The Rambling Writer Returns to Crete, part 14: A Tour of Knossos, concluded

After a break for a drink in the shade, we’re back to finish our tour of the labyrinth!

NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, in addition to other island-hopping, I wanted to return to Crete after 37 years. My first months-long trip was as a hippie backpacker, camping in the ruins and falling under the spell of the mysterious, vanished Minoan culture. This time, I got to introduce Thor to “glorious Kriti” and research more settings for my novel-in-progress, THE ARIADNE DISCONNECT. This new blog series started October 19, 2019, and will continue every Saturday.

If you were with us last Saturday (Jan. 18), we took a break after viewing the dramatic “charging bull” fresco. Ready to pick up Ariadne’s thread and find your way with Thor and me through the twists and turns?

Here is the draught board, now in the Iraklion Museum of Archaeology, as well as a few of the stunning pieces of Kamares Ware.

On a more prosaic note, the palace complex had a sophisticated water-supply and drainage system. Here is a glimpse of a drain emerging from a wall:

The dolphin fresco is one of my favorite images from our Minoan explorations. It seems the Greeks have always revered these beautiful sea creatures. I’ve been lucky enough to swim with them in the open ocean twice, and can testify to their playful grace.

Here are some of these distinctive goddess figurines in the museum. The central figure has a crown of poppy pods that shows the cuts used to extract the medicinal/ritual sap:

The restored top floor of this structure now holds reproductions of some of the colorful frescoes found in the site. Because of the technique and materials used, the colors in the surviving fragments remain vivid. We’ll see the actual restored frescoes in upcoming posts at the museum.

Many of the images express a love of nature’s beauty, as well as playfulness.

The celebrated bull-leaping fresco, with male and female athletes (men are generally portrayed as red, while women are white, but this doesn’t always hold true).

And so we say farewell to ancient Knossos, as we wend our way down the Royal Road.

Next week: Thor get his chance to report his version of our Cretan rambles!

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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection.  It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com