Greece

Thessaloniki

Athens

Crete

“Toomba,” Thessaloniki, northern Greece

Thera (Santorini)

Crête (Kriti)

Athens

Aegean Sea

Crête

The Bronze Age Minoan Civilization lasted 19 centuries without war

Its demise began with the eruption of Thera, ~150 BC, and its associated tsunami and climate change, which weakened the society until it was over-run by invaders

Knossos, CreteSeat of the Minoan Empire

Knossos, Crête2nd disaster:Sir Arthur Evans.

Evans “excavated” Knossos, the buildings of which were made of alabaster (metamorphosed gypsum). His concrete dissolved the alabaster.

Alabaster: metamorphosed gypsum, a carbonate of calcium

AD 450: Greek civil code, Gortyn Crête

Minoan Bronze Aged Phaistos Disc, 400 BC fired clay

Phaistos southern Crête, Iraklion Museum

TED Talk on the disc, the first CD Rom

Phaistos, Crête

Your country is a golden dream to me.

Thera (Santorini)

Crête (Kriti)

Athens

Aegean Sea

Thera-Santorini

One of 13 villages on Santorini

Akrotiri, Santorini

Frescoes at Akrotiri

One of 365 Greek Orthodox Churches on Santorini

Santorini’s ‘bird’s nest’ vineyards

Athens, Greece, Peleponese,

Corinth Canal (circled)

Corinth Canal between Athens and the Peloponese

Hills of Athens

Nashville, TN

Corfu

Italy

Greek horses stolen from Delphi, in the Duomo, Venice, Italy

Pompeii, Italy with Mt. Vesuvius

Stopped

Michelangelo's MosesIn the church of San Pietro Vincoli, on the Esquiline in Rome

Vatican City, ~21 mi2

Michelangelo's Pieta, St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican

Venice

Tuscany