Wanderlust Hits Again: Missing Crete

Hello readers! On this gloomy day – at least where I am at – and since I am forced on the couch because I am on day 6 of a never ending cold, I decided to trigger my wanderlust even more and look at the pictures I took in my last trip to Crete, Greece. 

Crete is one of my favorite places where to vacation, not only for the sights and the food, but also for the wonderful beaches. I only have nice memories about the times I went there, and I am definitely putting it on the list of places I have to go to once I can afford it. I just have to get my significant other on board with it, since he absolutely hates sandy beaches. 

So why is Crete so important from an historical point of view? Well, back when the Greeks were starting to grow into one of the largest civilizations on the Mediterranean Sea – before the Romans dominations – Crete was hosting one of the two major Greek populations. Crete was part of the mythology as well, and there is one sight that can be seen: The Knossos Palace. 

Knossos Palace hosts not one, but two different mythological stories: Icarus and Theseus stories. If you don’t know them, I will give you a brief summary right now. As you know, Zeus liked women very much, so much that his wife got tired of it and started punishing them. Well, it looks like Zeus decided to seduce the queen of the island of Crete. Zeus wife got very upset, especially because a child resulted from this union. But it was not a normal child, it was a half bull half boy that ate humans. 

In order to keep this monstrosity away from his people, the king of Minos hired Daedelus and his son Icarus to build a maze where to lock the monster in. Once both the maze and the palace where completed, Minos locked them in there. Father and son decided to create wings made out of wax to fly away. But Icarus flew too close to the Sun and he died. 

Minos won a war to Athens, and the city of Athens had to send every year five young men and five young women to Crete, and they would be the sacrifices that keep the beast alive. Until one year, the son of the king of Athens, Theseus, decided to board the boat and offer himself as the sacrifice. Minos daughter fell for the young prince and gave him a piece of yarn so that he could escape the maze. Theseus killed the monster and successfully escaped.

Anybody can visit what is left of the palace, of the maze. It is a nice break from the beach! There are many other spots that I recommend, but honestly just go to the beach. It is almost impossible to find a bad beach over there. All beaches are wonderful: the water is crystalline and you can just sit there and relax. 

So what are you waiting for? Go book the next flight to Greece right now! 

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