The weekend of Santorini and Crete! This was by far one of the weekends I was looking forward to the most and the trip definitely exceeded my expectations. Aside from the Peloponnese, this was my favorite of the weekend trips, and I think that Heraklion on Crete is my favorite city we’ve visited in Greece. Not only was Crete, and to a slightly lesser extent Santorini, beautiful and amazing cities, but the sites on this trip were also absolutely incredible. From the preservation levels of Akrotiri to the ancient graffiti of Thera to the reconstructions of Knossos, everything was really engaging.
Something that I thought about a bit on this trip was multiculturalism, and I think it was represented in both our site visits and my own explorations of the city. We talked quite a bit about the trading connections of these sites, and how far-reaching they were to the east and to the west. I’ve discussed trade before, but there are aspects of it that I haven’t talked about in relation to the ancient world, but that I find fascinating. For example, how did people communicate? Were there people who translated, and how did those people learn the other languages? Where these cities aware of other civilizations in the east before they started trading? If not, how did that first interaction play out? Were traders living there from other cultures? How much cultural exchange was occurring, for example, food, dance, stories, etc.? We probably won’t every know the answer to these questions, but I think that they are some of the ones I think about most when on site.
We discussed in class briefly, and I saw a few things in the museum, about the various languages used on Crete before linear B. It was suggested that they might have been used to record different languages, and that people may have been multilingual in ancient times. As someone who has been instructed in two foreign languages, picking them up is fairly difficult, or at least, it requires a certain amount of passion and work. People were probably not being instructed in the same way that I have learned French and Spanish, so how did they learn other languages. And, what were their languages even like? If linear B is a form of ancient Greek, and was adapted from linear A, is there some kind of connection between those two spoken languages? Did people speak completely different languages, or dialects of a mother tongue? How many dialects were there, especially on Crete with such a large island and so many different palaces?
Even beyond language, which is something that I am always curious about, how did the cultures of Akrotiri, Thera, and Knossos interact with these traders. One of the sources I read for my final project (which was on this trip) mentioned that the Phoenicians were major traders, not just for their own goods, but also for others. They would probably be meeting ancient Greeks at these ports, at the markets, etc. and would have to stay there for at least some amount of time. Did they share meals, and if so, were they Greek or Phoenician dishes? Did they share music or dances with each other? And, when the Phoenicians moved on from these ports, did some stay behind? Or did any of their cultural practices stay behind? This isn’t even mentioning my other questions about the other way of trade. Were there Greeks sailing to Egypt, or Phoenicia, or any other place in the Near East? If so, how did they interact with these cultures?
Another piece of information I learned during my final project was that there is evidence for some Phoenicians living at Knossos. Even beyond this trip, we learning briefly about the Euboean colonies in Italy and Sicily, where ancient Greek may have been first recorded, and how those may have had multicultural populations. It makes me think about how globalization has really always been a force in the world. It may have exponentially increased in the last hundred years, but humans have always traveled to far off places, bringing with them their own cultures, practices, traditions, languages, and technology.
While we were staying on Crete, and on Santorini, I experienced the multiculturalism of the modern islands. In Santorini, some friends and I went out for Chinese and in Heraklion I likewise had some stir-fry noodles. I’ve had gelato in practically every single city we’ve visited on our weekend trips and in Chalkida, three of us went out for Italian. At the Athens Street Food Festival, I had Indian food. All of these foods showcase how globalized and multicultural the world is becoming. While I am sure there were chain Italian or Chinese places in ancient Knossos, I am curious if there might have been exchange of recipes or cooking practices. Were certain ingredients or crops introduced by Egyptians or Phoenicians to the Greek islands? We know that the economy of ancient Greece is heavily influenced by the East, such as in seals and coins, but how much culture is also in some way influenced by these other societies?
Visiting these two islands, which I’ve heard so much about, was definitely one of the things I will remember most about this study abroad. It was nice to learn more about how the Cyclades and Crete fit into the history and archaeology that we have been learning about in a more tangible way. And if anything, it gives me tremendous respect for the ancient peoples who were living on these islands. Trade and connection would have been necessary in some ways, especially for Santorini, but it takes a specific type of drive to sail off into the Aegean. Our ferry ride took two hours, and the normal ferry takes four to five. How long would it have taken on a sailboat that was only just invented? If anything, it shows that humans have not changed all that much in thousands of years. We still desire exploration and connection, constantly sailing into the unknown.
