As many of you know the decathlon is an Olympic track and field event in the modern Olympic Games but over the years was dropped from the list of events. Then, 1948 it was reinstated as an official Olympic event. A young high school athlete named Bob Mathias from Tulare, California won the event for the USA in London that year. The events are 100 meters, long jump, high jump, 400 meters, shot put, discus, pole vault, high jump, 120 meters high hurdles, and javelin. There is an official scorebook for this two-day event for granting points for each individual’s best in these 10 events.
As an all-around high school track and field athlete I had very much-admired Bob Mathias’ achievement and really wanted to give the event a try. At 5’10 and 150 pounds (then😊) I was far too small to ever do well in the event, but I dreamed of competing in it. In 1954 I was in college in Southern California, the mecca of track and field champions, and my coach found out there was to be a decathlon event in Pasadena soon and asked me if I wanted to give it a try. I did, and so I finally got to compete in a decathlon.
There were about 20 of us, and I was by far the smallest. There were also several worldclass athletes who were entered: The Reverend Bob Richards, world record holder in the pole vault, Fortune Gourdine, the world record holder with the discus, and my friend Sam Adams from the University of California, a truly great all-around athlete. The rules state that if a contestant breaks a world record in their specialty and they have competed in at least five of the events, the world record stands. Both Richards and Gourdine hoped to do just that. Neither did.
Sam Adams had tried to help me get ready for the competition, and although he helped me a great deal with the weights, when it came to the pole vault, I was pretty hopeless. I did OK in the running events and the long jump, my specialty. I knew how to put the shot and throw the discus, so it went OK with them. Not so much with the javelin. Much to my surprise I did my lifetime best in the high jump at 5’9 and 3/4. When all was said and done, I finished 11th out of 20 competitors.
Bob Richards won the decathlon, pole vaulting well over 15 feet. Gourdine won the discus but did not break a world record. Sam Adams came in a close second overall. All in all, it was a fantastic thing for me just to compete in this event, and especially with so many great athletes. Later that year Sam finished fourth in the Olympic trials and so did not quite make the Olympic team.
That was pretty much the conclusion of my track and field career. I avoided killing myself in the pole vault, even though I came down on my head in the sawdust pit several times. I vaulted a dismal 9 feet. I am so glad I finally got to compete in a decathlon even though I was disappointed that I did not do so well. However, that experience greatly contributed to my being a better college and high school track and field coach several years later. I knew a lot more about most of the events because I had actually competed in them.

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!!