Opinions
Authors, intellectuals, artists, journalists and designers share their opinions on different subjects. A touch of light in this gray moment the world experiences; a world that, more than ever, needs the spirit of creativity and the story tellers.
Doniert Evely
Ex-Curator (2003-2012) for the BSA Research Institute, Knossos; Self-employed research archaeologist. President of Minoan Steps.
The President of Minoan Steps, Doniert Evely writes about his experiences about Crete, the Minoan civilisation and the new cultural organization Minoan Steps.
I first came in Crete with my father when about 11 years old, because I read books about the legends of Knossos, and the excavations done there. Then almost every year as a university student to excavate ... and so on. The reconstructed Palace and the breathtaking Heraklion Museum are both informative, and visually have a great and positive impact.
Like with everyone, it was the exuberant (if luxurious) items that first captured my attention, but then I began to realize that the Minoans were quite different from every other advanced culture of this area - in how they represented themselves: they are still an enigma, even after a century of hard work by so many people.
For me, the most amazing excavation experience was revealing the tomb of a man of outstanding importance for what went on to become Greece, who lived at the beginning of the Iron Age, at Lefkandi on Euboea.
The 5 minute - or the 5 hour answer? Well, right now, we are all lucky in Crete (especially when compared with the chaos in England)! Cretans have a reputation of being both rapidly hospitable to good-intentioned visitors, but very careful in forming their real long-term friendships. Both are - to me - virtues. And so I have found the Cretans broadly to be. Both men and women are full of character. But, it has to be said, that I deliberately steer clear of politics: matters can get swiftly convoluted here. I am not a political animal. Right now, though technically retired, I choose to spend much of my time here .. partly to pursue my interests, and partly to share the life of my nonos-extended family with whom I worked when Curator. They - and others like them - are simply worth it!
I know some of the people who have brought Minoan Steps into being; I respect their characters and intentions. I think it could be a useful organization for sharing resources and assisting individual peoples to collectively raise their profiles - and so create opportunities of quality for them, and for Crete. It is intended as much to help people help themselves, as to pursue any projects of its own. Both would be a good balance.
I think some of our first aims will be to (a) see if existing Cretan niche organizations/companies want to be part of a larger umbrella, by which they can be more visible; (b) establish what is 'on offer' on the island and (c) try to interest other institutions, companies (and ultimately individuals) that there are quality/thematic opportunities on the island alongside the simpler (and nothing wrong with that!) concepts of tourism. This is not obviously a new idea in itself .. but it is the collective aspect that is worth promoting and bringing to the attention of others.
I do not think that my vision of or for Minoan Crete differs from what other people feel when faced with what other earlier cultures - say Egypt - achieved. A desire to learn more and share it with people who are curious. The Past does not 'belong' to any one set of present-day people, but it does need careful representation .. to be as fair as possible to these ancestors. And not play politics.
Let us here on Crete pool our experiences and resources; let companies and individuals alike who wish join in making it obvious to each other and the wider world what amazing and exciting and challenging Stuff goes on here - and in such depth. Raise a profile, and invite people from anywhere to come and choose which parts of it intrigues them to explore. If you've got it, flaunt it. And Crete can - and should!
CV
Doniert Evely was born midway through the past century in England (of part Celtic stock), graduated in Scotland (in Classics) and studied in Oxford (on Aegean Prehistory) .. all steps on a path that from some ten years of age was directed towards becoming an archaeologist and researching those flamboyant, but enigmatic inhabitants of Crete we call the Minoans. Now theoretically retired, he lives and works for much of the time in Knossos, as central a spot as one can get for the Minoans, whilst maintaining a near life-time link to Oxford and its aspiring dreams. Self-employed for most of his days, he has a particular interest in craft technologies: how things were made. Professionally, he has also worked on a number of excavation projects in the UK (Winterton Roman villa), and several BSA-excavations at Knossos, Palaikastroand Lefkandi in Greece: from trench/area-supervisor to field director. He has written or co-written the stratigraphical accounts of some five excavations in Greece (most yet to be published). Once he has had the excitement of putting on an exhibition (Fresco: A Passport into the Past; 1999). As Curator for the BSA at their Knossos holdings, he was responsible for some eight years in keeping the place functioning in a climate of austerity and imbalance. In this he was partly successful. Mostly though, he remains a Hired Gun. In this capacity, he tends to work on publishing small finds from excavations: at present he is actively involved in some score of sites for excavators of all nationalities; equipped with the new computer-based technologies, he also draws and ‘inks’ material for publication. Happily being brought up to speak English, this natural endowment enables him to find work as a ‘native speaker’ in polishing the prose of others: this is a major commitment, involving scores of academics. The same advantage allows him to practise the role as publication sub-editor for the Oxford Journal of Archaeology. He is however not so good at foreign tongues, being linguistically cloth-eared. Coming late to the opportunity of teaching, he has for a few years now been exploring sites in Crete with like-minded ex-pats, and found their enthusiasm greatly rewarding. There is an enormous amount that could be done in this way on Crete, much of it sadly untapped: hence his involvement in Minoan Steps. A life-long enjoyment of ‘bugs’ and smaller life-forms endures: frogs and, especially, toads having captured and retained his affection as a very small boy/tadpole.
It is several years now that DE’s path first intersected with Ioanna Glypti’s: a serendipitous meeting through the above mentioned ex-pats and their officially-guided visits to sites. Since then, they have worked well together on a number of projects, in a loose affiliation of skills and experiences. Rethymnon and Heraklion are happily not that distant, and so visiting for pleasure and profit is no hardship whatsoever. With Elli Lyrarakis, the acquaintance and friendship is at present measured in weeks only, but the omens are encouraging and the future awaits. With professional input from yet others too, Minoan Steps is intended to pool abilities and contacts: its ultimate aim is to establish a network of co-operating persons and organizations in a non-hierarchical set-up, sharing information and know-how freely so that individual strands can be woven together into over-arching fabrics – say – geographical areas (e.g. All About Pediada) or like-minded professionals and interests (e.g. leather-working and jewellery in Chania; traditional pottery making anywhere; the villages and natural parks of Psiloritis; musicians past and present; the churches of Amari) There really are no ends to what ingenuity, good research and a bit of savvy can achieve on this Great Island. To encourage others to manage for themselves. Come... join in!