We are excited to welcome Andrew Koh, of the MIT Center for Materials Research and the Harvard Semitic Museum, for an Open House discussion entitled ‘A Land Called Crete: From Harriet Boyd Hawes to the Cretan Collections Project’. The event was streamed live on Thursday, October 24 at 11 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. To prepare for the event you could (1) read Odyssey 19.172–184, the context for which is… Read more
My first port of call was Iraklio/Herakleion, the capital of Crete. Truth be told, Herakleion is far from the most attractive town, with sprawling ugly suburbs. But the area around the Venetian harbor is delightful. Crete was under Venetian occupation from 1204 to 1669, and there are many remains of this, including the impressive fortress which dominates the harbor and which is still called today the Fortezza (photo 1). Photo… Read more
The travelogue of the Homeric Odyssey can be split into four distinctive parts which may be envisaged as follows: the passage through the Aegean Sea; the Cyclopeia, which takes place in the Mare Lybicum off the northern coast of Africa; the blockages to his return by the Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, Hēlios Hyperíōn and Kalypsō; and finally the period on Scheria and the return to Ithaca. During this time Odysseus is… Read more
We were pleased to welcome Gloria F. Pinney, Professor Emerita of Classical Archaeology and Art at Harvard University, for a discussion on ‘The Legacy of Minos’. The event was at 11 a.m. EST on Thursday, December 13, and was recorded. Before the event you might like to read the focus passages in this PDF handout: Kosmos Handout – Legacy of Minos – Gloria F Pinney You can watch the event… Read more
The gift of Kinyras This story of modeled ships starts with the introduction of Kinyras, a King of Cyprus. His roots are in Cilicia, Phoenicia, or Syria. At the time of his rule those areas had closer ties to Cyprus than did the Greek speaking world. Kinyras was renowned for his wealth which was said to surpass the wealth of Midas and Kroisos. He was a cherished priest of the… Read more