Traveling to the farthest reaches of Western Crete

The mental Kallos (~Beauty) is visible in the sensible world, through the physical eyes, Plato states in Phaedrus (Plato, Phaedrus, 250d6-7). It can be manifested and loved.

And Proclus states that from its etymology, Kallos is called so because it calls to itself, and because it charms and it allures anyone who can gaze upon it. It is inherently amorous (Proclus, On Plato’s First Alcibiades, paragraph 328 (15-17)). It has the strength to restore order and harmony within itself, whatever has been taken away from it.

The Kallos again invited us for this year’s Educational excursion.

FALASARNA

At the westernmost end of Crete, an endless beach with turquoise waters, a magical landscape of another, seemingly distant place, welcomed us. Falasarna. It has been included in Natura 2000, due to the variety of flora and fauna in the area but also due to its unique natural kallos.

The speech of Diotima in the platonic Symposium distinguishes three categories of Kallos. The sensible, the psychic and the mental (Plato, Symposium, 210a-212b). Here, the Kallos of the landscape calls upon all our senses to beautify our appearance, to bring harmony to our physical body, and to relax with the intention of becoming one with it and the prospect of being immersed in us.

We feel that we belong there and then we seek our forefathers. We ascend to ancient Falasarna. The city prospered in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and it has been an important port. It had developed close commercial relations with major commercial centers, such as Alexandria. Its coin depicted a female figure on the obverse (front) and a trident on the reverse (back) (Strabo, Geography, book 1, chap. 2&4). The existence of the trident, apparently, meant that Falasarna was dedicated to the god Poseidon.

And the universe of imagination erupts. The song of Xylouris echoes in the ears:

“On the waves for entire nights I dreamt of you. My land was rock and soil, sun and black wine.
I plowed, I reaped, and I sang you with Homer, my people.”

Our souls compose within themselves, through imagination and representation, the Kallos and the glory of those years. Crete with its “ninety-headed cities” as mentioned by Homer (Homer, The Odyssey, t 174). Knossos, Gortyna, Lyttos, Eleutherna. Ports such as Amnisos, Ierapytna, Itanos, Zakros, Kommos, and Falasarna communicated with Egypt, especially during the Minoan era. The commercial and cultural contact between Minoans and Egyptians is well documented.

We yearn to revive the Kallos of thriving Crete within us. How? First step: beautifying our own souls through virtues. The virtues regulate the functions of the soul, with capstone that one of justice (Republic, 433b). Then the Kallos within us is rekindled and elevated, and then the human being “ano throskei” (~observes and contemplates the higher), where Diotima says that the psychic Kallos is. Then every soul is in the prospect of creating the Kallos that becomes.

OMALOS

We were going up the Mount Omalos. Pine trees, cypresses, cedars, bushes and wildflowers!!! There on the highest plateau, already dusk, with the eagles flying low by our side and looking at the setting sun, we dream in awe of a peaceful and righteous world. We know that we have a responsibility to seek this world, out first and foremost, within ourselves. We forget and rejoice for a few moments. Nature embraces us and jubilates us. How beautiful it is! Will this be the mental Kallos that Diotima speaks of? Who knows… We sing all together so that all of creation can hear us: “Sun of Justice and you, glorious myrtle, do not, I implore you do not forget my country”. We ask Aeolus, who accompanies us, to address it to the creator, and he whispers to us: it will be heard through your mind and heart! Tears well up in the eyes, minds ponder, and hearts beat like stars sparkling in the darkness.

The route from Omalos to Sougia is a surprise! Silently, we surrender with all our senses to the natural Kallos of the landscape and we end up in Sougia. A boat takes us to Agia Roumeli!

AGIA ROUMELI

What beautiful places! But behind the stunning landscape where the mountain, adorned with all kinds of trees and bushes, challenges the sea to a beauty contest, which impresses with its alternation of beautiful colors, whether rough or calm, a world from the depths of centuries is revealed to us, mainly from Strabo’s narratives: cities that flourished from the 4th century BC on the southern coast. Elyros, Tarra, Phoinix (Strabo, Geography, books 1 & 2).

Elyros, wealthy and independent, was one of the largest cities in Crete, with maritime trade and two ports that were also connected to Alexandria. Ancient Lissos and ancient Suia (Sougia). It had its own currency, which featured Apollo, Asclepius, the bee, and others. Pausanias mentions that it maintained relations with the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.

Ancient Lissos, a significant center, thanks to the famous Asclepieion, the ruins of which are located. In a lecture on February 16, 2017, at the National Technical University of Athens, archaeologist Ch. Kanellopoulos, a professor at the University of Athens, mentioned that architectural elements of the Asclepieion reveal similarities with the architecture of Alexandria. And of course, near the Asclepieion are the ruins of the ancient theater, apparently as part of the therapeutic process. In ancient Tarra, today Agia Roumeli, the ruins of a sanctuary of Apollo with mosaic floors have been preserved.

FRANGOKASTELLO

Final destination was Frangokastello and our celebration. With our minds and hearts loaded with senses, we dived into the turquoise waters of the vast beach of Frangokastello and relaxed on the sandy beaches. We tasted the wonderful flavors of local delicacies with the endless blue in the background, and then the year’s review began. We strengthened the year’s actions, we observed ourselves, we noted deficiencies, we awarded excellent students in the lessons of Virtue, and we posed questions to ourselves for the next day. We sang and danced to the sweet melodies of Hatzidakis, and traditional Cretan and Cypriot songs.

We closed with an Anogeiano, that was danced by our young people, girls and boys. The dance of Kouretes (Apollodorus, Library, Ch. 1). Their strong footsteps on the ground declared the intention of all of us to observe, to think, and to cultivate the Virtues that our ancestors bequeathed to us with the prospect of becoming “better” people. Possibly this was also the intention of the Kouretes to send us as a message.