The Bible Brought to Life - Study Abroad 2013: Crete, Greece

We began our last day of the cruise at the port in Heraklion, Crete. We had a tour at the Palace of Knossos, an ancient civilization that resided on the island of Crete. This palace was very interesting to me because of the story behind it. Back in August, we went to Cape Sounion to tour the Temple of Poseidon and watch the sunset. While there, our tour guide told us a Greek mythological story about the island of Crete. It is said that back in the day, Athenians sent seven girls and seven guys from Athens to the island of Crete. These people were sacrifices to the Minotaur, head of a bull and body of a human that lived in a labyrinth, or maze. The only way they could survive is by killing the Minotaur and finding their way back through the Labyrinth. One particular year, the King of Athens' son was chosen as one of the sacrifices. His father was very distraught. The son said that if he survived, he would put up a white sail on his trip back but if he did not, the sailors would put up a black sail so that the father would know as soon as the boat came into sight. When coming into the labyrinth, he laid down a string to follow on his way back out. The son successfully defeated the Minotaur but while on the island, he fell in love with a girl. While sailing back to Greece, he was love struck by the girl and forgot to change the sail on the boat. The King was waiting on the cliff at Cape Sounion because it was the closest point to Crete. When the boat came over the horizon, the King saw the black sail and in grief, he jumped off the cliff and committed suicide.

Now, I know you are thinking "What does this have to do with Knossos?" Well, a lot actually. Archaeologists and many others believe that this story actually took place at the palace of Knossos. The Minoan people had a hobby of bull riding. And I am not referring to the bull riding in Texas. They did acrobatic bull riding. People would run, grab onto the horns, flip themselves onto the bull, and then flip themselves off of the bull. Most people believe that this mythological tale might have actually had some truth to it. Have you tied it together yet? The palace of Knossos was known to be a very large and confusing palace with over 1,300 rooms. Would that be known as a maze to people who have never seen it or did not know that it was a palace? Also, the tributes sent had to defeat the Minotaur, a half bull half human mythological creature. Would it make sense that they would be defeated by a bull if they did not have training to ride them like the Minoans? This palace was a huge clue to deciphering the Greek mythological story. We basically went full circle.

The palace burned in the 15th century B.C. due to the explosion of the volcano that sunk Santorini and was abandoned by the Minoans. This abandonment caused the Minoan population to slowly die out as they separated into different tribes and their cultures changed. It is saddening to know that what was once such a magnificent palace was just abandoned after it burned because they could not reconstruct such a large masterpiece. The palace has been reconstructed to what archaeologists think it would have looked like since not much of the palace survived after the burning. So most of the pictures I have are of reconstructions, not the real thing.

Bedroom in Palace

House beside the Palace

How the Minoans jumped the bulls

Octopus Painting

Painting of Minoans carrying water

How archaeologists believe the palace looked before it burned.

Storage Jars

Storage Room

This is just for you, Mom. Look how blue the water is!

On the afternoon of our last day, our ship anchored near the port at Santorini. We were not able to dock at the port because of the depth of the water. This island used to be a large island shaped like a circle. Somewhere around the second century B.C., the volcano in the middle of the island, erupted. This eruption caused the entire middle of the island to sink to the bottom of the ocean. The eruption is known as the most catastrophic volcanic eruption in Grecian history. Now, the island surrounds the still active volcano, with a small bay of water separating the two from each other. Because of this eruption, the island of Santorini became a mountain. The only way to get up to the city was either by walking, cable car, or donkey. Which do you think I chose? Of course I chose the donkey! It was a blast. Riding a donkey up the side of the mountain while overlooking the bay and volcano is something I will never forget. I was only afraid of death a couple of times when the donkey would trip and I would head for the edge. The city of Santorini was absolutely breathtaking. The view of everything, the people, the shops, it was all perfect. It was something I will never forget. The only thing that disappointed me was that it was a three hour drive to any blue topped houses that Santorini is known for. But even without the blue roofs, it was still incredible. I have been trying to choose a favorite of the places on the cruise, but they were all so different and perfect in their own ways. Unforgettable.