for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
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| Mykonos |
As a young boy, I received a very good education in the foundations of the Judeo-Chistian religion at Sunday School, and while that includes history among the allegory as a means of revealing man's relationship with the one true God, it was the Greeks who invented the literary form we call history, when Herodotus took it upon himself to travel extensively around the known world to learn about the Persian War.
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| Corfu |
Herodotus felt that in examining every aspect from underlying causes through the unexpected Greek victory against the greatest military in the world (sound familiar, American patriots?), he might understand not only Greece of his day but mankind in general by interviewing Persians as well as Greeks. He frequently recorded what people believed in their parts of the world without necessarily accepting the biased narrative, instead simply saying that is what is believed in a particular area and then attempting to interpret how that related to what really unfolded. I dare say many people today advantaged by far more advanced education have not mastered that level of sophistication in understanding the world.
The Greeks also took the baton to bring mankind from religion to philosophy. Socrates asked so many pointed questions about the nature of reality, poking holes in widely accepted doctrine, that he was put to death for corrupting the young, but his student Plato carried on over the course of his life, addressing two important issues: knowledge and morality.
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| The Acropolis in Athens |
What you really need is a cruise through the Greek Isles, where you can learn more about the area firsthand.
My two amazing Greek sojourns have been aboard beautiful Royal Caribbean ships. I love being in the solarium pool or hot tub following a long day ashore, luxuriating like kings and emperors of ancient days. The large ship experience definitely suits me, as I enjoy world class entertainment while gliding between world class ports.
However, that is not the only way to go. A few years ago, Julie and I cruised aboard Windstar, a four masted sailing ship, through the islands of French Polyneisa from Tahiti. We soon became accustomed to the rhythms of small ship life, where long days in ports along with intimate gourmet dining left us frequently ready to relax and contemplate all that we had enjoyed in our free time. Cruising out of the ports to the music of Vangelis always left us dazzled.
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| Gina and Wes at Knossos |
What better way to explore the Greek Isles?
And of course, you can focus in on one area, especially if you've already cruised the region. The home of the ancient Minoans, Crete, is a large, diverse Greek Isle with much to explore and enjoy. A resort stay at Sirios Village allows you to visit Knossos and other historical sites as well as bustling Heraklion, but you'll want to spend lots of time enjoying the quieter pleasures of Chania and the resort itself.
P.S. Looking at this blog post again on July 4, 2016, I thought I should mention that Julie and I did return to the Greek Isles on a small ship the following year as part of a Holy Lands cruise, which you can read about by clicking HERE .
