Our tour guide from Crete, who appears to go by the singular name of Vangelis, arrived promptply at 9am this morning to take us to Knossos. The Palace of Knossos is one of four Minoan Palaces on Crete that remain from the Minoan Civilization. The Minoans lived during the Bronze Age from about the 27th century B.C. until about the 15th century B.C. They were a very advanced civiliation for their time. They had paved roads, a system of plumbing and irrigation, a well-organization agricultural plan, and a strong navy (which is probably why they were never colonized by the Greeks.)
Among the most interesting rituals the Minoans observed (beyond choosing to worship goddesses instead of male gods), was the Minoan Bull Dance. During this ritual dance, the participants would take an acrobatic leap over a bull, grasp the bull's horns, and the bull would violently jerk his neck upwards thus giving the participant the momentum necessary to perform all sorts of acrobatic tricks and stunts. It is believed that many Minoan young men had to participate in this ritual to prove they were ready to enter into manhood.
In 1450 B.C. it is believed that much of the advancement and growth of Minoan civilization on Crete began to dminish when a major earthquake occurred. Many of the Minoan palaces were heavily damaged, although much of the Palace of Knossos remained intact.
After our visit to the remains of the Knossos Palace, we visited a gallery of the Archaeological Museum that exhibits some of the most important artifacts from the Minoan Palaces. I have included photos of some of those artifacts with this post.
Many of the folks from the group have left for dinner. Tony and I are having dinner here at the hotel, and many of the students are playing cards here in the lobby and planning to have gyros or pizza for dinner. We have to leave at 5:30 am in the morning to fly back to Athens to catch our flight back to the states. We have learned SO MUCH on this trip, and I think this trip has really made an inpact on many of the students.
As I have done in the past, I will do my lists.
5 things I will miss about Greece:
1. The gorgeous color of the sea
2. The Greek salads (especially the Feta!)
3. Mythos Beer
4. Watching people argue politics in the coffee shops
5. Watching history blend with today in one city
5 things I will not miss about Greece:
1. The frequent worry that I will be hit by a car or motorcycle everytime I cross a street
2. The way servers in restaurants practically ignore you (unless you put your feet on a chair, and then they run over and scream at you!)
3. The merchants double the prices of things if you use a credit card
4. The terrible sewage system
5. All of the cigarette smoke
Among the most interesting rituals the Minoans observed (beyond choosing to worship goddesses instead of male gods), was the Minoan Bull Dance. During this ritual dance, the participants would take an acrobatic leap over a bull, grasp the bull's horns, and the bull would violently jerk his neck upwards thus giving the participant the momentum necessary to perform all sorts of acrobatic tricks and stunts. It is believed that many Minoan young men had to participate in this ritual to prove they were ready to enter into manhood.
In 1450 B.C. it is believed that much of the advancement and growth of Minoan civilization on Crete began to dminish when a major earthquake occurred. Many of the Minoan palaces were heavily damaged, although much of the Palace of Knossos remained intact.
After our visit to the remains of the Knossos Palace, we visited a gallery of the Archaeological Museum that exhibits some of the most important artifacts from the Minoan Palaces. I have included photos of some of those artifacts with this post.
Many of the folks from the group have left for dinner. Tony and I are having dinner here at the hotel, and many of the students are playing cards here in the lobby and planning to have gyros or pizza for dinner. We have to leave at 5:30 am in the morning to fly back to Athens to catch our flight back to the states. We have learned SO MUCH on this trip, and I think this trip has really made an inpact on many of the students.
As I have done in the past, I will do my lists.
5 things I will miss about Greece:
1. The gorgeous color of the sea
2. The Greek salads (especially the Feta!)
3. Mythos Beer
4. Watching people argue politics in the coffee shops
5. Watching history blend with today in one city
5 things I will not miss about Greece:
1. The frequent worry that I will be hit by a car or motorcycle everytime I cross a street
2. The way servers in restaurants practically ignore you (unless you put your feet on a chair, and then they run over and scream at you!)
3. The merchants double the prices of things if you use a credit card
4. The terrible sewage system
5. All of the cigarette smoke
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