Most of you folks have heard of the Minoan Civilization which centered in Crete around 1500 BCE. This piece is specifically about the great earthquake that eventually destroyed that civilization on or around that date. (Perhaps 1517). All of the events connected with this civilization and its demise took place hundreds of years prior to any of the historical events in the Old Testament or ancient Greece. They also somewhat correspond with those described in various accounts of the existence of the “lost” civilization of Atlantis by the Greek writers Plato and Solon.
The story of the Minoan civilization centers on the island of Crete where the ruins of its grandiose palaces and surrounding villas were discovered by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. This discovery and its subsequent explorations and reconstructions is a story for another time and place. Our focus here is on the island of Santorini as it has been called in modern times. Actually, we are dealing here with just the remains of what was once a much larger island prior to its destruction by a huge earthquake in 1517 BCE. The Minoans had established an outlyer connection on this island prior to the end catastrophic end of their entire civilization.
There is evidence that these Minoans, named in modern times by Evans and other archeologists in honor of their King Minos, had made great advances in agriculture, art, commerce, and sea travel. The explosion of the huge volcano destroyed most of the island of Santorini, along with literally the entire Minoan civilization, people and palaces. With Evans’ excavations and those of subsequent archeologists a great deal of knowledge about the Minoans has come to light. Some have speculated that they were the people of the Atlantis spoken of in the ancient myths. The archaeological work that is still going on has uncovered enormous and highly advanced buildings and other structures.
I have had the privilege of taking many student groups to both Crete and Santorini. There are three Minoan palaces on Crete, along with numerous other ruins and archaeological sites. There are also several sea-side ports along the coastline which suggest frequent travel both to Egypt and the coast of what we know as Phoenicia. The “town” uncovered at the southern end of Santorini, Akrotiri, the archaeologists have been able to reconstruct several buildings and actual streets. The chief archaeologist of these digs was Spyridon Marinatos, who died on site and is buried there.
One of my student group trips to Santorini took place in January and the island was essentially closed. Nevertheless, we were able to locate one member of the archaeology team who happened to be available, and with the help of one of my students who was of Greek descent and fluent in Greek, we got a full tour of the ruins, complete with a good deal of “extra” information since we were the “only show in town.” It was especially moving to be able to see Professor Marinatos’ grave site. His daughter has published her own account of their combined study of the Minoans on Santorini.
Bye the way, the cliffside of the island goes directly down over 1,000 feet and makes a fantastic sight as one leans over the railing at the top and peers on down to and beneath the water. Santorini is truly a fascinating island to visit in its own right, but especially because of its fascinating and mysterious history. One interesting book with which to begin is that of Gavin Menzies titled The Lost Empire of Atlantis. There are, of course, many other volumes dealing with Crete and Santorini, covering everything from history to art and religion. Best of all, however, is a trip of one’s own!!

Back in the 1970’s one of my very best students, if not the very best, at Eckerd College was David Jenkins. Since that time David and I have remained close friends. He went on to do a M.Div. degree at Duke and a Ph.D. degree at Loyola University in Chicago. David initially enrolled at the University of Miami’s Ph.D. program but found the hot weather too much to bear. So, he submitted his undergraduate Honors thesis as a Master’s thesis and it was accepted! Somewhere between Florida and Chicago he did some graduate work at Vanderbilt University as well. He ended up with a PH.D. from Loyola University in Chicago.
We kept in close touch through those years, with him taking care of my VW van while I spent a summer in Greece. As the years went bye I often visited David in Durham, Chicago, and eventually in Sweden. After completing his studies David volunteered for some mission work in Africa and that’s where he met his wonderful Finnish wife, Leena. She was – and is – a medical doctor and has practiced in Sweden as well as Finland. David has had various serious bouts with heart issues and fortunately Leena has been there to help him through the hard parts. He has been near death several times. Fortunately, as well he had the excellent National Finnish Health Services to cover these expenses.
One year he spent a Sabbatical year teaching at The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY where I was teaching at the time. It was good to be temporarily reunited with David and Leena for that year. It was a pure co-incidence that David and I both chose Finnish women for our wives, but it has proven to be a warm and valued arrangement for both of us. Mari and I have visited David and Leena several times while we were visiting in Finland off and on over the years and have come to love their daughter Cheri as well. They, too, have visited with us here in the states on several occasions.
While he was “just sitting around” in Finland David explored the possibility of obtaining another Ph.D. degree, this time at not-so-near-bye Swedish University of Upsala. Because of his outstanding academic record, the Philosophy department there only required that he write yet another Doctoral dissertation. This was right up David’s alley, and he finished the dissertation up in fine fashion, writing a first-class volume on the thought of the British theologian Professor John McQuarrie of Oxford University, famous for his book Honest to God. Now David’s friends took to addressing him as “Doctor Doctor Jenkins.”
All along this journey David was also interested in pursuing his calling as a Christian theologian Finland. This led down the labyrinthian pathways of obtaining Ordination himself in Finland. The journey led to several conflicts with different Lutheran clergy of various stripes, as well as with several specific church leaders who were threatened by his scholarly approach to philosophical/ theological issues. Eventually these issues resolved themselves and David is now comfortable remaining something of both an insider and an outsider.
Also, along the way David saw to it that one year I was able to teach a course in the winter Short Term curriculum at the University of Helsinki because he continues to serve as a regular philosophy professor there. It was a real honor to be able to teach a philosophy course in such a prestigious institution. It was clear that David is highly respected there.
Finally, let me say that readers may well recognize David’s name and thoughts on these pages because he has become a frequent and welcome responder to my ramblings on these blogs, as his entries to my previous posts clearly testify. My friendship with David Jenkins has been as “profitable” as it has been enjoyable all down through these years. Thanks David!!