Greece - Korina Miller [372]
One significant reason for the high level of Crete’s intellectual life was the excellent education provided by the Catholic Venetians. Promising Cretan students were educated under church supervision, and this aided their travels. Dr Karamanolis, a noted expert on the subject, cites some of these prominent Cretans. Maximos Margounios (1549–1602), for example, was educated in Sitia by the learned Catholic bishop there, Gaspare Viviano. He later studied in Padua and finally lived in Venice, where he wrote on philosophy, rhetoric and theology, translating ancient and Byzantine texts. Margounios, who would have close collaboration with leading humanists in Italy, Germany and even England, was commended in a contemporaneous Venetian document as being ‘very expert in Greek and Latin, with few equals in all Greece in erudition.’
According to Dr Karamanolis, Margounios ‘retained close ties with humanist circles in his native Crete, and played an important role in assisting the projects of several European thinkers. Margounios’ humanist peers considered his commentaries on philosophical texts by Aristotle and Porphyry very valuable.’
Another Cretan, Frangiskos Portos (1511–81), was a distinguished professor in the University of Geneva, ‘appointed by Calvin himself’. The most beloved Cretan Renaissance man of all, however, was a poet. Over the four centuries of Venetian rule there was a unique and mutually influential fusion of Greek and Italian literature in Crete, at the same time as similar literary innovations elsewhere in Europe.
Vitsentzos Kornaros (1553–1617), a contemporary of Shakespeare, is today considered the father of Cretan poetry and one of Greece’s greatest poets. Born into a Venetian-Cretan aristocratic family near Sitia, Kornaros penned Crete’s national epic poem – the ‘Erotokritos’, a ballad dealing with traditional themes such as love, courage, bravery and friendship. A massive work, at 10,012 rhyming verses, the ‘Erotokritos’ was composed in the Cretan dialect, and in the traditional Byzantine dekapentasyllabic (15-syllable) verse style. It was meant to be sung as a mantinadha – Crete’s traditional song style both then and now. Until quite recently, one could encounter elderly village women reciting the entire poem by heart while doing their work.
Today, Crete’s Renaissance men are still obscure to all but specialists (and some proud Cretans). Yet their contributions, says Dr Karamanolis, enriched and expedited the progression of Western European thought tremendously. ‘Without these Cretan humanists,’ he attests, ‘the Renaissance as we know it could not have unfolded as it did – we do owe them a debt of gratitude.’
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The Battle of Crete Museum ( 2810 346554; cnr Doukos Beaufort & Hatzidaki; admission free; 8am-3pm) chronicles this historic battle.
Activities
Cretan Adventures ( 2810 332772; www.cretan-adventures.gr; 1st fl, Evans 10) is a well-regarded company run by two intrepid brothers, who organise hiking and trekking tours, mountain biking, plus specialist and extreme activities.
The Mountaineering & Skiing Club of Iraklio (EOS; 2810 227609; www.interkriti.org/orivatikos/orivat.html; Dikeosynis 53; 8.30pm-10.30pm) arranges weekend mountain climbing, cross-country walking and skiing excursions around Crete.
Iraklio for Children
Iraklio is surprisingly entertaining for kids. Aside from the lions spitting water, big buildings and motorcycles, there’s the stuffed animals and interactive displays of the Natural History Museum, plus the massive Cretaquarium.
When the kids get museumed out, the waterfront Port