Knossos Palace

Who were the Minoans? We know that they were a civilisation that inhabited Crete over 4000 years ago. Do we understand exactly who they were when so much of their history is entwined in Mythology?
The Minoans never developed an army since they had no enemies, maybe that is why mythology became such an important and integral part of their lives. Many questions regarding the Minoan civilisation remained unanswered until the dawning of the 20th century.

Enter Arthur Evans - born into a wealthy British family, a bright boy who attended Harrow School, then Oxford University, and who later became keeper of the prestigious Ashmolean collection.
He travelled to Crete, and whilst there became convinced that a typical olive tree covered hillside close to Irakleio was the site of the ancient Palace of Knossos. 
Crete's liberation from the Ottoman rule in 1898, four years after his visit, then made it possible for him to buy the land and he began work excavating it in 1900. He endeavoured to find sponsors and help, but no one had any interest in sponsoring or working on what was considered at the time to be simply "fairy tales". Evans decided to fund all of the work himself, paying colleagues and friends to assist him - his belief in his own conviction was deep and profoundly held. Unbelievably within the first few months of excavating he hit the jack pot by discovering the palace's 4000 year old 'throne room' much to everyone's surprise, that is, apart from Evans himself.

Knossos is such an exciting place to visit. Should you go, then I would recommend that you visit either during Spring or Autumn, and make sure that you arrive at the site first thing in the morning. You will then appreciate Knossos unhindered and experience both it's peacefulness and tranquillity. 

The two storeys in the eastern wing are connected to one another by means of a system of stairways know as the Grand Staircase. There are a total of four flights of stairs, two for each storey. 
There is some controversy connected with the restoration work carried out at Knossos which involved the re-creation of several Minoan frescoes by Piet de Jong and Emile Gilliéron. They worked with Evans to make sense of the wall painting fragments that were found - the original fragments and reconstruction of which can be seen today at the museum in Irakleio. I personally liked them, they gave me a sense of just how colourful and attractive the Palace must have been.

A bull fresco adorns the Northern Propylaea. Images of sacred bulls outlasted the Minoan civilisation which in turn helped to foster the legend of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.
This Northern Propylaea was the main gateway to the palace complex. 

An entrance ramp is located just below the propylaea seen to the left. Large robust square columns lined the entrance, which along with the floors were all made out of polished white alabaster. It would have all looked absolutely incredible - pure white, translucent and highly polished.

The entrance then leads on down to The Royal Road which is the last vestige of a Minoan road. This connected the port and harbour to the palace complex, thus providing travellers with easy access to the palace. This area also acted as a reception courtyard - the Royal family would entertain guests here along with the members of court who would stand on the tiered platforms, parts of which can just be seen on the left.

The Throne Room was the first area that Evans discovered.  This chamber was built for ceremonial purposes, and the squat alabaster type dishes were actually found on the floor during excavation. They indicate that a ceremony to propitiate the deity was actually in progress at the time of the palaces destruction.

The Throne Room is considered to be the oldest Throne Room in Europe. On this photo a small alabaster throne can be seen which is certainly the oldest one in the Aegean region. Three Griffins are painted on the walls, two of which are both facing and flanking the throne.

There is much more to see than I have shown, but this print gives some indication of how the palace looked and also the large area that it covered. It is now known that it wasn't just a palace, but also a ceremonial and political centre for the Minoan civilisation and culture.
The indications are that the most likely cause of the devastating destruction of the palace was due to fire and a large earthquake in 1700BC. 

Creswell Crags

A family of swans glide gracefully through calm waters at Creswell Crags, but suddenly the silence is broken by a mélange of ducks dipping and diving around them. This gorge, however, has not always been home to such benevolence, but is keeper of a long held history; a hidden secret which until the dawn of the 20th century was untold. 

Creswell Crags is an enclosed limestone gorge on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and is known as an outstanding Ice Age archaeological site. 

Over fifty thousand years ago its earliest occupants were Neanderthals who lived in the gorge during what was a warm period in the earth's climate. They were accompanied by exotic animal species including lions, hyenas and wallowing hippopotamus. However, when the climate cooled and turned into what we know as the 'Ice Age' only the hyenas were able to adapt to the colder conditions using the many caves as their dens. Eventually they were join in the gorge by woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceros and reindeer. 

We know all of this from the remains that have been found over the past 100 years, some of which include a Neanderthal flint hand-axe dated 60,000-40,000 years old found in one of the caves. A 80,000 year old wolf's tooth, the skull of a Hyena 30,000 years old, and a Woolly rhinoceros tooth 50,000-38,000 years old.   

Ten thousand years ago during the late stages of the Ice Age, our ancestors travelled long distances to hunt and live in Creswell Crags using their caves as shelters. They travelled across Doggerland (now hidden beneath the North Sea) an area of land which once connected Britain to Europe. These ancestors were great hunters and well adapted to surviving the harsh climatic changes towards the end of the Ice Age.

A carving of a Bison done 13,000 years ago. This was found on one of the cave walls as recently as 2003. 

If you are interested to know more about Doggerland and its significance I wrote a post about it here.    

Aphrodite

Greek goddess of love, beauty and pleasure - her Roman equivalent, Venus
Birth of Venus (detail) - Sandro Botticelli

Three years ago we explored the remains from antiquity of a city called Aphrodisias lying in the fertile upper reaches of the Meander Valley, Turkey

Tetrapylon - the magnificent monumental gateway which led into the city

At its heart are the remains of a great pagan temple dedicated to Aphrodite. Once there were 40 Ionic columns surrounding the temples perimeter, now most lie where they fell during severe earthquake temors in the c4th and c7th.



Birth of Venus Sandro Botticelli - 1484 in Uffizi
But we seek antiquities new as soon we head off to an island where Greek Myths tell us Aphrodite was born 

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In the garden this week a large male Green Woodpecker

captured through the window - males have a red moustache, females black - his beak is caked in mud from digging in our lawn looking for grubs

Some garden corners taken this week - fulfilling a request from Catherine ♡
Botticell images via   

A Long Diverse History

Malta is a small island located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea which has historically made it of strategic importance to a succession of powers over thousands of years. It lies 50 miles south of Italy with Tunisia to it's west and Libya to it's south. Throughout the ages it has always been of great importance both to ancient seafarers and in more recent centuries as a naval base. This has resulted in it being a cornucopia filled with interest for the traveller to see revealling its many legacies from those that have ruled it.

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Malta's national flag showing the George Cross awarded to the country in 1942 by King George Vl for it's bravery in WWll.

Their national spoken language is arabic in origin, but their second language is English, prior to that it was Italian. In 1802 Maltese leaders presented the island to Sir Alexander Ball, asking that the island become a British Dominion.

Like us, they drive on the lefthand side of the road

The cross known as the 'Maltese Cross' can be seen all over the island - in jewellery, decorating banners, on doors, and walls. However, the cross is actually the symbol of the Order of St. John which came to the island in 1530. Malta was given to the Order's Grand Master and his 4000 men by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and it is where they ruled the island for over 260 years. The eight points of the cross symbolise the eight obligations or aspirations of the knights - to live in truth, to have faith, to repent one's sins, to give proof of humility, to love justice, to be merciful, to be sincere and wholehearted, and to endure persecution

A wall decoration in St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, a church designed by Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar for the Knights in 1573 - 1577. Small chapels off the main nave are decorated and dedicated to each langue - the Knights were organised into 8 langues based on their language or geographical origin. A Co-Cathedral is one that shares the function of being a bishop's seat with another cathedral city - in this case it is Mdina.

The design and style of Maltese fishing boats dates back to 8th century BC when Phoenicians settled on the islands

The Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol, can clearly be seen decorating the bows of the fishing boats - it is said to give protection and good health

The medieval city of Mdina, fortified by the Romans, was the old capital of Malta before the Knights built Valletta. A church has existed on the site since the 4th century which was enlarged by Norman King Roger of Sicily in 1090. Following an earthquake in 1693 the church collapsed and was completely redesigned and built over the remains of the Norman cathedral. 

Mdina has a population of less than 300 and is mostly inhabited by Maltese nobility and religious authorities.

The entrance to the Grand Master's Palace, Mdina showing a bronze medallion of the 66th Grand Master,  António Manoel de Vilhena, a Portuguese nobleman. A Grand Master was elected for life and was subject only to the authority of the Pope

Casa Inguanez, Mdina - the palace of the oldest noble family on Malta

Mdina is known as the 'silent city' there are very few roads wide enough to take a vehicle, and only those belonging to residents are allowed through the city gates

Several years ago when J worked for the UN he helped set up a Mediterranean centre for Marine Pollution in Malta. He was invited to a function held in Mdina one evening and at that time the medieval city was lit by flaming torches.

St. Paul on Malta - Adam Elsheimer 1578-1610 - nightime and the survivors of the shipwreck are being helped by the islanders

Luke recounts in Acts 27 - 28 how Paul's ship was lost at sea for two weeks during winter storms whilst he was travelling from Caesarea, Israel, for trial in Rome where he intended appealing to Caesar for clemency. The ship ran aground on the island of Malta and was dashed to pieces by the surf, but all the occupants survived and made it to shore. St. Paul's Island, a rocky islet at the entrance to St. Paul's Bay is thought to be the site of the ship wreck.

  A thirty minutes ferry journey takes you to the small island of Gozo which reminded me so much more of the Malta that I remember as a youngster. Gozo is the site in Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus is held captive by the nymnph Calypso in a cave. 

On Gozo there has been very little new building,
and time appears to have stood still

St. Mary's Cathedral is situated within the hilltop Citadel of the capital of Gozo, Victoria. The whole of the Citadel is in the process of being cleaned and restored. Victoria is the administrative, business and social hub of Gozo and was renamed in honour of Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee.

A few miles from Victoria is the town of Xagħra set on one of the many hills that dot the Gozitan landscape. It is the site of a huge 5500 year old temple complex built in 3500BC during the Neolithic period and called Ġgantija meaning 'giant women' - it is thought to have been dedicated to the Great Earth Mother. This temple complex is older than both the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge - it is the world's second oldest manmade religious structure.

Altars within the main temple complex

Ġgantija is much bigger than it looks on my photos but hopefully the tall palm trees and people on the right help to create some scale