| Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2010 | Journalism as never before |
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SpotlightSea ShantiesIn our February edition we reported on the first Rethymnon CIC excursion of the year. The excursion included a visit to Cretaquarium, where the Bugle editor became fixated by the fish. This fixation set her on the trail of finding stories about the ’mysteries of the deep’ for this month’s spotlight feature. Greece has always been known as being a maritime nation and many of its myths, legends, religious and cultural traditions are inextricably bound up with the relationship between its people and the sea. Here we focus on a few Cretan fishy tales. Actually, the tales we tell aren’t - strictly speaking - tales about fish at all, but without the fish we probably wouldn’t have had the tales in the first place…. Poseidon and the Minoans
Sometimes when one wanders round the magnificent ancient palaces on Crete it is easy to forget just how much the Minoans were tied to the sea. Due to geographical / geological changes (the editor is on seriously shaky ground when it comes to talking about tectonic plates) some of the palaces are more ‘inland’ than they were way back when (if you get my continental drift). Knossos and Faestos are set in beautiful countryside in areas dominated by local agriculture - vine, olive and citrus, and this is the way it has been for centuries. And the relics that we see at those sites - for example huge jars that were used for storing wine or oil - seem to emphasize this particular aspect of Minoan culture. Now, we love olive oil, wine, raki and fresh lemons, so we’re not knocking those pots (and who would want to be a Cretan bull in a china shop in any case?). However, many of the decorations on the pots are really wacky depictions of octopus and other assorted marine life. The Minoans were wonderful sailors and fishermen. They built loads of boats and were an important naval force - though the famous triremes possibly came later (when the editor tried to do some historical research she got a bit confused about ancient ships and oarsmen. When she was a young lass in Oxford she got confused by a couple of oarsmen too, but that’s another story). Some of the better known findings relating to the Minoans at sea come from Akrotiri on Thera. These include the well known fresco portraying a fisherman and some large sardines. And for those of you who haven’t been there this in itself is a good reason to take that summer day cruise to Santorini! Mermaids and Pirates of the Aegean
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SHARK SAYS: “cod in batter or
mad as a hatter”
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© 2007-2010 Rethymnon Coffee Morning Bugle |
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