Post on 14-Mar-2020
ISSUEII Page 1
ISSUE II 26 JUNE 2018
O
HIGHLIGHT
• CRETAN HOSPITALITY •
Greek Hospitality through the Years
By Tanya Alfaro
The Odyssey by Homer reveals to us a culture of great
hospitality. The Odyssey relates that in the palaces of
rulers, strangers are graciously welcomed to a
magnificent feast before even asking questions and
discussing the reasons why the guests have come to the
palace. Strangers are bathed and clothed lavishly; then,
they eat and drink until satisfied even before names are
asked. We see this in Nestor and Menelaos’ greeting of
Telemachos, as well as the compassion of the Phaiakian
King Alkinoös towards Odysseus.
This story becomes a reality on a visit to the
Archeological Museum of Heraklion in Crete. With
artifacts of banqueting vessels and the remains of fresco
paintings portraying banquets on display from the
Minoan
Minoan civilization, we are able to imagine the
spectacular celebrations of power and socialization of
rulers. Prosperity and wealth were exploited through
these grand feasts, and the notion of hospitality was the
basis of these gatherings. There was no sense of rudeness
or evil as the rulers, without hesitation, accommodated
their guests to the splendor of their homes. As we
observe the large cauldrons (once bronze) and the
drinking vessel used and the noble woman being served
at the banquet in the fresco painting, we can create our
own imaginative picture and have a longing to travel
back in time to the days of these Minoan and Greek
feasts, while everyone sat and enjoyed the moment.
Today, the people of Crete have preserved this idea of
hospitality in their everyday lives, as they make one feel
at home and are very respectful.
Two Cultures, One Virtue
By Ana Martin
It is amazing how Greeks and Mexicans are alike, and
because of that, I have not yet felt culture shock.
Everywhere we go to in Crete, people smile and say
hello. I experienced going into an actual Greek
household, where it made me feel at home. Although our
time at the house was short, the lady of the house offered
us cookies, watermelon, and nuts. This visit reminded me
of going into a Mexican home, where food is always
offered as soon as you step in. I am marveled at how this
also is seen at restaurants. Almost every restaurant has
offered us some type of dessert on the house. One may
say a restaurant already makes profit off our visit, yet the
staff still shows the kind hospitality of their hearts. Up to
now, Greece has been an amazing country that I hope to
come back to because of its welcoming citizens.
Carmen García, Editor-In-Chief Tanya Alfaro, Copy Editor
and Design
ISSUEII Page 2
• INSIDE THE PALACE •
The Living Majesty of the Palace
By Jessica Mauricio
Stepping for the first time into the Knossos Palace
grounds, its state of degradation is immediately
encountered. So much of the palace is broken; however,
walking along the paths into the platforms that used to be
rooms, you see glimpses of the glory of the palace
shining through after all this time, a brief glimpse of
majesty of so long ago. The elegant black and red
columns, the carefully painted human forms in the
frescos, the well-preserved large jars in the storerooms
that could probably still be filled with grain, olive oil and
wine help reconstruct a vision of what life was like at the
palace. Continuing to walk in the labyrinth of this
Minoan palace, you start to realize the immensity of the
place and immediately acknowledge the common human
desire to leave a mark on the world and to beautify it.
The surrounding area of the palace takes your
imagination to King Minos having a similar view of the
mountain and over his dominion forty centuries ago.
Smaller details, like the aqueducts and the drainage
pipes, reveal the ever-present human innovation in
bringing water in and taking water out. The
archaeological site of Knossos palace is evidence of a
society that developed and united people to achieve
things together what they could not have done as
individuals.
• DID YOU KNOW? • By Amanda Ramos
Our group was fortunate enough to witness the first summer
showers in Crete. Locals said that these showers are like holy
water to them because the land is usually in desperate need of
rain. Though we have not been able to tan during our last few
days in Crete, we have been left with beautiful scenery that
begins right outside our village door. A small waterfall flowing
down the hill of our little backyard forest conveys that there is
astonishing beauty hidden in every corner.
The Minoan Snake Goddesses
By Brenda San Miguel
The Minoan Snake Goddesses figurines, named after the
snakes that are seen around the goddesses’ bodies,
highlight a part of Minoan religion at Knossos Palace.
The topless figurines represent fertility through a
costume consisting of long skirts that begin at the waist
to reveal the goddesses’ breasts. The monkey atop their
heads is seen as a representation of dominance over
wildlife. The small snakes held by the goddesses’ hands
symbolize the renewal of life because the snake sheds its
skin.
The Myth of the Minotaur
By André Hernandez
The ancient Minoan civilization was one of the first
settlements to be established in Crete, as well as in
Europe. The island of Crete is full of both fact and
fiction, since it is the setting to a vast number of stories
in Greek mythology. The myth of the Minotaur depicts a
half-man, half-bull whose existence strikes fear in the
eyes of many foreign invaders. Residing in the Knossos
Palace’s labyrinth, the Minotaur decides the deadly fate
for many women and children before the beast is slayed
by Theseus. Theseus is helped by King Minos’ daughter,
Ariadne, who uses a ball of yarn to aid in exiting the
confusing labyrinth. When visiting the ruins of such a
prestigious palace, one cannot think long without the
myth of the Minotaur becoming prominent, yet it is
because of this myth that what remains of the Knossos
Palace will remain historically and poetically beautiful
throughout time.
ISSUEII Page 3
en español
EN LA PORTADA:
El Museo de Heraklion
Por Carmen García
Uno de los museos más destacados en toda Europa, el
Museo Arqueológico de Heraklion cuenta con casi 6,000
piezas que marcan el estilo de vida de la cultura minoica,
desarrollada durante la Edad de Bronce y reconocida por
ser el primer centro de civilización moderna en el
continente. Los miles de artefactos fueron extraídos
durante la excavación e investigación del Palacio de
Knossos, encabezada por Sir Arthur Evans a principios
del siglo XX.
Hasta luego, Creta
Por Manuel Broncano
A menudo, el viajero alcanza al fin el destino soñado, el
lugar recorrido una y mil veces por la imaginación, quizá
durante años, y descubre con zozobra que ese lugar de
los sueños poco tiene que ver con la realidad que el
viajero encuentra al final de su trayecto. Las casas no son
tan majestuosas, ni los paisajes tan cautivadores, ni las
calles tan vibrantes como el viajero las había recreado en
las largas veladas invernales en las que una y mil veces
las recorrió mentalmente, inundando el largo crepúsculo
del invierno de luz y poesía. Ya nos lo advertía
Kostantinos Kavafis en unos versos premonitorios:
Ten siempre a Itaca en tu mente.
Llegar allí es tu destino.
Mas no apresures nunca el viaje.
Mejor que dure muchos años
y atracar, viejo ya, en la isla,
enriquecido de cuanto ganaste en el camino sin aguantar que Itaca te enriquezca.
• CRETAN MYTHS • Crete, Land of Myths
By Carmen Garcia
Levitating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea about 50 km
from the Greek mainland, the island of Crete seems to be
a mystery to all that set foot on it. A fertile land for
Greek mythology, the island is home to legendary tales
narrated by Homer, Ovid, and other classic poets. The
oldest myth narrates the birth of Zeus in a Cretan cave,
where his mother, Rhea, is obliged to hide him from his
father Cronus to impede him from devouring Zeus, as he
had done with all his previous children in fear of a
prophesy that marked his destiny to be overcome by his
own sons. Rhea presents a rock wrapped in diapers to
Cronus, in an effort to save the child; Cronus, not
learning of the decit until much later, eats the rock. Zeus
is raised by the she-goat Amalthea and a group of
nymphs and goddesses on the island of Crete.
Believed to have been found in the basement of the
Palace of Knossos, the labyrinth of the Minotaur is a key
setting for both the mythical and factual Minoan
civilization and its respective history. King Minos
incarcerates his step-son, the half-man, half-bull
Minotaur in the famous maze. Every nine years, the
Athenian King Aegeus is required to pay a tribute of
seven maidens and seven young men to be sacrificed to
the beast for a war Athens had lost to King Minos. It is
until that, with the help of Ariadne and the ball of thread
she provides for Theseus to unwind in order to find his
way in and out of the labyrinth that the torment brought
to the Athenians by the Minotaur is over.
Another myth deals with one of King Mino’s prisoners,
the innovative inventor Daedalus. Daedalus yearns to
leave a secluded island where he and his son, Icarus, are
stranded. He pieces together feathers with candlewax to
create a set of wings for him and Icarus to escape their
imprisonment. Daedalus advises Icarus to fly in the
middle, not too high so as to prevent the sun from
melting the wax and not too low so that the waves won’t
weight him down. However, Icarus, thrilled by his
freedom to fly, soars high until the sun starts to melt
down the wax that holds the feathers together, and he
descends into the water, which is now known as the
Icarian Sea, and drowns.
The ancient Minoan-Cretan civilization is considered the
first European culture, as it developed strongly
throughout the Bronze Age and into modern times, for it
serves as the first precedent for the forthcoming Greek
civilization.
ISSUEII Page 4
en español (cont’d)
Itaca te brindó tan hermoso viaje.
Sin ella no habrías emprendido el camino.
Pero no tiene ya nada que darte.
Aunque la halles pobre, Itaca no te ha engañado. Así, sabio como te has vuelto, con tanta experiencia, entenderás ya que significan las Itacas.
Otras veces, sin embargo, el destino soñado por el
viajero sobrepasa cualquier expectativa y demuestra
existir más allá de la más febril de las imaginaciones. Y
así es Creta, la isla donde habita la fuente de toda poesía,
el lugar donde el viajero comprende por qué es el viaje la
verdadera razón de nuestra frágil vida, la fuerza que
otorga a nuestros efímeros años la permanencia de lo
eterno. Y cuando el viajero ha compartido el espacio con
los dioses y con los héroes (y las diosas y las heroínas),
él mismo, ella misma, ya forma parte para siempre de ese
panteón donde vida y muerte, historia y mito, eros y
thánatos, conviven sin discordia. Y por eso, por todo eso,
Creta será ya para siempre parte nuestra, al igual que
nosotros seremos para siempre parte suya, como Zeus,
como Atenea, como Ïcaro, como el Minotauro, como las
aguas que envuelven sus costas y las rocas que vigilan
esas aguas a veces procelosas, a veces amables, pero
siempre vivas. Hasta siempre, pues, Creta.
• REFLECTIONS •
Forms
By Andre Hernandez
The ultimate form represented is the general concept of
humanity. The early stages of the Heraklion museum
reveal a time in Cretan History where man was able to
settle in particular areas rather than continue to hunt and
gather along the land, an important factor when
discussing human development. It is the principle alone
that inspired the many civilizations to do what humans
do best, that is simply to create. The art, rituals, toys, and
tools developed by the society and exhibited at the
museum show that creating was the aim for their work.
Mankind’s ability to create is what separates us from the
majority of the animal kingdom; creating represents the
qualifications that a civilization or a developed man
should possess. Whether it is the Minoan era or modern-
day Heraklion, societies certainly have criteria that make
an individual civilized. During the times of the Minoans,
their political structure and religious affiliation were all
communally-accepted practices that signified a
participating human as member of society; ultimately,
the clearest form of signifying a human as such was that
each human contributed to the continual development of
the species, which is something that is truly admired
about both the site and the artifacts. The many
generations of the Minoan civilization developed things
such as simple tools, art and principles, creating a
guideline that sets apart mankind from other primates.
The many artifacts seem to represent, regardless of era, a
process toward an immortal concept: humanity.
Reflecting on the museum and the Palace of Knossos
through Plato’s eye’s
By Jessica Mauricio
There are many points of comparison between the
Knossos Palace grounds, the Haraklion Museum
artifacts, and the ideas communicated by Plato in certain
chapters of The Republic. Firstly, the replica of the bull-
leaping fresco that hangs on the wall in the Knossos
Palace ruins is a “shadow” of the real fresco in the
Heraklion museum; it depends on the real fresco in the
same manner that a tree’s shadow depends on a tree for
its form and existence. Moreover, it is less real than the
real fresco that hangs in the museum. However, both of
the bull leaping frescoes, the real one and the fake one,
are themselves representations, “shadows” if you will, of
the actual bull-leaping game played by the ancient
Minoans. The actual bull-leaping fresco itself is also a
shadow of the real image held in the mind of the artist
who attempted to capture, on wet plaster, this game
played so many centuries ago. In the painter’s brain was
the essence of the activity, the distilled reasoned thought
of what needed to be communicated. For just as the light
of the sun is necessary to see, the inspiration of the artist,
regardless of whether he is painting for him or for a
patron, is the “light” that permits the artist to create this
image of reality. Plato’s ideas help capture the various
separations, conscious and unconscious, that exist
between truth and reality and the shadows of truth and
reality. He gives us a vocabulary and framework to make
conscious distinctions that we might not have otherwise
thought, or that we might have avoided, but in so
avoiding allow ourselves to become the victims of
illusion. Without keeping these distinctions in mind, we
become liable to remain blind.