Crete—A Weekend With Myths, Legends, and History

Heidi is taking the week off, and so we have a guest today. H. S. Stavropoulos was born and raised in a small Greek Village in the middle of Oakland, California, and writes about being born in America to Greek immigrant parents and living between those two worlds. A frequent visitor to Greece and having hundreds of relatives there, H. S. Stavropoulos writes stories that describe life in Greece, Greek food (of course!!), the wealth of Greek culture, mythology and traditions, and the complex and wonderful Greek people. 

The wonderful thing about visiting my family in Greece is that when I need to escape for a weekend getaway, I have hundreds of islands to select. I’d always wanted to see the Palace at Knossos, so Crete it was.

I flew in and grabbed a cab to my beachfront hotel. I spent the day swimming and as the day drew to a close and I walked along the shore listening to the gentle sound of waves lapping against the sandy beach, a single white flip-flop was tossed among the waves. I reached it and kicked it onto the beach, continued my walk, and eventually headed back to my hotel.

Sunset over Heraklion

I awoke to the sun shining into my room. I opened the window to admire the sea view. But today was not a beach day, today was for an archeological tour. I hopped on a local bus and headed into Heraklion, where I transferred to another, headed to Knossos. Arriving at Knossos, I walked the short distance to the gate, paid, and entered the heart of the Minoan Civilization.

The day was hot and dusty and filled with the cries of peacocks. I’d never seen peacocks in the wild and for a time I was enthralled watching them, almost forgetting that they weren’t the reason I’d come.

Knossos peacock

I walked to the palace with its red columns and frescoes of dolphins, bulls, and bull-jumping youths. The colours were bold and vibrant and the artistry magnificent.

I walked around the complex and was amazed that the site covered 20,000 square meters. The palace is a multi-storied structure with multiple floors, innumerable corridors and colonnades. I wondered as I peered down several levels with zig-zagging staircases that reminded me of an Escher painting whether this wasn’t the basis for the myth of the labyrinth.

The Palace of Knossos features in many myths about the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. In Greek, minotaur, means the “bull of Minos.” Minos was the King of Knossos. King Minos commissioned the great architect, Dedalos to build the labyrinth to house the Minotaur. But the King kept Dedalos prisoner to prevent him from revealing the layout. Dedalos fashioned two sets of wings from feathers and wax. He and his son, Ikaros, escaped by flying off the island of Crete. Ikaros flew too high and the sun melted the wax and he plummeted into the Aegean Sea.

Knossos Palace

Another myth surrounding the Palace is that of Theseus slaying the Minotaur. Crete required a tribute from Athens of young men and woman to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Theseus, the son of the King of Athens, vowed to kill the Minotaur. If he succeeded, he would change the sails on his ship to white to alert his father, Aegeus. When Theseus returned, he forgot to change the sails, and his father jumped to his death from the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, thereby giving his name to the Aegean Sea.

One modern theory is that the word “labyrinth” can be associated with the double headed axe, the labyrs, used throughout Crete.

As I walked about the palace, I thought of these rich stories filled with symbolism and tragedy.

I waited in line to view the alabaster throne, surrounded by reclining griffins painted on the walls of the room. I saw ceramic jars taller than myself. A double horned limestone sculpture, the symbol of the sacred bull, stood in an open area with tourists vying to be photographed in front of it.

Double horns at Knossos

After spending the better part of the day at Knossos, I returned to Heraklion, where I toured the open exhibits of the Heraklion Archeological Museum. The museum houses the actual frescoes from Knossos along with many of its findings. Items from other sites on Crete are also included. The Phaistos disc has always fascinated me with its hieroglyphic symbols arranged in a spiral that has never been translated.

The next day I explored the city of Heraklion, once owned by ancient Venice. Along the stone walls built to fortify the city, I wandered past a large structure with vaulted ceilings and arches then walked to the old harbour. At the end of the pier I came to the Venetian fortress. I entered the cool and dark stone fortress and then walked up to the top of the battlements overlooking the sea.

Venetian fortress in Heraklion Harbour

I walked back towards the city and entered a pedestrian street filled with shops. I wandered through a pedestrian mall and cross streets until I reached a magnificent fountain in the center of the shopping district surrounded by cafes and restaurants.

The Morozini Fountain is an ornate 17th-century Venetian fountain used to supply water to the fortified city. Water flows from the mouths of four lions into the base of the fountain.

After eating lunch, I went to the tomb of Nikos Kazantzakis, the writer known to most Americans for his story, Zorba the Greek. He is supposed to have lost the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature by one vote to Albert Camus. Camus is reported to have said that Kazantzakis deserved it more.

Kazantzakis is buried outside the walls of the city of his birth, as he requested, since the church would not allow him to be buried in a cemetery. The epitaph on his grave reads, “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”

I ate at a seaside restaurant as the sun glowed orange as it set over the sea. That night, I mused over the sights I had seen on this too quick jaunt to Crete, knowing that there was much more to see and experience on the largest of Greece’s islands. The next day would see me on a plane returning to Athens.

Remember that white flip-flop I found on the beach? It inspired a story that will be published in Fish Nets, the second anthology of the Guppies Chapter of Sisters in Crime, which will be released in early May 2013.

Off the Beaten Track: Getting Around, Ancient Style

Novel Adventurers are very happy to welcome back our guest blogger today. Gary Corby is the author of The Pericles Commission and The Ionia Sanction, the first two books in a murder mystery series set in the ancient world. The third book, Sacred Games, will be released in May 2013.  He lives in Sydney, Australia, with one wife, two daughters, four guinea pigs, and two budgies. You can catch him on his blog at GaryCorby.com, on twitter, and on GoodReads. 

It's lovely to be back at Novel Adventurers!  Last time I was here I wrote about whether it's possible to get a visa to the ancient world (here).  Because, you see, I write murder mysteries set in ancient Greece.  My heroes are Nicolaos, the elder brother of Socrates, and Diotima, the greatest lady philosopher of her age, who just happened to be Socrates' teacher.  Ancient history is an interesting subject for many people, but for me, it's also a job skill.

That includes knowing how people traveled about.  A lot of us equate rapid and distant travel with the modern world.  It's not true! 

I once took the ferry from Bodrum on the coast of Turkey, to Crete, in the Mediterranean Sea, halfway to Egypt.  (There's an amazing Crusader castle at Bodrum, by the way).  The trip took about the same time as a trireme would have taken, two and a half millennia ago.  

Of course, anyone who's ever traveled on Greek ferries knows that getting to the destination per schedule isn't necessarily part of the ticket.  A more telling example is that the overnight train from Athens to Istanbul is no faster today than a rider with a spare mount could have managed in the ancient world.  The Persians had by then created a system called the King's Messengers, which was a relay system of super-fast riders on quality mounts.  Those guys could move a message from one side of the Persian Empire to the other in three days, and that was the largest empire the world had yet seen.  Three days isn't up to internet speed, but we're talking about written letters, and that sort of time is on a par with a modern postal service.  

If you wanted to travel about, there was no one to stop you.  No passports.  No visas.  No border guards.  (City guards were another matter).  Also, no highway patrol.  If you traveled far from home and got attacked and killed, then your body would be left to rot in some ditch by the road.  No one back home was ever going to know what happened to you.  Nor would locals necessarily care except to complain about the smell as they passed by.  Self-defence skills were at a premium!   Another minor problem was being attacked and enslaved by pirates, or held for ransom.  This actually happened to the famous philosopher Plato.  He was captured on a return trip from Sicily, and his friends had to buy him back.  

The funny thing is, everything I just listed is something that can happen to you today, if you stray into the wrong parts.  

Greek shipping went a considerable distance.  It's a little known fact that the French city of Marseilles was originally the Greek colony of Massalia.  Incredibly, there've been grave goods found in Britain that are almost certainly from Mycenaean Greece.  They're all in Cornwall--at the Rillaton Barrow in fact--so it's likely some Greek trader got his boat past Gibraltar and up the Atlantic coast, and then took off across the English Channel.  The earliest Greek who we know for absolute sure got that far was a fellow called Pytheas, who came from Massalia.  He reported landing on an island called Pritannia.  It's no coincidence that today we call the same place Britannia.  Pytheas continued on to Norway, where he saw the midnight sun.

Going in the other direction, there have been scraps of silk found in the grave of a German warrior dated to 700BC.  That's way early for the Silk Road to be open, but by the time of Nicolaos and Diotima, the road is open at least as far as Persia.  It was therefore possible, in theory, for someone in Nico's time to make it from Britain to China.   And everywhere you went, there'd be different languages, different foods, and wildly different cultures.  Which is all to the good if you happen to be me and writing that period.  I often think that to be an adventurer in that time must have been like living in an epic fantasy.

Santorini: Home of the Gods

By Edith McClintock

Fira, Photo by Yoo Chung

The gods do not want me to cruise. I know this firstly because I have been given the gift of seasickness. Further proof came on my first cruise through the normally tranquil seas of the Bahamas when our creaking wedding cake of a ship hit a hundred-year storm. Believe me when I tell you there is no pill on earth to convince me that being tossed about in the bowels of an overcrowded, floating condominium battling a vastly superior and angry sea is a human experience for which I should spend hard-earned money.

I do, however, understand others feel differently—my boyfriend and his parents were happily gambling the evening away while I moaned in pain begging the sea gods to please just pull us under already and end my misery.

Oia at sunset

But I did give cruising one last try in the Greek isles aboard the MS Sea Diamond (in truth, a diamond in need of some polishing, may she rest in peace). Although we didn't hit a storm this time, I was still most grateful to the Sea Diamond for bringing me safely within the sparkling blue waters of Santorini—a remnant volcanic caldera created in the Aegean Sea around 1630 BCE when a volcanic explosion blew the top off the island. The eruption likely caused the downfall of the Minoan civilization centered on nearby Crete and may even have given birth to the legend of Atlantis.

I was particularly happy when the Sea Diamond sailed away, leaving me on solid ground again. And what a terrain. What a setting. For three days we wandered in awe through white-washed towns with blue-domed churches clinging precariously to the tops of plunging cliffs. We hiked rugged hills past tiny pink churches and the ancient ruins of Minoa. We rested in cliffside cafes, tasting crisp white wines and mezes of eggplant, garlic, yogurt, and cucumber. We watched golden sunsets shimmer over a mountain of pastel homes intertwined with sea and sky and volcanic rock.

Fira, Oia, Firostefani, Thera. Even the names are beautiful.

It was early April when I visited, just after the Easter holiday and still cool, the crowds not yet arrived. But Santorini would be breathtaking at any time of the year. I tell everyone I meet to go—by ferry or plane (which is how I got home). Go. Even by cruise ship, if you must. But not by the Sea Diamond. She sank the following year, hitting a volcanic reef within that same caldera and sinking to her ultimate resting place with the gods of the sea—within the spectacular bay of Santorini. Paradise.

And as for further cruising, I think the gods have spoken and I will obey.

For more, visit my author website and/or personal blog, A Wandering Tale. Even better, order a copy of Monkey Love & Murder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or the Book Depository (free shipping nearly anywhere in the world).

Off The Beaten Track: The Mysterious Island Of Tinos

Our guest this week is mystery author Jeffrey Siger, whose work has been called “prophetic” by the Greek Press. Eurocrime described him as a “very gifted American author...on a par with other American authors such as Joseph Wambaugh or Ed McBain,” and the City of San Francisco awarded him its Certificate of Honor citing that his “acclaimed books have not only explored modern Greek society and its ancient roots but have inspired political change in Greece.” Target: Tinos, the fourth novel in his Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, earned a starred review by Publishers Weekly, following up on his internationally best-selling Murder in Mykonos, Assassins of Athens, and Prey on Patmos: An Aegean Prophecy. Born in Pittsburgh, Jeffrey practiced law at a major Wall Street law firm and established his own New York City law firm before giving it all up to live and write on the island of Mykonos. He blogs on Saturdays at Murder is Everywhere and can also be found at www.jeffreysiger.com.

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the Greek island of Tinos, the fourth largest of the Cycladic islands (and also the setting for my just released fourth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mystery, TARGET TINOS (Poisoned Pen Press). It sits with its looming high-ridged backbone and mountain peaks often lost in clouds just a few miles across the Aegean Sea from my front porch on the island of Mykonos.

Church of the Annunciation

If you have heard of Tinos it’s probably because of the Church of the Annunciation (Panagia Evangelistria) and the more than one million pilgrims who flock there each year seeking to invoke the healing powers of its Miraculous Icon of the Virgin Mary (the Megalochari). As perhaps the most revered religious shrine in Greece, it’s only natural that it’s known as the “Lourdes of Greece.”

Most who come to Tinos are only aware of the Church and its surrounding harbor town. But for those who venture out onto the island, there are serious surprises in store. Fifty villages as quiet and undisturbed as a dreamer’s quaint fantasy of Greece; brilliant vistas at every turn; a meandering two-hundred-mile network of cobblestone trails and old farm paths running from hillside to hillside and dipping into valleys in between; and a history of fabled marble quarries and artisans linked to some of Greece’s greatest artistic achievements.

In ancient times, a temple to the Greek god Dionysus stood on the present day site of the Church. When Christianity came to the Cyclades, the temple was transformed into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Precursor. It was in those early Byzantine years that the Holy Icon of the Megalochari came to the island to be kept and venerated within that church.

Tinos hillside vista

But the Megalochari dated back to long before Byzantine times. It belonged to the early Christian era and those who studied it unanimously concluded that it was one of the first three icons painted by the apostle Saint Luke during the lifetime of the Holy Virgin. Many believe the Megalochari received its wonder-working power directly from the Holy Virgin herself, who blessed it with the words, “The grace of him who was borne by me, be through me with it.”

In the mid-10th century, Saracen pirates invaded Tinos, burned and leveled the church, and the holy icon vanished. Nine centuries later, in July 1822, a nun named Pelagia (later sainted) from a monastery northeast of the main port town had three recurring, consecutive Sunday visions of the Holy Virgin instructing her to convince her superiors to order digging at a specific place where they would find the missing holy icon and that they must build a church to the Holy Virgin.

Although her superiors believed the nun, excavations did not start until September. Within a matter of days the ruins of the ancient temple were discovered, but as more days wore on without finding the Megalochari, the islanders lost heart and work stopped. Soon after, a great cholera epidemic struck the island, killing hundreds. The townspeople were frightened, believing they’d brought the epidemic on themselves by not following the Holy Virgin’s instructions. They prayed for forgiveness, resumed excavations, and began rebuilding a church on the unearthed ruins.

Typical Tinos village

On January 30, 1823, a laborer discovered the Holy Icon of the Megalochari by splitting it in two with his shovel. On one half was the Virgin Mary and on the other half the Archangel Gabriel. It had been buried for almost 850 years, yet when found was virtually undamaged. And as was recorded by historians of the time, from the moment the holy icon was discovered no more cases of the epidemic were reported and those suffering with the disease recovered.

The people of Tinos decided to build an additional church much larger than the one they’d started, and work immediately began on what would become the magnificent Church of Panagia Evangelistria. Construction of the church and part of the surrounding complex was completed in less than eight years, virtually all during Greece’s War of Independence with Turkey while Tinos operated a wartime port, sent its young off to fight alongside other Greeks, and struggled to feed thousands of refugees fleeing there from other islands.

The founders of the Church were forward thinkers and established it as part of a legal entity separate and distinct from the Greek Church, a status confirmed by an act of the Greek state in 1835 and a royal decree in 1851. That entity, known simply as the Evangelistria Foundation is administered by a ten-member commission under the supervision and control of the Greek state, not the Greek Church. Employees, including the Church’s clergy, are appointed by the commission and paid out of the Foundation’s treasury.

Tinos sea vista

The Foundation derives its income mainly from donations, the performance of ritual celebrations and rites, legacies from deceased donors, the sale of offerings, and rents from properties. Its wealth and influence has led some to call the Foundation, “The Vatican of Greece.”

On Tinos, virtually every major public works project, from creation of the island’s first water distribution network in 1926 to the erection of its power plant and high-tension distribution system, the new port and quay, and most public roads, owe their existence to the largess of the Foundation. As do the island’s needy, sick, aged, and indigent, and virtually all of Tinos’ church organizations and parishes. But the Foundation’s influence extends far beyond the island, for the Foundation is a significant voluntary contributor to Greek clergy pensions and insurance funds, churches across Greece affected by calamities, and missionary activities outside of Greece. It has also supported the State of Greece in times of national emergency and war, and as well as others beyond Greece’s borders affected by the same.

Some might say that one of the greatest miracles of Tinos is how the Foundation has been able to maintain such relative anonymity with all that it does, albeit behind the scenes. After all, there are a million pilgrims each year, many crawling the steep half-mile up from the harbor to the Church carrying offerings and pushing before them candles they vowed to light to the holy icon. And each August 15th Tinos is a madhouse filled with gypsies and pilgrims from around the world celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin with its parade of the holy icon down from the Church into the harbor in a procession filled with religious dignitaries, government officials, military, and police. Still, few know about all that the Foundation does.

And the Foundation likes it that way. Especially the part about its vast hidden treasures.

But that’s another story. One for which Target: Tinos received a starred review from Publishers Weekly calling it “superb…a winner.”

Alli’s Summer Beach Reads

Technically, I’m in the middle of winter here in Oz, and while the beaches are nice to visit, they’re a tad chilly to lay around in one’s togs* reading a book. But as majority rules on this blog, I’m going with my recommended beach reads (even though I’m secretly sitting on my sofa huddled under a pile of blankets).

Since I was a kid, the Egyptians, Romans, Incas, and Mayans have fascinated me, so when I came across fictional stories set in these time periods, I was hooked. So much so, I now write historical mysteries meshed with contemporary tales. I appreciate the amount of research it takes to write an ancient historical, and I am in awe of the skill some authors have in weaving those details without jolting the reader out of the story. Here are some of my favorite authors who put their own spin on ancient history:

Michelle Moran: I first discovered Michelle’s books when I picked up a copy of Nefertiti. What I love about Michelle’s writing is her ability to place the reader right in the moment, even though it takes place thousands of years ago. When I read Nefertiti, I truly believed I was standing beside Mutnodjmet, witnessing Egypt fall apart as her big sister Nefertiti fell under the spell of the deluded King Amunhotep. In The Heretic Queen, I felt the rejection Nefertari experienced when her once famous royal family was stricken from the history books. And in Cleopatra’s Daughter, my heart broke for ten-year-old Selene, daughter of Cleopatra, who saw her beloved Alexandria taken over by the Romans, and she and her twin brother were shipped to Rome to become slaves. And in Michelle’s latest book, Madame Tussaud, (not quite ancient, but still a historical) gives the reader an insight into the tumultuous life of the world’s most famous wax sculptor. For more about Michelle Moran’s books and some interesting links to her characters and what inspires her, click here.

Gary Corby: Not only is Gary Corby one of the most affable people on the planet, he writes a mean detective series set in ancient Greece. Gary’s knowledge of Grecian history is astounding. His passion for the time period is obvious, and his blog (here) is always a great source of informative entertainment. Gary’s first book, The Pericles Commission, starts off with “A dead man fell from the sky, landing at my feet with a thud”. The corpse is Ephialtes, a politician who had brought democracy to Greece only a few days earlier. When the politician, Pericles, learns of Ephialtes death, he commissions Nico to find the killer, and so starts the journey of this lovable, everyday guy who is drawn into the world of Grecian politics. Nico’s young brother is Socrates, who is quite the precocious chap, making this book even more endearing. Gary’s attention to detail is amazing, and the cast of characters is just wonderful. I’m very much looking forward to the new adventures of Nico in The Ionia Sanction, coming out in November this year. For those wanting to read more about Gary, please check out his Off The Beaten Track Post he wrote for us earlier this year. Blog post here.

Christina Phillips: Christina Phillips flawlessly combines ancient history with hot and steamy romance and boy, can she create conflict between the hero and heroine! Christina’s first novel, Forbidden, is the story of Carys, a Druid princess, and Maximus, a very hot Roman centurion. When Maximus discovers Carys’s heritage, it adds a spectacular twist that makes it impossible to put this book down. Christina’s second novel, Captive, is about a Druid priestess trained in the art of sensuality, but she takes a vow of celibacy to spite her goddess when the Romans invade. The problem is, she falls for her captor, putting her vows and sanity to the test. Oooh la la! Over 18’s only please! There are more books of Christina’s on the way and I can’t wait to get my hands on them! Christina did a post for our Off The Beaten Track earlier this year. Blog post here.

Jessica Andersen: Jessica has a wonderful ability to write extremely well in many genres. My personal favorite, though, is The Final Prophecy series. Although it isn’t set in ancient times, the stories are heavily influenced by Mayan mythology. According to the Mayans, the world will end in December 2012, and Jessica has used this theory in The Final Prophecy series. The Nightkeepers are modern magic weavers and they fight against evil demons and gods, doing their best to keep the world in one piece. But even the greatest warrior can’t fight 24/7, and there are welcome romantic distractions along the way. To increase their powers, the Nightkeepers need to pair up, and most times those matches are not made in heaven. Hearts are broken, evil sometimes wins, and Mayan myths are woven seamlessly into a fabulous, page-turning series. Jessica only has a few more books planned for the series, and I will be one of many who will shed more than one tear when the series finally ends. Here’s an interview I did with Jessica earlier this year. Interview here.

I’m always on the lookout for ancient historicals, be it a mystery, romance, epic or a combination. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear about them. And how about your summer? What are your reading plans?

*Swimmers

Off the Beaten Track: A Visa to the Ancient World

Novel Adventurers are very happy to welcome our guest blogger today. Gary Corby is the author of The Pericles Commission, the first in a series of murder mysteries set in the ancient world.  He lives in Sydney, Australia, with one wife, two daughters, four guinea pigs, and two budgies. You can catch him on his blog at GaryCorby.com, on twitter, and on GoodReads. 

Novel Adventurers is all about different cultures and storytelling, so this is the perfect place to discuss a question close to my heart: when you write a book, does it help to visit the places you're writing about?

The answer should obviously be yes, but I write murder mysteries set in the ancient world.  My detective Nicolaos walks the mean streets of ancient Athens as an agent for the up and coming young politician Pericles, keeping the city safe from enemies both domestic and foreign, while his fellow citizens go about the job of founding democracy, drama, philosophy, history and science.  The adventures of Nicolaos are really an invitation to come join the world of classical Greece, and watch what happens as western civilization is born. 

Brauron

There lies a problem, because short of a time machine, visas to 460BC are hard to come by.

Can I really bring this ancient culture back to life?  Well if I can't, you'll never know the difference, because you can't go back in time to check me.  But wouldn't it be nice if I could have some assurance that the people I describe, the architecture, the way of life, the shops and the food and the ceremonies and the way the children played in the street, had some patina of reality?

Fortunately I can, sort of, because some of the places I write of still exist.  Dotted around the eastern Mediterranean are some amazing ruins.  They're ruins, yes, but with a little imagination and a lot of archaeology you can tell immense amounts about the life and times of our cultural ancestors.

It's possible to visit the Acropolis in Athens, for example.  There's a slight problem with that, because the Parthenon that everyone goes to see hasn't been built at the time I'm writing.  Yet I've stood there and discovered for myself how far you can see in each direction and felt the breeze.  More importantly for my books, I've stood on a rock outcrop next to the Acropolis, one which is called the Areopagus, and which figures heavily in my first book.  In fact it's because I've stood there that I was able to write my first book.  

I once visited Ephesus, which back then was a thriving Greek city just within the borders of the Persian Empire.  Ephesus was abandoned in medieval times, which was bad news for the city but wonderful news for me.  Ephesus today is part of Turkey and a magnificent ruin totally worth visiting.  Unlike Athens, which is covered in some pretty awful modern buildings, Ephesus is there to see as it was in Roman times.  Not my period, but it's not so hard to walk the streets and subtract the Roman additions in my imagination.  The same applies to Olympia, where the ancient Olympic Games were held.  Needless to say, Ephesus and Olympia feature in my second and third books.  

So it can be done.  The other places—very important places!—to get a visa to ancient Athens are in Paris, London and New York.  The Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan are my friends.  Also the Getty and any number of smaller museums.  In a very meaningful way, they have more of the ancient world than the ruins in Greece, because they can show you the everyday things like cooking utensils, and kids' toys.

So I might not be able to live in ancient times, but the archaeologists can get me a visitor's pass.