Crete, Greece

Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea separating the Aegean from the Libyan Sea.

 

Crete has a rich mythology mostly connected with the ancient Greek Gods but also connected with the Minoan civilization.

The Idaion cave at Mount Ida was the birthplace of the god Zeus. The Paximadia islands were the birthplace of the goddess Artemis and the god Apollo. Their mother, the goddess Leto, was worshipped at Phaistos. The goddess Athena bathed in Lake Voulismeni. The ancient Greek god Zeus launched a lightning bolt at a giant lizard that was threatening Crete. The lizard immediately turned to stone and became the island of Dia. The island can be seen from Knossos and it has the shape of a giant lizard. The islets of Lefkai were the result of a musical contest between the Sirens and the Muses. The Muses were so anguished to have lost that they plucked the feathers from the wings of their rivals; the Sirens turned white and fell into the sea at Aptera ("featherless") where they formed the islands in the bay that were called Lefkai (the islands of Souda and Leon).[43] Hercules, in one of his labors, took the Cretan bull to the Peloponnese. Europa and Zeusmade love at Gortys and conceived the Kings of the Minoan civilization, Rhadamanthys, Sarpedon, and Minos.

The labyrinth of the palace of Knossos has the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur where the Minotaur was slain by Theseus. Icarus andDaedalus were captives of King Minos and crafted wings to escape. After death King Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades, whileRhadamanthys the ruler of the Elysian fields.

Thank you Paulina for this beautiful card from you vacation!

Sent: 9 August 2013

Received: 3 Sept 2013

Travelled: 25 days