Heraklion, Crete and the Connection to St. Mark's

After visiting the ancient ruins at Knossos, we ventured into Crete's major city of Heraklion. Above is the church of St. Titus. Titus was an apostle of St. Paul and the first bishop of Crete.

Paul wrote a letter to Titus.

"Remind them to be under the control of the magistrates and authorities, to be obedient to every good enterprise. They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.

But when the kindness and generous love

of God our savior appeared,

not because of any righteous deeds we had done

but because of his mercy,

he saves us through the bath of rebirth

and renewal by the holy Spirit,

whom he richly poured out on us

through Jesus Christ our savior, 

so that we might be justified by his grace

and become heirs in hope of eternal life."

                                                                                                                           Titus 3:1-7

St. Titus's relics are other places, including Venice (more on this later) but above his skull is enclosed in this glittery helmut.

Above and below, more beautiful scenes from St. Titus. Those Byzantine artists really emphasized the abs.

Above is the Loggia, a building constructed by the Venetians during their 400 year plus rule of Crete beginning in 1204.

Statue of El Greco in Heraklion, Crete

One of my favorite artists, El Greco, was born in Greece. His actual name was Domenikos Theotokopolos but he did much of his work in Spain where he was known as "The Greek."

Above is El Greco's Adoration of the Shepherds.

Venice left its mark on Crete, in part through its long and interesting connection to St. Mark, involving stolen relics. A major Basilica to St. Mark is located in Venice. St Mark's in Peoria, Illinois is my home parish. When the Venetians came to Crete they built the Basilica de San Marcos in 1239.

The Basilica is now an art gallery, which, unfortunately, was closed when we were there.

There was an exhibition by an artist named Maria!

Another view of the Basilica de San Marcos in Crete with the distinctively Venetian high arches and thin columns.

Not far from the Basilica was the Morozini Fountain with the lions. The lion is the symbol of St. Mark the Evangelist. 

Close to the fountain a boy and his dog entertain the passersby. On Crete, one of our fellow travelers got lost. There were some tense moments, waiting on the bus. Would we make it back in time to board the ship before she sailed? Three of our pilgrims fanned out looking for him. Success! They found him! So many times in my own life I feel lost. God must feel about me a little like we felt about our fellow traveler. "Come back to me!"

Knossos at Crete

Next up is the Knossos Palace on the largest Greek island of Crete. This palace was the center of Minoan cultural and political life around 2000 BC, 1500 years before the Greeks established the foundations of western civilization. Knossos is described as one of the earliest European civilizations.

These ruins are ancient and there is not much left of them. You have to use your imagination to visualize how grand the palace was.

Knossos seemed to have a cult of the bull. A legend speaks of a half man, half bull who resided at the center of a labyrinth in the palace. Above are bull horns, the left horn, the original, and the right horn reconstructed.

The throne room, above.

Above and below jars that held wet and dry goods, such as wine, grain, and oil.

We think of ourselves as so advanced now, but this civilization of 3000 years ago was amazing.

We prayed at the pagan sites too. Before Jesus, if you weren't Jewish, it was all you had.