The island
As the largest island in
the Greek archipelago, with a culture all of its own, Crete
has made its mark on Greek history and often determined its course.
Having developed a fully fledged culture from as early as Neolithic times, Crete heralded the dawn of civilization in the wider
European area. The lasting period of prosperity from 2800 to 1100 BC is
associated with Minoan civilization.
Irrefutable evidence
of its range
and
splendour
lies in the old
and new
palaces
erected at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and
Zakros; in the development of
important
sites
such as
Agia Triada,
Gortyn,
Zominthos, Myrtos, Fournou
Koryfi, etc.; in the evolution
of a
sophisticated,
rich and vibrant
art; in the commercial
supremacy of
the Minoans on the seas;
and in the spread
of their products,
pottery, artefacts and artistic
trends
throughout the Mediterranean Basin.
The collapse of the
palatial system and the decline of Minoan civilization were followed by
Mycenaean infiltration and the transition to the Iron Age, which in no way
recalled the glories of the past. In historic times Crete
may not have lost its status as trading centre, but it was relegated to the
margins of the Greek world, which was thenceforth associated with the major
centres of Athens,
Sparta and
later Macedonia.
The island’s principal urban
centres at
that time were at Knossos,
Lato,
Praisos, Cydonia
and
Gortyn.
In 69 BC the Romans took
the island by force. They designated Gortys as their administrative seat, which
emerged as a major centre of the time. In the 1st century Crete
received Christianity as preached by the Apostle Paul; the island’s churches
were organized by Paul’s disciple Titus in 63 AD. The spread of Christianity
between the 4th and 8th century led to the construction
of a considerable number of basilicas, all typical of the Early Christian
period, such as those at Sougia, Chersonisos, Panormo, Eleutherna, Sybritos,
Frangokastelo and Gortys. Sources reveal that Crete
then formed part of the Diocese of Moesia (Dioecesis Moesiarum or Illyricum Orientale),
which was directly dependent on the Church of Rome; the
Episcopal
Province
of
Crete
had
about twenty bishoprics, with
Gortys
as
its metropolitan see.
During the iconoclast controversy
under Constantine V, in around 754, the Church of Crete broke away from Rome and was annexed to the throne of Constantinople.
In 823 civil
war
broke out
on
Crete between Thomas the Slav
and
Emperor
Michael II. Meanwhile, a series of
uprisings by Andalusian Arabs
against the Caliph of Cordoba in the West Mediterranean led to
their being banished from the Iberian
Peninsula, thus rendering the island vulnerable to
attack. Denied
access to the north
coast
of Africa, they set their sights on Crete.
Α series of assaults in 826 resulted
in forty Arab battle ships entering Souda
Bay. The island was
pillaged for several days and then taken over; Gortys was razed to the ground,
and the Arabs established a new capital on the site of ancient Heraclea, erecting a substantial fortress
with deep ditches, which they named al-Chandak (later known as Chandax). From there they organised an extensive series of
attacks
against the Aegean islands,
plunging them into destruction
and
desolation.
Emperor Michael II’s
efforts to recover Crete by 829 failed to rid
the island of the Arab presence, as did an initially successful attempt by
Michael III in 843. The baton then passed to Emperor Constantine VII
Porphyrogenitus, in whose reign Nicephorus Phocas became known as a man of
military prowess.
Once Porphyrogenitus had been succeeded by Romanos II, in 960
Nicephorus launched a military campaign to liberate Crete.
The following year, following several months of operations, this ended in the
surrender of Chandax. The island returned to Byzantine rule as a theme, with
its church and administration reorganized by Phocas.
For fear of a renewed
Arab
threat the capital was temporarily moved
to the hinterland behind Chandax,
surrounded by a strong wall. In the religious sphere Phocas
formed associations with spiritual fathers such as
Saint
Nikon Metanoeite
(“Repent”)
and Saint
John Xenos,
reorganized
new
episcopal
sees
far
from the
coast and moved others
to new
locations.
In the late 10th century the cathedral of Agios
Titos (Saint Titus), was built at Gortys, on the ruins of an early Christian
three-nave vaulted basilica.
The second period of
Byzantine rule lasted until Constantinople was
conquered by the Crusaders in 1204. After the capital fell, the island was
briefly occupied (until 1217) by Enrico Pescatore, Genoese count of Malta, who
made concerted attempts to strengthen the forts at Chandax, Rethymnon and
Sitia, and erected walls around other important sites. From 1217 onwards Crete established itself as one of the most important
possessions held by the Most Serene Republic of Venice. Under the new Venetian
name Candia, Chandax remained the capital and
administrative centre of the island, which was divided into six sectors administered
by Venetian commanders. Settlement by Venetian colonists boosted the population
and breathed new life into the city, which was radically remodelled: the walls
and harbour were reinforced, and intense building activity began. Sea routes
expanded and trade flourished. The Byzantine church administrative system was
retained, though a Latin bishop was appointed alongside his Greek counterpart
at the head of each episcopal see. The entire 13th century saw
repeated uprisings against Venetian authority. Prominent among these was the
one led by the Skordiles and Melissinos families in the first quarter of the
century, since it had the support of Byzantine troops from John Vatazes’ Empire
of Nicaea.
A few years later, the
recapture of Constantinople by Michael VIII
Palaeologus (1261) sparked off a new wave of unrest on the island. This series
of uprisings ended in 1363-1364, when Venetian feudal lords attempted to secede
from Venice by
declaring Crete the Republic of St. Titus.
After the fall of the
Byzantine capital to the Ottomans in 1453, many people flocked from Constantinople to Crete.
Although this new population influx undoubtedly marked a major change, smooth
coexistence with the local population and the Venetians served the island well,
resulting in the Cretan Renaissance of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Between 1645 and 1669 the
island was the theatre of the Fifth Venetian-Turkish War. The Ottomans landed
on Crete and occupied it in 1645, and three
years latter laid siege to Chandax. Chania was taken in 1645 and Rethymnon in
1646. The monumental siege of Candia began in
May 1648 and lasted for twenty-one years; the city was pounded by daily bombardment and
attacks, but
managed
to
hold out
as it was supplied
from the sea.
The final phase began in 1666, when
numerous reinforcements arrived in support of Fazil Ahmed Pasha Kiopruli
(Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Paşa). The dire predicament of the besieged forced
Venetian general Francesco Morosini to come to terms with the Ottomans and surrender
the island to them.
Glossary (4)
basilica:
type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
Paleo-Christian (early Christian) era:
in Byzantine history, the period that typically starts in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his newly-founded city of Constantinople, and ends with the death of Justinian in 565.
three nave basilica:
a basilica with three naves.
Empire of Nicaea:
One of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire established by the Byzantine aristocracy following the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in April 1204. Founded by Theodore Lascaris, whose successors recaptured Constantinople in 1261.
Information Texts (3)
The city:
In the 1st and 2nd century Athens was a wealthy city and one of the
empire’s major intellectual centres, which frequently attracted the attention
and patronage of emperors and wealthy civilians. Hadrian increased the
perimeter of the walls and almost doubled the city’s area. Herod Atticus
adorned it with groups of monuments that have survived in part to this day.
That being said, serious damage was done when the one-time glorious city was
taken by the Heruli in 267, and raided by the Goths under Alaric in 396. The
Acropolis, the Roman agora and Hadrian’s Library were surrounded by a wall,
which became Athens’
main fortification. Plato’s Academy was revitalized from the early 4th
to the early 6th century by the neo-platonic philosophers, who
taught rhetoric and philosophy to promising Christian and pagan youths from all
over the empire; three of its students were Basil the Great, Gregory of
Nazianzus and Emperor Julian. Empress
Pulcheria
was so impressed by the education received by Athinaïs, daughter of the sophist
Leontius, that in 421 she had her forcibly christened Eudocia and wed her to her brother, Emperor
Theodosius
II. The so-called Palace of Giants, founded in the ancient agora in
this period, may have belonged to Eudocia and her family.
Christianity began to make its presence felt in the
city in the early 5th century. A tetraconch which may from the
outset have been a Christian church was erected inside Hadrian’s Library, in
addition to a three-nave basilica on the island in the middle of the Ilissos River, which may have been dedicated to
the memory of Leonides, bishop of the city.Shortly before the middle of the
same century, the Parthenon was converted into the city’s cathedral church and
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The inhabitants who remained
faithful
to
the idols
seem
to have lived in
fear.
Although the
Panathenaic
procession continued to be
celebrated up until the 5th
century, offering a sense of
respite, it was
stripped of
pagan
rituals. In 529 the Academy and the remaining schools were
closed by decree of Justinian, though whether this was ever
enforced remains a subject of debate. This sealed the economic decline
of a city that had once and for all lost its role as a centre of learning. The
opulent residences unearthed in the vicinity of the Areios Pagos were abandoned
by their occupants, either because they were unable to maintain them in times
of recession or because the Slavs appeared in the late 6th century. In the following centuries
written sources mentioning Athens
are sporadic. Emperor
Constans
II, his army and court
wintered
in
Athens
in 662-663 while preparing a
campaign
against Sicily.
Relations between the local
nobility
and the palace of Constantinople
probably began at this time. Two
Athenian
women became
empresses: Irene, who
was on the throne from 780 to 802; and her niece
Theophano, who ruled
for
a few
months in
811. In the early 9th century the city was promoted from a
diocese to an archdiocese, in accordance with the palace’s wishes rather than
on account of any increase in the population. Private houses were located in
neighbourhoods to the north, west and south-west of the Acropolis, within and
beyond the Late Roman wall. They were generally of makeshift construction, with
rooms arranged around a courtyard, next to workshops and small factories.
Excavations have mainly brought to light house basements full of storage jars.
From the late 10th century, small churches were built in the area
north of the Acropolis. These had clearly defined outlines and were strongly
built of cloisonné masonry, with
domes surrounded by small marble columns. Such churches include Agioi Theodoroi
in Klafthmonos Square
(1049); the oldest surviving church is most probably the catholicon in Asomatoi
Monastery (dedicated to the Incorporeal Saints), better known as Petraki
Monastery, from the late 10th century. Agios Eleftherios (the Small
Metropolis or cathedral) can be placed in the late 12th century. It is not
known whether these churches were privately owned or served as the catholica of
small monasteries.
Basil II the Bulgar Slayer arrived in 1018 to pray in
the Church of the Virgin Mary at Athens,
as the Parthenon was then called. His visit ushered in a period of growth for
the city cathedral as a pilgrim shrine. However,
letters written by the scholar
Metropolitan
Nicetas
Choniates
in the late 12th
century
express sadness at the poverty and
illiteracy
of the people, the
destruction of houses,
the
poor state
of the walls, the
greed
of government
officials
and
pirate raids.
In 1204
Choniates
held
out against
Leo
Sgouros by
gathering
the population
in the Acropolis.
Shortly afterwards
he was forced to
surrender the
city
to
Boniface
of Montferrat,
who appointed Guy
de la Roche as its first Great Lord; in 1259 the city formed part of the Duchy
of Athens, which stretched from Lokris to the Corinthian Gulf and from Evia to
Doris. The de la Roche Burgundians erected the Rizokastro, a new wall around
the Acropolis incorporating a large part of the Late Roman one. This period
of adjustment under the rule of the de la Roches, including the appointment of
a Latin bishop in the cathedral in 1204, favoured the founding or renovation of
new churches in outlying areas only; in the late 13th century
additions were made to the wall paintings in the so-called Omorphe Ecclesia (“Beautiful Church) in Galatsi. Daphni Monastery was
ceded to Cistercian monks and its catholicon became the burial place of the
Dukes of Athens.
From 1311 to 1388 the city passed into the hands of
the Catalan Company, which was notorious for the cruelty of its administration,
while in 1385 the Catalans gave it to Nerio Acciaioli, scion of the renowned
Florentine family that held the sovereignty of Athens until 1456, apart from a
brief period from 1394 to 1403 when it was under the control of the Venetians.
Under the Acciaioli the capital of the duchy was transferred from Thebes to Athens, the palace at the
Propylaea and the Parthenon were renovated, roads were built and a tall tower
was erected at the entrance to the Acropolis fortifications. In 1456 the last
Florentine duke handed Athens
over to the Turks. Two years later this led Mehmed the Conqueror to grant the
Athenians privileges, including the right to retain all churches except for the
Parthenon, which was converted into a mosque.
Iconoclast Controversy :
movement that condemned the worship of images depicting God or the
saints. Initiated in 726 or 730 by Leo III, temporarily halted in 787 by
Empress Irene, resumed again in 815 by Leo V and finally ended in 843
by Empress Theodora. During the two periods of Iconoclasm, the
iconographic programmes in churches were replaced by geometric shapes,
floral motifs, the sign of the cross, etc. Iconodules, those remaining
true to the worship of icons, suffered persecution.
The city:
Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine
Empire, was built on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the
triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn,
the Bosporus and the Sea
of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade
routes linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople
in 330 AD as a city to rival Rome
in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of
space and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new
strong walls that protected Constantinople
until the end of the Byzantine Empire.
The
city was laid out after Rome.
A main road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden
Gate. On this road was the Forum, a circular plaza with a statue
of Constantine
mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings. Theodosius I and Arcadius later
built more forums decorated with their own statues.
Following
the Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople
with magnificent edifices, palaces, baths and public buildings. This time also
saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom), the church which served
as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period.
During
the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced
major problems that threw it into disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in
674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural disasters (a powerful,
destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited building
activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on
strengthening the city's fortifications.
With
the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the
9th to the 11th century, Constantinople became
the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were
Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as
Jews, Armenians, Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia. Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with
an emphasis on establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing
homes, orphanages and schools. Higher education flourished, thanks to the care
of the state and the emergence of important scholars. This renaissance lasted
until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor management set
in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the borders.
The
Crusaders left Constantinople entirely
unscathed when first passing through, but in the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the
Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those inhabitants they
did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael
VIII Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved
unable to restore the city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it
was, the empire was incapable of checking the advance of the Ottomans, and in
1453 Constantinople finally fell into their
hands.
The fall signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual
tradition remained significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions
of Crete and the Peloponnese,
as well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
Bibliography (3)
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2. Ανδριανάκης Μ., Η Παλιά Πόλη των Χανίων, Athens, 1997
3. Πασαρέλι Γκ., Βυζαντινή Κρήτη, Athens, 2005
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