Greece: Aegean Islands
Threading Our Way Through the Islands
A small ship is essential for getting into the narrow harbors od the Greek archipelago.
Delos
Marketplaces are the oldest structures known to archaeology, and Delos was one of the largest trading centers of the ancient world. Held to be the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, it has been inhabited since the third millennium BCE. It reached its height between 900 BCE and 100 CE.
Patmos
As the place where John of Patmos received the revelations described in the Book of Revelations, this island is iconic to Christianity. Close to the Turkish coast, Mt. Cana on the mainland is reputed to have been a place frequently visited by Artemis.
Rhodes
This harbor no longer hosts the Colossus of Rhodes, but Crusader walls tell us of a unique history for this Island. Although Rhodes was prominent in every era of Greco-Roman history, it is most famous as the home of the Knights Hospitalers at the end of its Byzantine period in 1306-1310. Two centuries later, the island fell to the Ottoman Empire.
Crete
Southernmost and most populated of the Greek islands, Crete was the center of Minoan culture. Below: The Temple of Knossos, which because of the frequency of earthquakes on this island, incorporated wooden beams to support its stone.
Santorini
Seen from a distance, the single high ridge left from the original large island seems to be covered with snow. But it’s a series of villages. The ridge is the remaining fragment of the large circular island of Thera. 3000 years ago at the height of Minoan civilization, Thera’s central volcano erupted explosively, leaving only this remnant. The volcano is still active and the source of frequent earthquakes, which requires the uniquely robust construction of Santorini’s villages.
