4/24/98: Jumped on a ferry to Crete, the southernmost island in Greece. Met Joel and Lynn from Oregon on board. Landed at Irákleio (Heraklion). After shopping for a pensione, the four of us had dinner together at a seaside restaurant. She’s in nurse management, and he’s a ski instructor. Very cool people, and a fun time out, with good conversations about life, traveling, marriage and faith.
4/24/23: That was a rainy and dreary day in the Aegean, and a long boat ride to Crete. We took no photos at all.* Arriving in the grey gloom of a late afternoon, and knowing that we’d be leaving early in the AM for Rethymno, we had no interest in exploring Irákleio, and I regret it. Crete has been an island of historical significance for millennia, and Irákleio has been a significant city throughout. The Minoan culture (3500 to 2100 BC) was based on Crete, and the ruins of Knossos, its capital palace, is here in Irákleio. Knossos was the palace of King Minos of Greek myth fame. The story goes that Minos was a demigod son of Zeus (a Greek god) and Europa (a human woman), from whom the continent of Europe gets its name. His palace was famous for including a labyrinth that housed the Minataur (a half man, half bull hybrid), which was built by Daedalus, the guy who invented a set of wax wings so he could fly, but he became reckless and flew too close to the sun, melting his wings and falling to his death, and Minos demanded tribute of 14 Athenian youths to feed the minotaur each year, but Theseus came one time and he slew the minotaur AND managed to find his way back out of the labyrinth… … Anyway, the story is intricate, lurid, and filled with many more names that are still used as references in movies, music and pop culture today! Later, from 827–961AD, Muslims conquered Crete and ruled with a caliphate from this same city. In 960AD, Byzantine soldiers took over, then the Venetians took over in 1204. But the Ottoman Turks took over from 1645-1669. Since then, the island has been in Greek hands.
Just 45 minutes away from Irákleio, the ruins of Gortyn can be found. It is thought that this town is the one where the Apostle Paul “left [Titus] in Crete, so that [he] might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town…” (Titus 1:5). In the New Testament, the Letter to Titus is called a “pastoral letter” because the Apostle Paul gives his protégé, Titus, instructions related to organizing churches and their leadership, and exhorting him to help pastors on the island of Crete teach sound doctrine that emphasized God’s grace and salvation for all people, and countered the social norms of the Roman world at the time. When I first truly surrendered in faith to Jesus Christ, I was 16 years old, and a mentor at the church I was attending taught me to memorize Scripture passages. We worked on memorizing all three chapters of the Letter to Titus. This passage has stuck with me to this day:
Titus 2:1, 11-15 “1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. … 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
Anyhow, with all of that history, Irákleio is a maze worth getting lost in, a city I’d love to explore for its Christian historical significance, its ancient ruins as well as its still-in-use architecture from all of those eras. You can read more cool details about Irákleio on Wikipedia, Gortyn on Wikipedia, or about Knossos at Atlas Obscura. And you can read the Letter to Titus here on BibleGateway.
*NOTE: The photo of Agios Titus Basilika (Saint Titus’ Basilica in Gortyn) used for this post comes from Wikepedia and was taken by Naamsvermelding Vereist.