Archaeology Magazine - October 1966 - 53

we missed since we were the last of
the three hundred) we went into a
meeting hall where, after a speech
by the Mayor, three historians gave
reports on the modern history of
Crete. Out into the rain again to
more wine, raisins, nuts and flowers
and off to the Monastery of Gonia
in busses,where we greeted the fathers, looked at beautiful old icons
and the view, drank more wine, ate
more tyropita (cheese pies) and
honey, and finally, sated with wine,
history and hospitality, went back
in the rain to Chania."
Friday was devoted to an excursion to the Ornalos, the great
plateau which debouches into the
amazing gorge of Samaria. Unfortunately there was rain, and not
all of the delegates succeeded in
reaching their destination.However,
there was a cordial reception on
the way at Lakkoi, a beautiful
mountain village (which suffered
badly during the war). A banquet
was offered at Chania in the evening by the Educationists of Crete
- "excellent food and good Cretan
company/'
On Saturday there were again
sessions for the reading of papers,
followed by a lecture on the famous Phaistos disk by Professor
Ernst Grumach. He discussed the
various signs, stating his belief in a
Cretan origin for the enigmatic
disk. The final session for reading
of papers was held that afternoon,
and the day was climaxed by an
evening reception at which entertainment- Cretan songs and dances
- was provided.
The Congress ended on Sunday,
the whole group being transported
to Herakleion, with stops at
Rethymno, where there was a
charming receptionin the city park,
and at the Arkadhi Monastery, famous for its resistance during the
1866 revolution. Before the departure for Athens in the evening,
there were visits to the Herakleion
Museum and to Knossos, and a
final closing ceremony. Truly an
ambitious program!
Brief summaries of a few of the
papers dealing with archaeology
follow. St. Alexiou spoke on "Some
Dating Problems of Minoan Archaeology,"showing that reoccupation of most Minoan palaces and
sites took place during the Late
Minoan III period and was not
confinedto Knossos.M. Andronikos'

subject was the earliest evidenceof
cremation in Crete and the relation of this custom to mainland
burial practice. Chrysoula Cardara
offered a new interpretation of the
figure represented on a bronze
plate (No. 2134) in the Herakleion
Museum, showing that it is not
Icarus as has been thought but a
man bound to a column, probably
Prometheus. N. Platon, in his paper, "The Final Destruction of the
Minoan Palaces," showed how the
discoveries he has made at the
Zakro palace, which was not
plundered, corroborate Marinatos'
theory of two distinct eruptions of
the Thera volcano. Clear evidence
of the eruption has been foundvolcanic ash, displacementof walls,
melted material, etc.- as well as
offerings made after the first eruption in order to appease the gods.
The second eruption had disastrous
effects on Crete, with volcanic ash
covering all the arable land. Only
the palace at Knossos was rebuilt
after this catastrophe.
I. Sakellarakis' recent discovery
of a splendid tholos tomb at Arkhanes offered an opportunity to
make interesting observations on
bull sacrifice.(We hope to have an
article on this tomb in the near future.) I. Tzedakis presented new
evidence showing that the Minoan
civilizationexisted in western Crete
as well as in the eastern centers,
and that Chania (ancient Kydonia)
was an important early site. V.
Karageorghis discussedrelations between Crete and Cyprus in the
eleventh century B.c., which he be-

lieves were closer than has been
thought. He demonstratedhis thesis
by adducing parallel vase shapes,
decorative elements, etc.
P. Äström offeredsome important
synchronismsas new evidencefor the
chronology of the Middle Minoan
period. J. Boardman reported on his
recent excavations at Tocra in
Libya, showing evidence of Cretan
connections during Archaic times.
K. Branigan summarized research
on Early Minoan metallurgy.
Cyrus Gordon pointed out that
communications existed between
Ugarit and Crete throughout
Ugarit's heyday (1400-1200 B.c.).
The two centers, he said, belonged
to the same cultural, religious and
linguistic sphere. Clelia Laviosa
showed that Mycenaean figurines,
which are generally considered as
mainland creations, are based on
Cretan predecessors. F. Matz reported on the progress of the corpus
of Minoan and Mycenaean seals.
Chronological problems were discussed in a number of papers.
It may be of interest to note that
at these sessions no attempt at
"instantaneous translation" was
made, and some discussions were
conducted in as many as five languages. All the papers presented at
the Congress will presumably be
presented in Kretika Chronika, the
learned journal of Crete.
The Congresswill be memorable,
writes our correspondent, "for
many reasons, one of which is the
complete warmth and hospitality
with which the people of the Island received us."

Congressistsenjoying luncheon offered by Bishop at Kastelli Kissamou.
Young monksare servingthe meal.
285

Archaeology Magazine - October 1966

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - October 1966