DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.7519#0036
Chapter I
THE ISLAND
{See Map 2)
Creta Jovis magni medio jacet insula ponto
Mons Idaeus ubi et gentis cunabula nostrae.
Centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna.
AENEID iii, IO4-IOO.
A. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
THE POSITION of Crete, almost equidistant from Europe,
Asia and Africa, marked it out from the earliest times as a
stepping stone between the continents. It lies between
parallels 23° 30' and 260 60' E. and 340 50' and 350 4' N.
The landmarks must always have been of assistance to sailors
°loi & dntfrvq, and the distinctive shape of its mountains must
have enabled'them to set their course with ease to its harbours.
Juktas, the solitary hill on the low land between Ida and Dikte,
- its shape like the profile of a bearded god, stands behind the
harbour town of Knossos. The mass of Ida and the fantastic
peak of Kophinos lead the traveller from Egypt to the anchorage
°f Fair Havens and the beaches of the Bay of Messara. The
chain of islands, Rhodes, Karpathos, Kasos, will shelter a ship
coming from Anatolia, Cyprus or Syria, while the triangular
hill, Mount Modhi, serves as a guide to the Eastern harbours.
The White Mountains, marking the position of Soudha Bay,
are visible from Cape Malea. The summits of Dikte come into
view soon after a ship leaves the Southern Cyclades for the
harbours of Khersonesos or Milctos or the landlocked bay of
Spina Longa.
The chief ports to-day are on the North coast, Khania,
Hhethymnos and Herakleion, or, as the sailors in the Levant
still call them, Canea, Retimo, and Candia. These have been
artificially improved, while the other ports of the island have
been allowed to fall into decay. Sitia and Hierapetra -still
have some trade, as has recently Agios Nikolaos, but the
1 1
THE ISLAND
{See Map 2)
Creta Jovis magni medio jacet insula ponto
Mons Idaeus ubi et gentis cunabula nostrae.
Centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna.
AENEID iii, IO4-IOO.
A. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
THE POSITION of Crete, almost equidistant from Europe,
Asia and Africa, marked it out from the earliest times as a
stepping stone between the continents. It lies between
parallels 23° 30' and 260 60' E. and 340 50' and 350 4' N.
The landmarks must always have been of assistance to sailors
°loi & dntfrvq, and the distinctive shape of its mountains must
have enabled'them to set their course with ease to its harbours.
Juktas, the solitary hill on the low land between Ida and Dikte,
- its shape like the profile of a bearded god, stands behind the
harbour town of Knossos. The mass of Ida and the fantastic
peak of Kophinos lead the traveller from Egypt to the anchorage
°f Fair Havens and the beaches of the Bay of Messara. The
chain of islands, Rhodes, Karpathos, Kasos, will shelter a ship
coming from Anatolia, Cyprus or Syria, while the triangular
hill, Mount Modhi, serves as a guide to the Eastern harbours.
The White Mountains, marking the position of Soudha Bay,
are visible from Cape Malea. The summits of Dikte come into
view soon after a ship leaves the Southern Cyclades for the
harbours of Khersonesos or Milctos or the landlocked bay of
Spina Longa.
The chief ports to-day are on the North coast, Khania,
Hhethymnos and Herakleion, or, as the sailors in the Levant
still call them, Canea, Retimo, and Candia. These have been
artificially improved, while the other ports of the island have
been allowed to fall into decay. Sitia and Hierapetra -still
have some trade, as has recently Agios Nikolaos, but the
1 1