History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0031/00319.txt

Text File | 1992-10-11 | 16KB | 274 lines

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$Title{Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Chapter XXXII.  Crete And The Grecian Archipelago.}
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$Author{Larkin, Dunton}
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Title:       Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Author:      Larkin, Dunton

Chapter XXXII.  Crete And The Grecian Archipelago.

     Crete lies in the Mediterranean Sea south of the Grecian Archipelago,
from which it is separated by the Cretan Sea.  It has a length of one hundred
and sixty miles, a varying width of from six to forty miles, an area of 3300
square miles, and a population of 294,000.  It is the chief island between the
southern extremities of Greece and Asia Minor.

     A chain of mountains extends throughout the length of the island, and
Mount Ida, near its center, is nearly eight thousand feet in height.
Cultivated trees are to be seen everywhere, especially the olive and the
orange.  The fruit of the latter is so fine that it is famous throughout the
Archipelago.  But of vegetables there is a great scarcity, and the upper parts
of the mountains are mostly bare.  Other products are lemons, tobacco,
raisins, cotton, honey, oil, wine, and silk.

     Besides the classical interest which attaches to Crete, from its heroic
and mythological associations, and from its having been a chosen seat of the
arts and sciences, there is a higher interest which arises on account of its
having been one of the first places in the world to receive the Gospel.  The
Christian faith was introduced into the island by St. Paul, and his disciple
Titus was the first bishop of Crete.

     But a visit to the island at the present day leaves a melancholy
impression on the mind.  Poverty exists everywhere, and many of the people do
not have enough to eat.  During the three years' insurrection, which began in
1865, many villages were plundered and burned.  A few of the people are
Mohammedans, but the great majority are Christians.  They make few complaints,
and are not accustomed to begging.  No doubt misrule and oppression have had
much to do with reducing them to their present condition.

     For ten centuries Crete repelled all foreign aggression, but was at
length subdued by the Romans, who subsequently ceded it to the Marquis of
Montferrat, by whom it was sold to the Venetians in 1204, when it obtained the
name of Candia.  It was afterward taken by the Turks, in whose possession it
remained till 1830, when it was ceded to Mehemet Ali, viceroy of Egypt, who in
turn was obliged, in 1841, to restore it to Turkey.  The tithe is the only
regular impost, but the manner in which it is collected greatly increases its
oppressiveness.  Much injury has also been done lately by the introduction of
a debased coinage, first by the government, and next by the merchants.  Added
to these, are the barbarities perpetrated by the Pasha's troops, which, if not
thoroughly attested, would be quite incredible.

     In 1868 the Cretans rebelled against Turkish rule, and as a result Turkey
agreed to give Crete practical autonomy.  Her promises were not fulfilled, and
in the spring of 1897 trouble broke out again.  Greece came to the defense of
Crete, and, for a while, made a noble and heroic stand, of which ancient
Greece herself might have been proud.  But the Greek army soon met with
disastrous reverses, and, in a short but active campaign in Thessaly, was
totally defeated by the Turks, and compelled to pay the whole expenses of the
war.  The affairs of Crete were then submitted to the ruling powers of Europe
for arbitration.

     The majority of the Cretans are a little above the medium height. Their
hair and eyes are dark, and their faces oval, with pointed chins, aquiline
noses, and full cheeks.  The dress of the men consists of long boots, baggy
blue trowsers gathered at the knee, a red sash, a blue waistcoat corresponding
to the trowsers, and a jacket.  Over this is worn a short capote, usually
white, with a hood to cover the head.  Sometimes a skullcap is used instead.

     The Aegean Sea, or Grecian Archipelago, is the name given to that part of
the Mediterranean Sea lying between Asia Minor on the east and Greece and part
of Turkey on the west.  Its length from north to south is about four hundred
miles, and its breadth two hundred.  The sea in general is very deep.  In many
places less than a mile from land, no bottom has been found with a two-hundred
fathom line.

     Some of the islands are of volcanic origin, while others are composed of
white marble.  Most of them are high, having an altitude of fifteen hundred to
eighteen hundred feet.  They are divided into two groups, in one of which they
lie in the form of a circle, while in the other they are scattered somewhat in
a line.  The former lie off the eastern coast of Greece, while the latter
skirt the west coast of Asia Minor.  The first group, containing seven
principal islands and many more of inferior size, belongs to Greece.  Of the
second group, there are twelve islands of considerable size and many small
ones; these all belong to Turkey.

     Delos, Rheneia, and Tenos are three of the islands in the first group and
occupy a position in the northeastern part.  In Greek legends, Delos is noted
as the birthplace of Apollo.  The ruins of the Temple of Apollo are still
visible, forming a vast heap of marble fragments, columns, bases, and
entablatures.

     Both Delos and Rheneia are destitute of trees, and on the latter we find
an ancient necropolis containing the graves of those whose bodies were removed
from Delos at the time of the Peloponnesian War.  It is over half a mile long,
and is a scene of wild desolation.  Broken stones lay strewn about in all
directions, interspersed with sides and lids of sarcophagi.

     The island of Tenos lies north of Delos, and a town of the same name
occupies its southern extremity.  It is one of the most attractive and fertile
of the group; is well watered by springs, and has an excellent climate.  Tenos
produces much barley, silk, wine, figs, oranges, and honey.  Its mountains
furnish fine marble of various colors.  Silk stockings and gloves are
extensively manufactured.

     For purposes of cultivation, the mountains of Tenos are carved into
terraces, giving evidence of vast labor employed in their construction. The
people are very industrious, and their villages have a flourishing appearance,
the whitewashed houses being surrounded by olive, orange, and fig trees.  The
flat roofs and trim gardens are like those of northern Italy; and this is not
surprising, since the island was held by the Italians for nearly five hundred
years.  The people are extremely superstitious, and have both a Greek
archbishop and a Roman Catholic bishop.  Population, 22,000.

     The rugged island of Scio, near the coast of Asia Minor, belongs to
Turkey.  Before the Christian era it was famous as a center of literature and
art.  It is one of the several spots claimed as the birthplace of Homer.  The
present population is about 36,000.

     Patmos and Rhodes, the former one of the smallest, and the latter one of
the largest, are two of the best known islands of the second group. Patmos is
famed as being the place of the banishment of St. John.  At the present day it
is one of the least accessible of the islands of the Archipelago, since, on
account of its remote position and the unproductiveness of its soil, steamers
never touch there.  It is a bare, irregularly shaped mass of rock,
twenty-eight miles in circumference, having on its east side a deep
indentation which forms a secure harbor. It is almost divided in two near the
center; for in this part, within a distance of little more than half a mile of
each other, are two isthmuses only a few hundred yards wide, and rising but
slightly above the level of the sea.  The southern half of the island belongs
to the monks, and the other to the civil community.

     The population numbers about four thousand, and is composed of Greeks.
They are mostly a seafaring people, engaged in the sponge fisheries.  The
principal town takes the name of Patmos and is sometimes called St. John.  It
consists of about two hundred houses, and stands on the edge of a mountain,
being reached by a steep and rugged ascent.  On a height above the town stands
a large convent surmounted by several irregular towers.  A neighboring grotto
is the supposed abode where the apostle John saw the vision which he has
recorded in the book of Revelation.

     Rhodes has a length of forty-six miles, and an area of five hundred and
seventy square miles.  Its inhabitants, nearly thirty thousand in number, are
principally Turks, Greeks, and Jews.  It is traversed by a mountain chain
covered with forests, which have long supplied good timber for shipbuilding.
Its valleys are well watered and are very fertile.  Its principal exports are
wax, honey, wine, figs, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, and manufactured silk.

     Rhodes is governed by a Pasha, whose jurisdiction extends over the whole
group.  Its chief city has the same name, and is built at the northeast
extremity of the island, thirteen miles from the nearest promontory of Asia
Minor.  It is inclosed by walls built by the Knights of St. John.

     As a commercial station, Rhodes occupies an admirable position, on
account of its nearness to the mainland, and of its being a natural point of
departure for Egypt and the East.  It is said that "in ancient times it was
surpassed in grandeur by no other city, and hardly equaled by any." Its
commerce, its political institutions, its school of oratory, and its school of
sculpture enjoyed a world-wide renown.  It was the residence of many great
men.  Tiberius chose Rhodes as his place of voluntary exile, and it was here
that Cicero studied.  But little remains of the magnificence of those times
except the Hellenic foundations of the moles, and the many sepulchral
monuments of gray marble which are to be seen in the city and suburbs.

     The military history of Rhodes is full of interest; it has withstood some
remarkable sieges.  That of 1522 was, perhaps, the most notable, when four
thousand five hundred soldiers and six hundred knights withstood for five
months the Ottoman fleet of three hundred ships and one hundred thousand
soldiers, commanded by Suleiman I.  "This resistance is one of the most
glorious exploits of martial Christianity." The knights were granted an
honorable capitulation, and with four hundred inhabitants they abandoned the
island, which since that time has belonged to the Turks.

     Starting from the suburb on the northern side of the city, we have on our
left the first harbor, that of the galleys, which was outside the walls, but
was defended by a strong round tower at the extremity of the mole, called the
tower of St. Nicholas.  Some believe that this fort occupies the site of the
famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the world; but other
authorities claim that the statue stood on the low ground at the southwest
corner of this harbor.  This statue was one hundred and five feet high, and
represented the Rhodian sun god, Helios.  It commemorated the successful
defense of Rhodes in 303 B.C., was twelve years in completing, and stood 66
years, being at last thrown down by an earthquake.

     We next pass through the gate of St. Paul.  A figure of the saint stands
above the gate, holding in one hand a volume of the gospel, and in the other a
sword.  This gate does not lead into the city itself, but into the circuit of
walls which incloses the great harbor.  Through the wall which borders this
harbor, the city is entered by the finest of all the gates, that of St.
Catharine.  It is surmounted by a figure of the saint standing between St.
Peter and John the Baptist.  Immediately within this, on the right hand as we
enter, is the cross wall separating that part of the town in which dwelt the
ancient order of Knights, and which occupied about one third of the area of
the town, from the part occupied by the citizens.  Taking our way through this
latter section, and following a line of streets which cross it transversely,
we have the Jewish quarter on our left.  Many of the handsomest of the old
dwellings are to be found here.  They are solidly built and elaborately
decorated.

     In the other portion of the city, by far the most interesting part, is
the Street of the Knights.  It descends in a straight line by a gradual slope
toward the port.  The buildings on either side are of rough brownstone, with
projecting latticed frames of wood, thrown out by the Turkish families that
dwell there.  This street contains the Priories, which were the headquarters
and places of meeting of the different nationalities of Knights.  Their
escutcheons and those of the most distinguished men may, in many cases, be
seen on the facades.

     Throughout the island the courtyards, in which the houses are built, are
often covered with tessellated pavements of pebbles.  In some of the dwellings
the rooms are floored with them, and the patterns are often elaborate and
beautiful.  The walls are frequently hung with the plates of the Rhodian ware,
which collectors prize so highly.  These plates are regarded by the people as
heirlooms in their families.

     In some parts of the island the villages are built with curious
uniformity.  Every doorway is surmounted by a pointed arch, and the window and
chimney of each house occupy the same relative position.

     Cyprus is the easternmost island in the Mediterranean and the third in
size.  It has a length of one hundred and forty-eight miles, and a breadth of
forty, with an area of three thousand seven hundred miles, and a population of
two hundred and nine thousand.

     The whole island is occupied by a range of mountains known in heathen
mythology as the third range of Olympus, whose two culminating points, Santa
Croce (Olympus) and Thrados, are seven thousand feet high.  On the northeast
side of the island the slopes are steep and rugged, and one of the elevated
valleys contains Nicosia, the modern capital of Cyprus.  The slopes are even
bolder on the south side, and present a deeply serrated outline with thickly
wooded sides, furrowed by deep valleys.  In the southwest the mountains yield
excellent asbestos; also talc, red jasper, copper, silver, gold, and emeralds.
The name of the island is supposed to have been derived from the Greek word
(kupros) meaning copper.

     Cyprus is deficient in water, having but one river of any importance. The
climate is in general healthful.  Temporary blindness is sometimes caused by
the sun's reflection from the white chalky soil; and to avoid sunstroke the
natives wrap their heads in thick shawls.

     About one third of the cultivable surface of Cyprus is under tillage. Of
vegetable products, cotton and corn are the most important.  Excellent wheat,
barley, tobacco, and madder are raised.  Silk is produced abundantly in
several vicinities, and sponge fishing is a prominent industry.  Wine is the
most noted production of the island, and is of excellent quality.

     The women of some of the towns and villages do beautiful embroidery, and
make silk net which will bear comparison with the finest European lace.  They
also weave some cotton, woolen, and linen fabrics.  Good morocco leather is
made in Nicosia; and calicoes, imported from England, are here dyed in
brilliant colors and exported to Syria, Smyrna, and Constantinople.  On the
west side of the island the peasantry distil rose, orange, and lavender water,
and myrtle and laudanum oil.  The island of Cyprus is under British rule,
being governed by a resident High Commissioner, assisted by an Executive
Council.  For many years Cyprus has been explored and excavated for relics of
antiquity, and some remarkable specimens have been found here.  In 1845, a
bas-relief on which was sculptured the figure of Sargon, king of Assyria 722 -
705 B. C., was found in a good state of preservation.  This monument is at
present in the Royal Museum of Berlin.