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

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• 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.

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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.

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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.