Blog du Wren

Historical Context

One must keep in mind, when visiting ruins, historical context. For me, this became quite apparent when I visited the premiere example of Minoan ruins, the must-see attraction on Crete, the Palace of Knossos. After reading up on it and hearing it talked up to me, to say that I was underwhelmed initially would be an understatement. It just looked like a . There are better ruins across the street from my hostel*.

But then I started reading the signs. Dates like 1900 B.C. and 1700 B.C. kept jumping out at me. That's old! And then I started thinking no wonder they don't compare to the ruins I saw at Ephesus, Heroplis, or Olympos. They were built over 1500 years before those places!

For me, impressive architecture is what I like in my ruins. Big and fancy things, like temples that dwarf everything around (like Tikal) or intricate carvings (like Angkor), are what make a set of ruins worth visiting for me. But this time around, I gained an appreciation for the other side of ruins, the contextual side. To realize that people lived in the houses that these foundations once held almost 4000 years ago is impressive in its own way. And while maybe there aren't the glossy brochure photo opportunities, I got off a decent or two.

Sunday April 17 2011

File under: travel, Greece

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