stairs were in very good condition and I found myself in awe over the marble floor, still very much intact. Odeions were generally used solely as concert halls, but research on Gortyn’s suggests that it was also used as a political space. We noted as we took in the tall mountains around us (with consistent sheep climbing up the side), that the choice of location was particularly Roman: the Greeks liked to build their amphitheater-like-spaces into hill sides to make use of the natural incline. The Romans on the other hand instead built supporting arches to support the structure and built the seats from the ground up.

At the back of the Odeion was the true prize of today’s sights: the Law Code of Gortyn. Written in the mid 5th century BCE, this public documentation lays out the laws of the city involving different items of personal conflict such as rules of property, marriage, and citizenship. When the Romans built their Odeion, they reused the blocks from this Law Code laying them out in the outer perimeter wall of the building’s structure. Reusing previous blocks was in fact common (as seen in the church although built years later). Elsewhere in the structure, you can see blocks with writing carved in used as part of the walls. They would have formerly been covered in plaster, however, and not been noticeable. With the Law Code, it’s different – emphasized and placed in its own walkway within the Odeion and meant to be observed.

After this, we moved on to look at some Roman sculptures that had been uncovered in the site (including a couple of Herculean Women) before crossing the street to admire the Temple of the Egyptian Gods, the Temple of Pythian Apollo, the Praetorium, and the baths. The final thing we came upon in our venturing was the newer excavations of one of the theatres of Gortyn. It was only half excavated – the other still covered under the current layer of earth. It was built similar to the Odeion in that exterior structures held up the towering seats, but instead of a completely “free” area to work with in the center, there was a stage with areas to utilize beneath and behind the main area. All of these are examples of the Romans modelling Gortyn off of other areas of the empire, showcasing how the splendor of these other areas continued into outer provinces.

Pitstop in Rethymno

I woke today to realize it was Sunday. This was extraordinarily obvious because I woke up much earlier than I planned on due to the bells calling us all to church. Rather than answering the call we all waited until a man’s chanting added ambiance to our breakfast. The chanting went on for a couple hours. Apparently after the morning service and communion was over, a funeral began. These words too were broadcasted throughout the entire town on giant speakers. I’ve never seen a church service broadcasted before, but that may be my own ignorance.

We then tried to fit all our luggage – including Caitlin’s giant bag – into the vans and headed to Rethymno. We went to the museum of Ancient Polyrrhenia, which was outside the high imposing walls of Fortetza Fortress.

Next to the entrance was some graffiti which, when translated, read “the only good fascist is a dead one.” Appropriately charmed we entered the museum. The one open room with the works could be navigated circumambulatory in a clockwise manner, progression chronologically from the Neolithic to Roman periods. Amongst the works were such pieces like Kamares ware pottery, the first sighting of what will apparently be common.

The as we explore a statue that is the only concrete evidence of religious life in early Minoan culture, fragments with Linear A, and statues of GUAs: Goddesses with Upraised Arms, typical of the final phase of the Cretan Bronze Age, LM IIIC. We also learned about the kernos, a ritual vase shaped like a stand with multiple vessels, and even how papyrus plants were made into paper. Most fascinating to me was an unfinished statue of Aphrodite. While unfinished, there was enough of the iconography that the subject was still pretty clear.

We then walked around Rethymno looking for some place to eat, which was an unsuccessful endeavor. The town was picturesque though, and similar to Chania in its building style.
We did get to see a mosque as well, which was being reconstructed rather than allowed to fall due to earthquakes, like many of it’s other Cretian counterparts. The minaret had scaffolding and the mosque was closed, but the exterior was in itself quite impressive.

Next – on to Tylisos!

Final Resting Places

This week we visited three gravesites: the British commonwealth Cemetery at Suda Bay, the German cemetery at Maleme, and a Late Minoan tholos tomb nearby. It was a great opportunity to see what these burial sites showed about Crete, and Greece, at the time of their construction. As resting places for the dead, their design would have been chosen with care. The sites speak about the dead, but also about Crete’s relationship with the world beyond the island.
Suda Bay is a prominent waterside spot chosen in 1944 for the soldiers from Commonwealth countries who died on Crete. Most of them were killed defending the island from Nazi attack in May 1941. The effort failed, but it may have contributed to a later important German loss in the Soviet Union. The site is manicured, organized and prominent. Each fallen soldier is given an individual headstone customized by country, rank, and religion. Each grave is easily accessible, and the many visitors from Commonwealth countries in the guestbook have clearly spent time finding specific young men. Freshly smarting from German occupation, the designers of the cemetery created a public spot to honor Crete’s heroes – a celebration of victory.

But what about the bodies of Germans killed in the battle? Kept in isolated graves and eventually moved to a monastery, it was not until 1974 that they were provided with a final resting place. This secluded area is very different from Suda Bay. Here, the landscaped graves blend together, masquerading as an olive grove. Soldiers share headstones and graves are difficult to access. To me, the area suggested healing, unity and a smoothing over of the past. Likely it blends in both to avoid offending residents, but also to convey that the war is a thing of the past. Dedicated just months after the fall of Greece’s military junta in 1974, the site suggests a willingness of the new government to be welcomed into modern Europe.

Just a little past the cemetery is a stone “tholos” tomb from the Late Minoan period. Built into the hillside, slightly square and using a long entryway, the site has Mycenaean (mainland) characteristics. Even so, it is the product of a transitional period on Crete with the arrival of Mycenaean influence. I had to wonder why the builders chose this specific design, and whether it was an effort to deal with these changes on the little island. Just like the designers of the cemeteries nearby, their choices reflect Crete’s constantly changing position, as different groups gained power. In what we have seen so far, maintaining an identity in the midst of these shifts is a key goal of Crete’s rich array of culture.

Etz Hayyim Synagogue

Our afternoon visit to the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Chania today was an enriching experience that shed light on an unexpected heritage in the midst of this historical town. The story starts out in the late fifteenth century, when the structure was built by the Venetians to serve as a Catholic Church. The building was placed at the heart of the Jewish neighborhood in Chania, which was closed off by gates each night from the rest of the town. The Jewish populace at the time consisted of approximately 600 individuals, and they were predominately Romaniote Jews.

It was explained to us that around the 17th century, when the Ottomans took charge of the island, the Jewish neighborhood was opened up to the rest, and the building was renovated and began functioning as a synagogue. During that time period, the Jewish population was also witnessing an increase in numbers – doubled to be more precise – as the expelled Jews from Spain migrated to Crete. To accommodate this rise in numbers, a second synagogue was built across the street.

However, the stability that had been maintained for centuries was interrupted in 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the island. The bombings of Chania managed to destroy the newly created synagogue, but fortunately the Etz Hayyim Synagogue remained standing. The story tragically escalates in 1944, when the Nazis shut down the Jewish neighborhood and performed door to door arrests. All of those who identified as Jewish were transported to local prisons, then taken to Heraklion to be shipped off into the various concentration camps that were scattered around Europe. Only three people managed to evade capture, two men and a woman; she was the only one who remained in Crete. Those on the ship lost their lives while being transported, when the T’anaïs was sunk by an allied submarine.

After World War II, the building was abandoned until 1996, when a three year renovation plan restored the structure to its former glory. Today, it serves as a place of worship for a community of twelve Jewish residents of Chania and Heraklion, and to all others who are interested. This synagogue is considered to be the second oldest synagogue in Greece, and it is also mentioned in the top 100 most endangered sites in the world.

Crete 2014

Wellesley College Blog for our January course in Greece