Santorini is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. These days it’s a popular cruise stop. And guess what? Santorini is probably one of the first cruise stops on earth. That’s because the Aegean Sea was home to one of the first civilizations on earth – the amazing Minoans. We’re on our way to Santorini now.
After visiting Olympia, we shoved off from Katakolon, headed for the Aegean Sea and Santorini. The ruins at Olympia are almost 3,000 years old. That was a long time ago, but the relics found at Santorini were created WAY before that.
What comes to mind when you think of an ancient civilization? How about the Mayans? They were thriving almost 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians go back further – all the way back to 2300 BC.
Those civilizations go back quite a ways, but the Minoans would have had to wait 1,000 years for the Babylonians to come along. That’s a long time to wait.
The Amazing Minoans
So who were these Minoans? As far as anyone knows, they were possibly the first people on earth to establish a “civilization.” Being “civilized” means having your own customs, system of writing, cities, and an organized society.
The Minoans lived on islands in and around the Aegean Sea, including Santorini and Crete. They built a city on Santorini called Akrotiri. Sometime around 1,600 BC, a huge volcano blew it’s top, wiped out Akrotiri, and probably the entire Minoan civilization.
When a place is buried under volcanic ash, (Pompeii, for example), the ash tends to preserve it. That’s what happened at Akrotiri. Archeologists have uncovered a wealth of artifacts showing how the Minoans lived – and it’s pretty amazing.
While humans in other parts of the world lived in caves, the Minoans resided in three-story buildings with stairways and courtyards. Beautifully painted frescoes decorated the walls.
The Minoans were talented artists. When they created frescoes, they applied paint to the still-wet plaster of the wall. Artwork created this way will last a long time. But if you’re the artist, the pressure is on, because you’ve got to create your masterpiece before the plaster dries.
Bull Jumping, Anyone?
Besides art, Minoans were into sports. One of their favorites seems to be “bull jumping.” That’s what we call it, anyway. Bull jumping is similar to bullfighting, but just a tiny bit crazier. And a lot easier on the bull.
Just like a matador, the bull jumper taunts the bull to gore him. When sufficiently taunted, the bull lowers his head and charges. But instead of skewering the beast, the bull jumper grabs the horns, jumps like crazy, and uses the bull’s upward head thrust to propel him over the top of the bull. Can you imagine? What a sport!
Even though it sounds crazy, the sport seems to be legit. Numerous Minoan frescoes depict the event clearly. Today, we can only imagine how the sport got started. A couple of Minoans with time on their hands might have had a conversation like this…
1st Minoan – “Nice day, eh? It’s great, just sitting out here, taking it easy.”
2nd Minoan — “Beautiful. Hey, pass me that flask, will you?
1st Minoan – “I don’t know… I think we’ve had enough of this stuff already.”
2nd Minoan — “Bah!” (Glug glug glug…) “Hey, see that bull over there?”
1st Minoan – “Yeah – he looks like a mean one.” (Glug glug glug…)
2nd Minoan — “I bet you can’t get him to charge you, then grab his horns
and flip over the top when he tries to gore you.” (Glug glug glug…)
1st Minoan – “I may be a little tipsy, but I’m no knucklehead.” (Glug glug glug…)
2nd Minoan — “Nah… you’re not a knucklehead. You’re just chicken!” (Glug glug glug…)
1st Minoan – “I am not!” (Glug glug glug…)
2nd Minoan — “Pok pok pok!” (Chicken noises).
A sport like bull jumping had to get started somehow. This scenario can’t be too far off the mark.
One interesting thing, though… Who’d have guessed that people used the term, “knucklehead,” more than 4,000 years ago?
To be continued…
