“They even found a way to heat their homes in winter by channeling steam from volcanoes through pipes in their walls. That isn’t in evidence here at Knossos, but it exists on the island of Santorini. It has been said that if Minoan civilization hadn’t collapsed, the inhabitants might have managed to invent rockets to the moon by the time of Christ.”
As the trio continued to search the queen’s rooms for stone symbols, Cassie felt a growing sense of foreboding. “What happened to them in the end?”
“A terrible tragedy,” Xenia said. “They were at the height of their influence as a mercantile power in the Mediterranean. Around 1450 BCE, a volcano erupted on the island of Santorini to the north of here. The blast was at least four times stronger than the one that occurred at Krakatoa at the end of the 19th century. It was so terrible that a large portion of Santorini sank to the ocean floor. All that remains is a crater in the middle of the harbor that may once have been one hundred square miles of land. The eruption sent a tidal wave to Crete. A three-hundred-foot wall of water came crashing into the shore without warning. It probably destroyed the merchant fleet as well as the harbors and towns on the north side of the island. In addition, the volcanic ash would have poisoned crops, and atmospheric dust would have destroyed harvests for years afterward. It is thought that Plato’s story of the lost city of Atlantis refers to the earthquake on Santorini and the decline of Minoan civilization.”
“Whether Santorini is Atlantis or not, such a natural disaster must have had a devastating effect on the psyche of the people who lived here,” Griffin observed. “They believed in a benevolent goddess. They saw her presence in every aspect of their lives—in every bee and bird and tree and flower. How could they make sense of an event which must have seemed as if divine favor had forsaken them?”
“One cannot calculate the damage, both physical and psychological that such a catastrophe would have had,” Xenia added. “As an American, Cassie, try to imagine how you would feel if an earthquake sank your west coast into the Pacific Ocean without warning. The soul of Minoan civilization was devastated. They struggled to recover but were never able to rise to the level of greatness they had previously enjoyed. At about this time, Myceneans on the Greek mainland were expanding their territories southward. Because they perceived the Minoans as vulnerable, they captured Crete and set up their own government here. The Mycenean empire, in turn, was destroyed by Dorian invaders. By 1200 BCE, the Mediterranean area was plunged into what has come to be known as the Greek Dark Ages, and Minoan culture vanished into myth.”
“Too bad it had to end that way.” Cassie shook her head. “I think the world would have been a better place for all of us if they’d survived.”
“Some of their ideas remained long after they were gone,” Griffin said. “During the time that the Myceneans occupied Crete, they copied many of the advancements of the Minoans. Their artwork shows a strong Minoan influence, and they even created a syllabary based on the Minoan writing style.”
“Those are the Linear B characters we’re looking for?”
“Right. The Minoans developed Linear A, and the Myceneans copied their methods and adapted it to their own language. The result was the Linear B syllabary. In fact, the Minoans invented a movable typeface—an early printing press, if you will, to stamp clay tablets with their language.”
Cassie looked around the Queen’s Chamber one last time. “No lilies or symbols from the key in this room. Where do we go from here?”
“We press onward to the Hall of the Double Axes.” Griffin led the way out of the queen’s apartments.
***
A young Greek man stood in the shadows of an antechamber door. He understood English quite well. Well enough to catch the words Linear B, Bones of the Mother, and granite key coming from a trio of tourists wandering around within earshot. They walked on, unaware that they had been overheard. He decided to follow them.
Chapter 33 – Wining and Mining
The Arkana team had managed to consume the morning and half the afternoon searching Knossos for elusive key symbols. While they had discovered numerous double axes cut into stones throughout the site, no lilies were to be found. They stood together dejectedly at the entrance to the site.
“It looks like we’ve run out of options.” Cassie voiced the concern they were all feeling.
“This may not be anything important,” Xenia began tentatively. “But we have recovered a few relics recently that have unusual markings on them. Now that I have seen your photographs of the key, I think the symbols might be similar. Perhaps we should go to the trove, and I will show them to you.”
“The trove!” Cassie exclaimed excitedly. “I’m finally going to see one?”
The Greek woman regarded her with surprise. Turning to Griffin, she asked, “Cassie has not seen a trove yet?”
“Afraid there hasn’t been time,” he admitted.
“But she is the pythia. Should that not have been the first place she was shown?”
Griffin shrugged. “Faye had other priorities.”
“I see.” Xenia still sounded puzzled.
Cassie looked at her watch. She began to feel fatigue settling over her like a heavy fog. She needed to stay in motion just to keep her eyes open. “If we’re going to the trove, shouldn’t we start now?” she asked. “It’s getting
