Chapter 14 Humans are still very ignorant

Get up at 4:30 in the morning to catch an early flight to Crete. Crete is the largest island in Greece.When I visited Mycenae, I already knew that Mycenae was once the intermediary for the Cretan civilization to spread to the Greek mainland, so we should go back along the intermediary to find the real source. I have been sleeping too little these days, and I woke up so early today, everyone fell asleep when I got on the plane.I once felt a red light in front of my eyes in the haze, barely opened my eyes, but saw the magnificent sunrise of the Aegean Sea from the window of the plane.Still sleepy, I got off the plane in a daze, and got on the car again. After a while, I said that I had arrived, and I got out of the car a few steps before I woke up: We were standing in front of an ancient palace ruins with overlapping floors.

Most of the houses have four floors, two of which are buried underground. After excavation, it looks like a modern military air defense system at first glance.However, who would believe that this palace was built in the 18th century BC at the latest, and it has been more than 3,700 years since today!It was annihilated in the fifteenth century BC, and it has been three thousand and five hundred years.Discovered in the first year of the century, 1900.The discoverer was Evans, a British archaeologist, and his bust was erected at the entrance of the palace. When talking about Greece, we need to use a big concept in terms of time. For example, the fifth century BC is often regarded as a midpoint, which makes us have the luxury of ignoring cultural relics after AD these days.But as soon as you arrive in Crete, the concept of time has to be pushed forward, starting from the 30th century BC, and then step by step down to its golden age, that is, from the 18th century BC to the 15th century BC , collectively known as the Minoan Dynasty at that time, Minos is the title of the ruler.The seat of Minos is called Knossus, so it is also called Knossus Palace.

In this palace, you can find amazing things everywhere.The scientific drainage system is still visited by many urban architects until today; the thick and thin ceramic water pipes are said to be not much different from a design patent applied by Switzerland in this century; the shape of the single-person bathtub, even in Paris today It is not outdated in the sanitary ware store; but after careful inspection, milk was used in some bathtubs at that time; the flushing equipment of the toilet and the ventilation circulation structure of the window are all amazing; For a hall, the hall has different stairs to enter their respective bedrooms, and on the side of the hall, there are their own separate bathrooms, and the queen's toilet has a powder room attached.

Such an advanced way of life actually happened a thousand years before the birth of Socrates, Confucius, and Sakyamuni?This really makes people dizzy with a dizzying time.We always think that the early sages of human beings must be stepping on the horizon of absurdity. Unexpectedly, going back to the distance beyond this imaginary absurdity is a fashionable and exquisite form of life.All the details are asking us with a smile: Do you still dare to talk about ancient and modern, history and human beings? According to historical records, the Minoan Dynasty already owned a large-scale armed fleet, but the palace was full of wealth and refinement, and paid great attention to the quality of life.This kind of taste not only did not develop in Mycenae, but even the late golden age of Athens may not be able to hold a candle to it.Judging from the unearthed cultural relics, it is greatly influenced by Egypt and also has some styles of Asia Minor, which is understandable. Its geographical location makes it a gathering point for exchanges between ancient Europe, Asia and Africa.As far as Europe is concerned, it is the common ancestor of various European civilizations in later generations.

However, a serious problem arises Who are these people?What race?Where do you come from?Obviously there are far more than indigenous people, so, are most of them from Egypt, Asia, or mainland Greece?Archaeologist Evans discovered a large amount of materials called Linear A, which is estimated to be able to answer this question, but this kind of writing has not been deciphered for a hundred years. Another more serious question is: Why did such a prominent dynasty and such a mature civilization suddenly disappear in the fifteenth century BC? American scholars believe that it was due to the eruption of the Santorini volcano more than 100 kilometers north of the island. The volcanic ash was more than 60 meters thick, which triggered a tsunami with waves more than 50 meters high, completely destroying Crete.But other archaeologists have found that Crete was devastated before the eruption.As for what kind of catastrophe, there are different opinions. Some say it is an internal strife, while others say it is an external enemy.

I personally prefer the theory of volcanic eruptions. One of the reasons is that it was too completely annihilated to be a cause of war. The second reason is that half of the palaces we see are underground, and it should be buried by volcanic ash. In short, European civilization finally found its source, but it is unclear where this source came from and where it went.From this, it should be understood that human beings are actually still very ignorant, even completely ignorant of the key parts of their own civilization. Greece should be fortunate to have an island of Crete, which makes Greek civilization permanently explore with a huge unknown background.

The unknown and ignorance are not ignorance, the real ignorance is the denial of the unknown and ignorance. October 7, 1999, in Hereklion, Crete, Greece, stayed overnight at Agapi Beach Hotel