The Island of Crete is Amazing!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started the day visiting the ruins of Knossos. This peacock greeted us upon our arrival at the archeological site!!

This is a reproduction of a painting that was identified. The original painting was placed inside a controlled environment in a museum.

The “pie section” in the middle is original. The remaining column circle was made with cement in order to better visualize what the original column would have looked like.

This is the famous throne room at the archeological site!!

This pot was found in great shape in this location!!

This is the well-known bull of Crete. The original has been moved inside a museum and this is a reproduction.

These pots were excavated in great shape!!

The bottom sections of these pots are original. The top sections are repaired portions to demonstrate what the original pots used to look like.

I love the beautiful colors in Crete!!

These flowers make me smile!!

After viewing the archeological site, we when to meet with a potter and watched his handicraft at work!!

These are the typical grape plants that are so vibrant and healthy in Crete!! Everything seems to be green in Crete, very different from Santorini.

These are some of the types of pots produced by the potter. Most of his pots are sold to commercial companies that use his pots in various displays.

A range of different pots are almost ready to remove from the oven.

We were served wine at lunch. The conclusion of our table is that the wines in Crete and superior to the wine in Santorini.

After lunch, we visited the famous museum in Heraklion. This is a well-known sculpture of a pregnant woman.

This is a range of metal tools that have been found in Crete.

The interior of this bowl shows a series of lambs!

This is one of the most famous pieces in the museum. It is made out of gold and it shows two bees facing each other.

This bowl has holes in the bottom for straining items!

These types of cups have been found in abundance. It likely means that these were their “every day” cups for routine use, not ceremonial use.

This beautiful bowl is huge. It was likely used for large gatherings at special occasions.

This is a game board! Similar boards have been found in other Mediterranean countries. It likely means that it was presented to Crete as a gift from another nearby country.

This large pot in the back had an impressively drawn octopus on the front!!

This is an important piece. It was a “standardized weight.” If someone was bartering wheat for bronze, this standardized weight was used to ensure that the proper product amounts were exchanged. It is decorated with an octopus.

This is a famous piece in the museum. Researchers have been working to translate the meaning of the inscription.

This is a very famous painting in the museum. It shows men and women performing gymnastics over a bull. A woman is on the right side and a man in the middle is jumping on the bull. The person in front is grabbing the bull by their horns. It is similar to gymnastics today when someone used the pommel horse.

This is an actual “lazy Susan!!” It was probably used for family eating together.

These figurines show ladies dancing shoulder to shoulder similar to the Greek dances we learned a few days ago.

I was impressed that this was excavated. It shows a person in a swing!!

These are extremely famous figurines!! The woman on the right is holding two snakes!!

This is another depiction of the famous Crete bull!!

These gold pieces were very valuable. They were identified in coffins of women. The gold chains were used in the women’s hair, not as necklaces.