The visit yesterday was to the Palace of Knossso, not the “castle”, and we followed up with a time at the Historical Museum in Heraklion this morning learning about the first and second Byzantine periods on Crete, the Arab influence that was sandwiched between the Byzantine periods, and the Venetian period that lasted through the mid 17th century.
We saw a great deal of the beautiful icons, tapestries, altar pieces, and vestments of the Greek Orthodox tradition from the Byzantne periods. It is clear that the Orthodox tradition permeates so much of Greek life. In talking to Christos, he mentioned that during the 60's and 70's there was a drop in attendance at Orthodox services, but there seems to be a resurgence in commitment to the church in Greece. He also noted that it does not have so much of a fundamentalist element within the piety, but the tradition (and particularly the focus on Christ) is what dominates.
We stopped on our way to Matalla at Gortis, which is the site of an community dating back to the 3rd or 4th century BCE. It is known for the law of Gortis which is chiseled upon a wall behind the theater of the old town. The law is one of the oldest expressions we have of rules governing common life (e.g. the rights of intermarriage between a slave and free person, what is just compensation for particular grievances, etc.). The society was divided into four parts: citizens with full rights, citizens with rights except being a Cretan, slaves who were free but enlisted to care for crops surrounding the town, and slaves who were owned.
In Gortis, the remains of the basilica of Titus are to be found. Titus was charged by Paul to evangelize Crete. He was from a wealthy family and was killed by the Romans for his work on Crete. The basilica is built upon his grave, though it was not built until the 6th century.
Throughout our trip, we have talked with various people about the economy in Greece. While we have been in Greece, there have been a few strikes (interestingly, the U.S. soccer victory over Algeria was done without announcers as they striked for a few days. No loss: it would have been Greek to us all anyway). We have never felt any threat, and the strikes in Greece are quite orderly. In fact, the fire started at a bank—and killed a few bank workers--a few months ago during a general protest was considered a devastating event and unheard of in modern strikes.
A consistent refrain during conversations about the economy is a direct or indirect reference to immigrants (Albanians, Africans, Pakistanis, etc.) as a major part of the problem. Yes, there was graft in the government. Yes, there was overreaching by many with regard to credit. Yes, there need to be more expectations of workers. Yes . . . but “things are not like they once were, and the immigrants. . .” was a quote we heard more than once. The answer to immigration in Greece or elsewhere is one that does not possess a silver bullet, and I see it as multi-faceted. What is interesting (and scary) is the nationalism approaching xenophobia when things are tough. It will be interesting to see what is done here.
Finally, a wonderful aspect of the trip has been following the World Cup soccer tournament while we are here. We were in a hotel yesterday filled with Germans and Brits, and the game between the two countries was enjoyable to watch as a soccer fan as well as to be a spectator of the spectators. There is a very strong worldly element in Crete with many people from many countries vacationing.
From the Historical Museum in Heraklion (Byzantine art and iconogragphy). . .
From Gortis and the basilica of Titus
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