CRETE IN THE LAST MILLENNIUM
A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK

" I HOPE FOR NOTHING, I FEAR NOTHING, I AM FREE..."
KAZANTZAKIS

The history of Crete in the last one thousand years can best be summed up with the words heroism, courage, honour and sacrifice. In contrast to the flourishing early Minoan Civilisation, the history of the island in the last one thousand years was a procession of three major foreign occupations, the Arabs, Venetians and Turks, each more brutal, corrupt and despised. Cretan society was largely agricultural based along small towns and villages on the coastlines and lower mountains. Remnants of various periods in history can be seen throughout the island, from medieval castles and town fortifications, Venetian style buildings and narrow streets to a few remaining Islamic Turkish minarets. The Cretan culture, religion and language was constantly challenged, especially by the Turks who tried to impose a restrictive Islamic overview of the island and its people. Often greatly outnumbered, the Cretan people never lost sight of their identity, religion and heritage. Opposition to Turkish rule was vicious and often bloody for both sides. This was at a time when the rest of Europe was often finding its own way with various continental conflicts and revolutions. Help from mainland Greece was often negligible and not forthcoming, right up until the turn of the last century when Cretan national self-determination was attained by the efforts of Eleftherios Venizelos and his followers. Cretans often fought the formidable enemy in organised guerrilla warfare, using the rugged Cretan mountains and terrain for cover, even against the Nazi Germans in the Second World War. Stories of courage, fortitude and heroism are legendary and ingrained in the Cretan identity and what it means to be Cretan. The songs, stories and anecdotes are written into eternity.....(SE)