Category Archives: Identity

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

Tasting food from the past: Minoan style

Tonight we went to the INSTAP Study Center of East Crete and had a typical Minoan meal from the Bronze Age. Jerolyn Morrison, a researcher at the center, took the time to prepare the meal for us even though she is working on the last chapter of her dissertation. We tried the following dishes prepared with the methods used during the Neopalatial period: rabbit in white wine sauce and juniper berries, lentils with wild garlic leeks and honey, and octopus in beer and cinnamon and juniper.

Researchers, like Jerolyn, are able to identify meals and dishes prepared during the Neopalatial period from chemical residue analysis and macroscopic analysis. Jerolyn prefers to use macroscopic findings to support her research because it involves specific evidence such as animal bones, preserved seeds, and leaf imprints found on mud brick. In addition, researchers also look at frescos and vases to fill in the blanks for food lists.

Originally trained as a potter, Jerolyn was able to replicate the cooking scene. The clay pots here we’re made in 2009 out of clay from Mochlos. Originally, Jerolyn had used other clay but the pots cracked and didn’t last as long. Instead, she used the type of clay the Minoans used at the time and it has proven to be durable.

The basic Minoan cooking pot is a tripod shape, with three legs supporting the bowl. The reason why they made their pots in that style was because the vessels elevated the pot so that way they could have a portable hearth.
Overall the meal was wonderful! And I found it interesting how cooking can help us understand ourselves as people and the evolution of our identities through by looking back and then recreating our interpretation of the past.

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.

Mías Evdomádas

Today marks the classes first week on Crete! It is hard to believe that we have been traveling the island for seven days. From the village of Zoros, we visited the Palace of Phaistos and the Minoan harbor at Kommos. Afterwards, we took a short snack break on the beach at Kommos and had a spectacular view of the Libyan Sea.

Following the break, the class heard the first group presentation by Rayah and Alexandra at the Kamilari Tholos Tomb. According to their research and findings, the Kamilari Tomb was built in the Middle Minoan IB period and was used all the way into the early MMIII period. One can tell that the tomb was from the Middle Minoan period because of its shape. Unlike the square shaped Late Minoan Tholos Tomb we had seen a few days before at Maleme, the Kamilari Tomb was circular and much rounder. In addition, we learned that since the first excavation in 1959 by the Italian Archaelogical Mission, archaeologists have found more MMIII period material at this site than any other period and have recovered 2,500 vases as well as 800 conical cups. One can tell that the tomb was used during the Middle Minoan period because of the shape of the tomb. Unlike the square shaped Late Minoan Tholos Tomb we had seen a few days before at Maleme, the Kamilari Tomb was definitely much rounder.

We also learned that the little red dots waxed on the corners of each stone left behind by archaeologists currently excavating the site. Professor Burns explained that they are used as markers for digital mapping for the drawing of the architecture of sites and something he has seen before on excavation sites he has worked on.

After seeing sites, Vivi took us to an olive oil factory where we watched olives being pressed and processed into olive oil.
First, they go up the chute where the leaves are separated from the olives

Then they are crushed and smashed in a machine. Afterwards the pits and oil are separated with the olive oil then packaged to be sold

While the pits and skin are processed outside and made into fuel. According to Professor Burns, Cretans have been using this as a source if fuel since ancient times! It was neat to see this tradition in person.

In addition to exploring excavation sites, at lunch today we were able to hear another account about Cretan identity. Since the beginning of the course, we have previously heard two other perspectives: one by the tour guide on the first day who argued that most identify as Greek and the second by the secretary at the Etz Hayyim Synagogue who argued that most people on the island identity as Cretan. Vivi explained that 90% of the islanders identify as a Cretan rather than Greek. She also told us Cretans share a lot of traditions and commonalities with the people of northern Greece and that Cretans consider Thessaloniki as their “brother city” despite the fact that the two do not trade or really interact with each other often. Cashman later told the class that this could be because the two regions of Greece were both occupied by the Turks at the same time.

Tomorrow we will travel to Heraklion. Can’t wait!

Cretan Hospitality: A Look Into The Food Culture

Cretan food plays a very large role in the greater image of Cretan identity. After arriving to Zaros the previous night, experiencing our first flavor of Cretan hospitality, we were somewhat prepared for the quantity of food that was to come this morning.

As plates upon plates of pastries appeared from the kitchen, we wanted to try everything, and of course, show Kyria Katerina our appreciation for her cooking, which we learned to do through accepting all she had prepared and enthusiastically accepting her offer to wrap up the remainders for snacks later on in the day.

After observing the ancient city of Gortyna, the largest Roman city on Crete, we ventured to the olive groves where we were instructed on how to harvest olives to make olive oil. In ancient times, they would have picked the olives by hand; however today, they set up nets under the trees and use a whacking tool to make the olives fall. This is definitely a faster, more efficient way, but likewise, less precise and not as fruitful as a harvest. Every 5 liters of these harvested olives will produce about 1 liter of oil; none of which is wasted on Crete, for sure!

Next on our agenda was a cooking lesson with Kyria Katerina, Vivi, and Vivi’s mom. Confirming the importance of our earlier excursion, Vivi explained that in Crete they only use olive oil, never butter. In northern Greece some use butter for some things, but Cretans do not – which explains how they consume almost double the oil that mainland Greeks do. Olive oil was such an important staple to the Greek diet that in the Greek Orthodox faith we can see its inclusion in times of fasting. Before Vivi’s generation, during the Lenten period and other fasting times, they would give up any combination of meat, fish, and oil, totaling about 120 days of the year. By avoiding an ingredient as central as olive oil for the Greeks it shows the dedication to wanting to constantly observe the tradition, having to think about their choices and their meanings before, during, and after each meal. Aside from religious purposes however, this can be very good for the body, giving it a break by removing toxins.

Vivi explained that most Greek foods consist of only three to four ingredients, most of which is found in their garden – their primary ingredient, of course, being love. Our menu included: spanakopita (spinach pie,) euvarlakia (meatballs made with onion, rice, dill, and an avgolemono sauce,) dolmades made from stuffed cabbage opposed to the more common grape leaves (a winter food as Vivi explained,) stuffed tomatoes with small pasta (typically made with rice,) tiropita (with homemade filo dough by Kuria Katerina, from Keramos,) and to finish, galaktoboureiko, a milky custard cake, for dessert. Vivi remarked “when we wake up in the morning, the first thing the women think is what am I going to make today,” however; she added that with today’s cooking show media, more men are developing aspirations of being able to cook. With this, we can see the Cretan identity evolving into more modern times of greater gender equality while still maintaining their values of what is important to them.

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.

Arkoudospilios Cave

Just beyond the walls of the Gouvernatou Monastery is a paved path that zig-zags down one side of the Avlaki gorge of Akrotiri. The path ends (or so we thought) at the Katholikou Monastery, but its first major landmark is the Arkoudospilios Cave. This large cave seems to have been sacred to Artemis, but now houses a very small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cave’s association with Artemis seems to originate from the bear-shaped stalagmite at the centre of the largest area of the cave, and is appropriate on Crete, where Artemis is especially venerated. Local myth claims that the bear was petrified by Mary when the local monks of Gouvernatou were plagued by thirst. Thus, the small chapel was dedicated to her.
Caves like this one are interesting to me for their manipulation of the senses for the purpose of ritual. The distinct brand of sensory deprivation and exhaustion offered by caves like this and that at Eleusis inspires an epiphanic experience and devotional bond to the deity. For the modern uninitiated student, these shadowy rites come closest, even in their mystery, to explaining a religious system that can seem merely accessory in light of contemporary advances in social, political, and technological sciences, not to mention a timeless cultural mosaic of theatre, music, and visual arts.
The most exciting part of the cave complex, though, was a small icon within the modern chapel. Beside the obligatory Mary and Jesus icons was a depiction of two saints wearing the traditional Cretan garb that Alex, the secretary of Etz Hayyim, told us about yesterday. The outfit includes deep indigo harem pants, a needle-point head scarf, a distinct 4-5 meter red belt, and a special knife with a triangular hilt, whose shape has gruesome utility.

Alex described this distinctive Cretan order only when we asked him how he saw the Cretan identity functioning discretely from a larger Greek identity. It was in Arkoudospilios that we saw the first echoes of the island identity imagined and described by one Cretan reappear kilometers away in the deserted hillside of Akrotiri.

Crete 2014

Wellesley College Blog for our January course in Greece