Endless maze and cornucopia of memories with family and friends, from birth and beyond. My labyrinth is my brain. A brain that will open everytime you click the maze.
"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." *Blessed Mother Teresa
First European Civilization
The Aegean (Minoan) Civilization is the first great European civilization. It began about 3000 B.C. on the Greek island of Crete in Thesally and around Troy in Asia Minor. It ended in 1100 B.C. Hellenic Peoples from Athens destroyed the Cretans at Troy after a 10-year seige probably in 1184 B.C.
In the Greek legend, King Minos of Crete is the son of Zeus and Europa. Crete is the mythological home of Zeus. He was a famed lawmaker and a cruel emperor. He required Atheneans to send 7 boys and 7 seven girls each year as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. Other stories picture him as a wise ruler and enacted wise laws. He defeated the pirates who were attacking him ships [this is very much in doubt for archeologists did not excavate anything related to ships]. In the 1900 excavations at Knossos were done by Sir Arthur Evans. Based on the wealth of artifacts that were found, Evans theorized that this was the site of ancient Minoan Kingdom. He and his brother Rhadamantus, became judges in the underowrld after their death.
The Museum of Heraklion houses the treasures from the findings of Knossos, Phaestos, Zakros and other less known city states of Crete. Olive groves and vineyards still existed in the rural hilly countrysides as far back as 4000 years!
Ancient Cretans seemed to be peaceful people. They worshipped trees (environmentalists), bulls, snakes and used the two-bladed ax as their religious symbols. Their favorite sport is called "bull-leaping" - a series of gymnastic exercises performed on the back of a running bull (modern day bull-rocking) while perhaps the five-foot-four Cretans were yelling, "Bullshit! Bullshit!"
It is the largest and the most rugged of the Greek islands. It is also the home of the great Minoan Civilization dating back to 4000 B.C. and the mythical home of Zeus. We walked for about 15 minutes to the center of Heraklion and had our photos taken inside the City Hall.
Largest of the Dodecanese Islands and site of the Colossus of Rhodes, a 105-foot statue destroyed by earthquake in 224 B.C.
The Old City with its palaces was built by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The Crusades began just before 1100 AD and lasted until nearly 1300. They were military expeditions that came from the Christian nations of western Europe to defeat the Muslims and win the Holy Land.
The First Crusade (1096-1099) began and was prompted by the preaching of Pope Urban II to the Christians to forget their local feuds and unite to rescue the Lord's Sepulcher from the Muslims. The assembled army of feudal barons took different routes to Constantinople (Istanbul). The crusaders went on into Asia Minor (Turkey) and brought the First Crusade to glorious conclusion by taking Jerusalem from the Muslim in 1099. The crusades increased the growing power of the church.
The Second Crusade (1147-1149) began after Zangi, a Muslim leader, reconquered part of Jerusalem. The crusaders under German Emperor Conrad III and French King Louis VII met only defeat and returned without having reached Jerusalem.
The Third Crusade (1189-1192) was a direct effort to take back Jerusalem which was captured by the Muslim troops of Saladin in 1187. The joint expedition by the Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa, King Philip II of France and Richard the Lion-Hearted was a total failure and disaster.
The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) followed the vigorous preaching of Pope Innocent III. The crusaders bargained and joined forces with the Venetian military and attacked and captured Constantinople. It resulted in the temporary transfer of the Eastern Empire from Greek to Latin control. But the conditions in the Holy Land remained unchanged and Muslims continue to rule. The crusaders however hastened the economic progress of Western Europe by bringing profit and prosperity to the Italian trading cities. The crusaders learn many lessons in warfare and improvement of fortifications, interest in travel and exploration.
The Fifth Crusade (1228-1229) led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made a truce with the Muslims and secured Jerusalem for the Christians through diplomatic means. Pope Gregory IX disapproved of the truce. It remained in Christian hands until 1244. Contact with Islamic learning eventually broadened European intellectual life and helped inspire the Renaissance.
The Later Crusades: The Sixth (1248-1254) and The Seventh (1270) Crusades led by Louis IX of France did not free Jerusalem from the Muslims. The last Christian stronghold in Syria disappeared in 1291.
The old walled city in Rhodes was built mainly in the early 14th Century by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Here the knights cared for the sick and poor and protected Christian pilgrims en route to the Holy Land. They waged war against Islam and erected one of the most outstanding hospitals of the medieval era. In the collachium the knights built the lodge of St. John and the fortified cathedral bounded by the Liberty Gate, Marine Gate, Clock Tower and Palace of the Grand Masters. The order was founded in Jerusalem in the 11th Century and resided from 1309 until the Turkish conquest of 1522 led by Suleiman I. The knights were forced to evacuate after a bloody seige.
Philerimos
We drove along the medieval walls to the summit of Mount Smith, the Acropolis of ancient Rhodes. We passed the tumbled massive pillars of the Temple of Athena and nearby Temple of Apollo and the stadium of Diagoras and the port once protected by the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Then, our bus went to the island of Philerimos to see the Byzantine church of Our Lady of Philerimos.
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6/2/10 lib's labyrinth blogspot
10/2005 ALT MSN Group
It's my favorite of the Greek islands. The very first time I ever heard of it was when Yanni included a composition of same title in his CD collection and mentioned it in his autobiography Ethnicity. http://youtu.be/3auxOlTl2MQ
The volcanic eruption was also shown in the beginning of the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider - Cradle of Life - starring the beautiful Oscar Award- winning best actress, my favorite Angelina Jolie.
The island and its surrounding islets are formed from the rim of an ancient drowned volcano that exploded in about 1500 B.C., and this disaster may have been the basis by the writing of Plato about the last continent of Atlantis. The earliest volcanic eruptions in its recorded history were in 236 B.C; the latest were from 1925 to 1926.
Moses, the Exodus and Santorini: Between 600 B.C. and 300 B.C. - Jewish scribes wrote down the stories of their people and one of those stories concerned Moses, the exodus out of Egypt to the Promised Land, the biblical plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. What is the connection with Santorini?
Santorini is the Mother of all volcanoes: the blast that occurred there in 16th Century B.C. was thousand of times more powerful than a nuclear explosion in the last 10,000 years.
The BlackPearloftheAegean.
Santorini lies in the Aegean Sea 500 miles of the Nile delta. According to modern methods of research, the wind was blowing in a south easterly direction - the blast would have been heard in Egypt, the ash fall felt, the sky darkened, there was hail and lightning and its toxic fallout from the explosion that probably caused the plagues [the river turned to blood and the fish dried, frogs, lice, flies, animal pestilence, boils and blisters, hail, locust, darkness for three days].
"... and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night."
Even though Santorini could not be seen from Egypt because of the curvature of the earth, the explosion shot volcanic ash 40 miles into the air above Santorini, thereby creating a pillar of cloud by day and the lightning in the cloud would have created the "pillar of fire by night."
The Parting of the Red Sea: Modern translations of the Bible now talk about the parting of the 'reed' sea [in the area of the Suez Canal] - a typographical error - the eruption caused a 600 feet high tsunami, or tidal wave, one of the largest waves in history. Scientists have proof of this since they can see the scraping across the ocean floor - the 600 feet tsunami would have been created among other things, by sucking the water out of the Nile delta and rivers and wetlands and the reed sea hence allowing Moses to cross to the other side. When the wave eventually reached the shore it was only 6 feet high, but came inshore for hundreds of miles, hence overwhelming the pharaoh's 600 chariots.
It's a unique sight driving along the mountain road, the various layers of lava that one can see on the face of the rock, each layer being another phase of the activity of the volcano. Black lava rocks and white pumice are combined beautifully with the red color of lava.
Built on the Caldera rim, Oia Village is an example of Cycladic architecture. The guide with her pretty voice narrated the creation and history of the last eruption leading to the destruction of the island of Santorini. The tidal wave created by the eruption was of such an immense magnitude, it destroyed the thriving city of Knossos on the island of Crete.
We walked along the cobble-stone streets and white washed houses with blue shutters where one gets the impression that they are living in a beautiful travel poster. Vendors gave us red pistachios (not green) and yummy candy as we passed by.
Internet Publication:
5/17/13 lib's labyrinth blogspot
10/2005 ALT MSN Group
Cliff-top village of Oia
What a view! The tour then proceeded to the town of Thira, so attractive with its white-washed housed clinging precariously on the rim of the Caldera.
