![](\"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Knossos-Prince.jpg\" "\\"Knossos")
<\/a>nyone who knows me is aware that, for most of my life, I\u2019ve has per\u00adson\u00adal fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtion with ancient Minoan civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. My liv\u00ading room wall dis\u00adplays a large framed print of the \u201cpalace\u201d of Knos\u00adsos, as some\u00adwhat imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtive\u00adly recon\u00adstruct\u00aded by N. Gou\u00advousis. The old\u00ader ver\u00adsion of this web\u00adsite was dec\u00ado\u00adrat\u00aded with an icon\u00adic Minoan mur\u00adal. I\u2019ve always pre\u00adferred the flu\u00adid, sen\u00adsu\u00adous Minoan and Myce\u00adnaean art styles, with their domes\u00adtic and nature-ori\u00adent\u00aded themes, to the more rigid and often mil\u00adi\u00adtaris\u00adtic styles of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The mytho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal sto\u00adry of The\u00adseus, defeat\u00ading a tyran\u00adny by enter\u00ading the labyrinth (a fair\u00adly obvi\u00adous metaphor for the search for knowl\u00adedge), and fight\u00ading the mon\u00adstrous Mino\u00adtaur, finds its way into my writ\u00ading in var\u00adi\u00adous forms. I would count myself a fail\u00adure in life if I did not at least once set my foot down on the site of the real Knos\u00adsos. Now, for\u00adtu\u00aditous cir\u00adcum\u00adstances allow me to do this, and to spend some time explor\u00ading less pop\u00adu\u00adlar archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal sites, and the back coun\u00adtry of Greece.<\/p>\nBut there will be an under\u00adcur\u00adrent of bit\u00adter\u00adness, which I will feel when\u00adev\u00ader I pick up a pot\u00adsherd or kick an ancient stone. Huge amounts of wordage has been expend\u00aded on Minoan civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, but almost all of it is spec\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. We actu\u00adal\u00adly know lit\u00adtle about these peo\u00adple who thrived for a thou\u00adsand years. Their lan\u00adguage is unknown to us, their script unde\u00adci\u00adphered. Almost every\u00adthing about the ruins can be inter\u00adpret\u00aded in var\u00adi\u00adous ways, and there\u2019s always been a ten\u00adden\u00adcy to project mod\u00adern hopes and dreams onto the enig\u00admat\u00adic remains. Minoan Civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion evap\u00ado\u00adrat\u00aded in some uncer\u00adtain process or com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of nat\u00adur\u00adal dis\u00adas\u00adter, eco\u00adnom\u00adic change, civ\u00adil war, inva\u00adsion, con\u00adquest, eco\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal stress, or assim\u00adi\u00adla\u00adtion. I was born in Cana\u00adda, part of North Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. When I was born, it was the wealth\u00adi\u00adest, most free, most cul\u00adtur\u00adal\u00adly dynam\u00adic place on Earth. Now it is a sham\u00adbles. It may be a dying cul\u00adture, drown\u00ading in an ever-ris\u00ading ocean of Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive filth. No out\u00adside forces are respon\u00adsi\u00adble for this death. We did it to our\u00adselves, for \u201cCon\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive\u201d is noth\u00ading but a syn\u00adonym for moral cor\u00adrup\u00adtion. And our soci\u00adety is deeply, deeply cor\u00adrupt\u00aded. I sus\u00adpect that I will not be able to think of much else as I hike across the wild moun\u00adtains and gorges of the ancient island of Crete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tomor\u00adrow, I\u2019ll be in Greece. I\u2019ll be meet\u00ading my stal\u00adwart friend, Fil\u00adip Marek, in Athens, and short\u00adly after, we\u2019ll head for Crete. Any\u00adone who knows me is aware that, for most of my life, I\u2019ve has per\u00adson\u00adal fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtion with ancient Minoan civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. My \u2026<\/p>\n