Crete and National Identity

A light drizzle streamed down as we wound our way through the tiny streets of Chania, a charming port town on Crete. We were nearing the end of our trip to the island and Chania was the last city we would visit, but all we could think about at the moment was taking in our first Greek rain while keeping up with our professors as they lead us to the first place we would visit in Chania: a small, miraculously restored synagogue.We settled into the cozy building quickly, enjoying the company of the two resident kittens as we gathered around the synagogue's director to hear about the restoration project, the building's history, and religious diversity on Crete. Something the director said toward the end of our time together really resonated with me. He mentioned that "Cretans think of themselves as citizens of Crete before citizens of Greece." As I looked back on our trip I found that our experience in Crete proved this to be true.

Working with the Sarpidonistas on the WWF Island Wetlands project, it was clear that the locals considered themselves Cretans rather than Greeks. The young men of the Sarpidonistas were fiercely proud of Malia and referred to the Greek economic problems as if Cretans were distanced from it. That first night in Heraklio, while enjoying some gelato, we passed by a group of young Cretans who were quite excited to show off their mastery of english expletives. They ended their tirade by shouting "Welcome to Crete!". Of course, I would probably say welcome to New York or Massachusetts over welcome to the United States of America, but their shout reminded me of the Cretan "Texans" CYA President, Alexis Phylactopolous, told us about. We were only in Crete's cities, but President Phylactopolous swears that out in the country some people still dress in traditional Cretan costume, carry knives and guns, and shoot at road signs for lack of other objects to shoot. Theseseem like the kind of people loyal to Crete before Greece.

Eating lunch in Margarites, a small mountain town just outside of Crete's third major city, Rethymno, a man at a nearby table was curious to know if we were enjoying Crete. He told us flat out that he was "Cretan before Greek".

By the time we met with the director of the Synagogue in Chania I was very intrigued by Cretan identity. Once the director mentioned it I was eager to find out more. He had mentioned that Crete had the option to become independent of Greece in two years, an event that he thought extremely unlikely. I asked him if, given the intense pride of identity of its people, could Crete theoretically survive without Greece? I didn't think so, but Crete does have a good location and provides well for the Greek economy. Mainly, I was curious to see how important national identity is to a state's ability to flourish. The director agreed with me that Crete wouldn't do well on its own. Together we came to the conclusion that it isn't really a matter of identity. A population that prides itself on its national identity can only help a country do well, but it isn't a major factor in deciding whether a country thrives or not. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to experience the differences between Cretan Greeks and Athenian Greeks, especially the Cretans' strong feeling of "national" identity.