The Lost World of the Aegean by Maitland A. Edey

In the series The Emergence of Man, Time-Life has edited this book, The Lost World of the Aegean by Maitland A. Edey (ASIN: B000SZQWW2) in the mid-1970s but the subject and the results achieved are still very current.

At the time of my purchase, I was introduced to the Minoan civilization which is nicely developed and pictured in this book. In fact, the package offers much more than this slice of the history of mankind and is a wonderful introduction to the history of the Greek people and their origins. There are many theories but nobody really knows who the people were who would become the Greeks, where they came from, or when they arrived. In his book, Maitland Edey refers to a great study made by a British archaeologist who specialized in the Bronze Age Aegean and more specifically the Cyclades, Colin Refrew.

The thorough study based mainly on shards of pottery has led to dividing those early ages into three distinct periods:

- The Early Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC) with a parallel comparison of Early Cycladic, Minoan and Helladic vessels;

- The Middle Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC) with a similar comparison between Middle Cycladic, Minoan, and Helladic; and finally

- The Late Bronze Age (1500-1100 BC), showing parallels between Late Cycladic, Minoan, and Hellenic which is also known as Mycenaean

The Bronze Age in the Cyclades is carefully examined with their enigmatic and typical marbles. An evolution in the art of these statuettes can be established ranging from the violin-shaped females with their long necks to the figurines with stumpy arms and legs with minimal facial features to figurines standing with crossed arms and showing prominent noses.

This culture was gradually absorbed by the Minoans of Crete and the author details the vestiges of the Great Minoan Royal Palaces discovered and excavated by Arthur Evans. Strangely enough, although the Minoans knew how to read and write as early as 2000 BC their language remains an enigma as it has not been deciphered. However, the many frescoes and vestiges that were recovered from palaces at Knossos, Malia, Kato Zakro, Haghia Triada, and Phaistos turned out to be very helpful in creating a picture of daily life and the overall organization of this civilization. Unfortunately, these palaces met dramatic and mysterious fates and the Minoan culture suddenly disappeared.

Inevitably, history leads us to the Lost Atlantis, once an island empire that sunk into the sea after the catastrophic eruption of the volcano on which it was built. What remains, according to the author, is the island of Thera (modern Santorini) and it has been established that its fate is linked to that of Crete. The volcano ashes buried Crete under a thick blanket that destroyed crops and fields for years. Among the cities recently unearthed from its ashes is the site of Akrotiri – a situation not unlike that of Pompeii. Thera itself has disclosed a great treasure of lively frescoes depicting people and animals, even an entire 20-ft-long maritime scene of the Libyan coast and a pastoral scene including a series of soldiers marching off towards the battlefield.

As one civilization disappears, another is on the rise and, in this case, it is the Myceneans who are taking over the power in the eastern Mediterranean, confirmed and illustrated by the masterpieces recovered from the Royal Graves by Heinrich Schliemann. Besides cities like Tiryns and Mycenae, attention is given to the beehive-shaped tomb known as the Treasure of Atreus which Schliemann took for belonging to Agamemnon. The many, mainly gold treasures found at Mycenae are well documented.

When this period of glory crumbled, Greece slumbered into the dark ages which lasted for three or four hundred years and are said to have been darker than the Middle Ages in Western Europe. Rooted in the once so glorious Mycenaean civilization, eventually, the Age of Pericles and Socrates emerged, laying the foundations of our Western civilization.

The book concludes with a great chart entitled The Emergence of Man (the actual subtitle of the book, and rightfully so) putting Geology, Archaeology, Time (in millions, then thousands, then hundreds of years ago), and Places/Inventions on one line.

It makes fascinating reading!

Archaeology becomes Greece's Achilles heel

We are no doubt very much aware of the financial crisis in Greece and this situation affects the work of archaeologists all over the country. Licensed digs are being postponed (indefinitely as it seems) and illegal ones are proliferating, while theft from the local museums with their staff trimmed considerably are on the rise. Semi-professionals working for art trafficking networks and common treasure hunters are having the time of their life, smuggling precious pieces out of the country to obscure destinations and avid collectors. What a waste of efforts, analysis, study, restoration, if not cultural heritage!

In one month’s time, Greek police have arrested 44 people, recovering thousands of ancient coins and several Byzantine icons. In October 2011, a gang was arrested with Macedonian golden grave offerings from the 6th century BC worth some 11 million Euros. A worthwhile effort from Greek authorities no doubt, yet this is only the tip of a huge iceberg. With corruption running high in a country where people are cut short of their income, there is no way to even envision where this will end.

[pictures from The China Post]

Until now, foreign archaeology schools are still at work on the Acropolis in Athens, the Minoan Palace complex of Knossos on Crete, the sanctuaries of Delphi, Olympia and Vergina, but it becomes harder and harder to protect their excavation sites. Besides, the Greek state has the obligation to share in the financing of each such excavation and since there is no money available from that side the foreigners’ budget is being stretched. With one out of ten employees from the Ministry of Culture dismissed, it is not hard to imagine the unfortunate consequence for Greece’s precious heritage. In the meantime, 3,500 temporary staff have been hired to man museums and archaeological sites, but how trustworthy are they, I wonder?

Greece counts 106 archaeological and Byzantine museums, 250 organized archaeological sites and 19,000 (yes, that figure is correct) other important locations – yet only a handful have escaped the consequences of the Greek debt crisis. Athens’ and Thessaloniki’s Museums of Archaeology repeatedly shut down part of their collection because of shortage in staff. Other museums and sites close at 3 p.m. or don’t open before the high tourists’ season for the same reasons.

A very sad episode in the life of such an ancient and proud culture. I’m sure that great men like Pericles, Solon and Alexander the Great would turn in their graves if they had to witness this!