Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
selves successors to the great Odysseus and the mighty Agamemnon. Odysseus's kingdom
was the island of Ithaca. From nearby Mycenae on the Peloponnese mainland, Agamem-
non sent one hundred ships to the siege of Troy. It was from a rock on Levkas Island that
the poet of love and longing, Sappho, threw herself into the sea. And as readers of Roman
history, the British knew that Anthony and Cleopatra had spent a last night ashore on the
island of Gaios before sailing out to the fateful battle of Actium.
East and south of Greece lies another branch of the Mediterranean, the Aegean,
Homer's “wine-dark sea.” The Greeks mixed their wine with water, but it is not likely that,
whatever the mixture, the Aegean's color was ever wine dark. The Aegean is the stormier
sea. It is dotted with islands whose sunny beaches attract modern-day sun worshippers. One
island group, the Cyclades, especially fulfills the search for “picturesque Greece.” Houses
are whitewashed, shining in the sun, their roofs a deep blue. Their architecture is simple
and expressed in cubes and rectangles. Mountains rise straight from the water, and gnarled
trees dot the landscape.
Thira (Santorini) is what remains after an ancient earthquake blew much of the island
literally sky-high. Ships anchor in a crater, a caldera, that marks the ancient volcano. High
above the water, villages can be seen perched precariously on the island's rim (volcanic
residue, pumice, is still scooped from the island's walls and center). And it may have been
dim memory of Thira's explosion that gave rise to the myth of an island in the ocean, the
lost Atlantis.
Crete is the Aegean's largest island. More than 1,000 years old, it was the center of a
wealthy trading empire until its mysterious collapse sometime around 1400 BCE. Its ruins
were unearthed by a wealthy archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, who named it the Minoan
Empire after its legendary king, Minos. Evans reconstructed and recreated what he claimed
was a royal palace at Knossos; frescos from its walls display a vibrant (some say joyful)
culture of comely youth attending fierce bulls. The women of the frescos are elegantly
coifed, their eyes accented with kohl.
Crete is the site of one of western mankind's most haunting myths: the Minotaur, half-
man and half-bull, forever imprisoned in an underground labyrinth, venting his anguish
and rage by demanding human sacrifice. His father, King Minos, ordered that seven young
men and seven maidens be sent periodically from Athens as sacrifice to the Minotaur, pun-
ishment for killing Minos' favored son. Every age finds its own meaning in the legend
of the Minotaur; every age sees its own counterpart in the story of the half-human mon-
ster, and every age sees a reflection of its heroic ideal in Theseus of Athens, who volun-
teers to save his beloved city-state by killing the Minotaur. Theseus's bravery and ingenu-
ity—along with that of his lover, Ariadne—crown him with success. She defies the king
and provides the thread that will mark Theseus's way through the labyrinth. He, with cour-
age and ingenuity, will find immortality.
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