Chapter II: MODERN CONFESSIONS OF FAITH.--The second great creed-making epoch of (4)

Montian from Mons in Belgium.
Danian " Denmark = _Garumnien_ of Leymerie.
Aturian " Adour.
Maestrichtian " Maestricht.
Campanian " Champagne.
Emscherian " Emscher river in Westphalia.
Santonian " Saintonge.
Coniacian " Cognac.
Senonian " Sens in department of Yonne.
Turonian " Touraine.
Angoumian " Angoumois.
Ligerian " the Loire.
Cenomanian " Le Mans (Cenomanum).
Carentonian " Charente.
Rothomagian " Rouen (_Rothomagus_).
Albian " dept. of Aube.
Selbornian " Selborne in Hampshire.
Aptian " Apt in Vaucluse.
Gargasian " Gargas near Apt.
Bedoulian " la Bedoule (Var) = _Rhodanien_ of Renevie
Barremian " Barreme in Basses Alpes.
Hauterivian " Hauterive on Lake of Neuchatel.
Valangian " Chateau de Valangin near Neuchatel.
Neocomian " Neuchatel (_Neocomum_).
Berriasian " Berrias (_Ardeche_) near Besseges.
Urgonian " Orgon near Arles.

The Cretaceous seas were probably comparatively shallow; this was certainly the case where the deposits are sandy, and in the regions occupied by the hippuritic fauna. Much discussion has taken place as to the depth of the chalk sea. Stress has been laid upon the resemblance of this deposit to the modern deep-sea globigerina-ooze; but on the whole the evidence is in favour of moderate depth, perhaps not more than 1000 fathoms; the freedom of the deposit from detrital matter being regarded as due to the low elevation of the surrounding land, and the main lines of drainage being in other directions. Sandy and shore deposits are common throughout the system in every region. Besides the Weald, there were great lacustrine and terrestrial deposits in N. America (the Potomac, Kootenay, Morrison, Dakota and Laramie formations) as well as in N. Spain, and in parts of Germany, &c. The general distribution of land and sea is indicated in the map.

_Earth Movements and Vulcanicity._--During the greater part of the Cretaceous period crustal movements had been small and local in effect, but towards the close a series of great deformative movements was inaugurated and continued into the next period. These movements make it possible to discriminate between the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks, because the conditions of sedimentation were profoundly modified by them, and in most parts of the world there resulted a distinct break in the sequence of fossil remains. Great tracts of our modern continental land areas gradually emerged, and several mountainous tracts began to be elevated, such as the Appalachians, parts of the Cordilleras, and the Rocky Mountains, and their northern continuation, and indeed the greater part of the western N. American continent was intensely affected; the uplifting was associated with extensive faulting. Volcanic activity was in abeyance in Europe and in much of Asia, but in America there were many eruptions and intrusions of igneous rock towards the close of the period. Diabases and peridotites had been formed during the Lower Cretaceous in the San Luis Obispo region. Great masses of ash and conglomerate occur in the Crow's Nest Pass in Canada; porphyries and porphyritic tuffs of later Cretaceous age are important in the Andes; while similar rocks are found in the Lower Cretaceous of New Zealand. It is, however, in the Deccan lava flows of India that we find eruptions on a scale more vast than any that have been recorded either before or since. These outpourings of lava cover 200,000 sq. m. and are from 4000 to 6000 ft. thick. They lie upon an eroded Cenomanian surface and are to some extent interbedded with Upper Cretaceous sediments.

+-----------+---------------+------------+----------------+--------------------+---------------+-------------+
| |Atlantic Coast.|Eastern Gulf| Western Gulf | Western Interior. | Pacific Coast.| European. |
| | | Region. | Region. | | | |
+-----------+---------------+------------+----------------+--------------------+---------------+-------------+
| / | Manasquan. | | |Denver, Livingstone,| | |
| | | | ...... | ...... | (possibly Eocene).| Not | |
| | | | | | &c. | differentiated| |
| | | Rancocas. | | | Laramie. | or wanting. | Danian. |
| | +---------------+------------+----------------+--------------------+---------------+-------------+
| | | | Ripley. | | Montana Series | | |
|CRETACEOUS | Monmouth. | | Montana Series | 2. Fox Hills. | | Senonian. |
| | | | Selma. | Navarro. | 1. Fort Pierre and| | |
| Upper | | | | Belly River. | | |
|Cretaceous.| Matawan. | Eutaw. | Colorado Series| Colorado Series. | | |
| | | | | 2. Austin | 2. Niobrara. | Chico. | Turonian. |
| | | | | 1. Eagle Ford | 1. Benton. | | |
| | +---------------+------------+----------------|--------------------+ +-------------+
| | | | | Dakota. | Dakota. | | Cenomanian. |
| | | ...... | ...... | Woodbine. | | | Albian. |
| | | | | | | | Unconformity|
| \ | | U n c o|n f o r m i t y.| | | in places.|
| |...............|............|................|....................|...............|.............|
| / | | | | | Horsetown | Aptian. |
| | | | | Washita. | | | |
| | | | | | | Knoxville. | Urgonian. |
| | | | Tuskaloosa | Fredericksburg.| Kootenay and | \__ ___/ | |
|COMANCHEAN | | Series. | | Morrison (or | \/ | Neocomian. |
| | |Potomac Series.| | | Como). | Shastan. | Wealden. |
| Lower | 4. Raritan. | | | | | |
|Cretaceous.| 3. Patapsco. | | Trinity. | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | Jurassic?| | | | | |
| \ | 2. Arundel | | | | | |
| | 1. Patuxent | | | | | |
+-----------+---------------+------------+----------------+--------------------+---------------+-------------+

_Economic Products of Cretaceous Rocks._--Coal is one of the most important products of the rocks of this system. The principal Cretaceous coal-bearing area is in the western interior of N. America, where an enormous amount of coal--mostly lignitic, but in places converted into anthracite--lies in the rocks at the foot of the Rocky Mountains; most of this is of Laramie age. Similar beds occur locally in Montana. Coal seams of Lower Cretaceous age are found in the Black Hills (S. Dakota), Alaska, Greenland, and in New Zealand; and the "Upper Quader" of Lowenberg in Silesia also contains coal seams. Coals also occur in the brackish and fresh-water deposits of Carinthia, Dalmatia and Istria, while unimportant lignitic beds are known in many other regions. The Fort Pierre beds are oil-bearing at Boulder, Colorado; and the Trinity formation bears asphalt and bitumen. Important clay deposits are worked in the Raritan formation of New Jersey, &c., and pottery clays are found in the Lowenberg district in Germany. The Washita beds yield the well-known hone stone. Great beds of gypsum exist in the Cretaceous rocks of S. America. Near Salzburg a variety of the hippuritic limestone is quarried for marble. Lithographic stone occurs in the Pyrenees. The economic products peculiar to the chalk are mentioned in the article CHALK. Beds of iron ore are found in the Lower Cretaceous of Germany and England.

_The Life of the Cretaceous Period._--The fossils from the Cretaceous series comprise marine, fresh-water and terrestrial animals and plants. Foremost in interest and importance is the appearance in the Lower Potomac (Lower Cretaceous) of eastern and central N. America of the earliest representatives of angiospermous dicotyledons, and undoubted monocotyledons, the progenitors of our modern flowering plants. The angiosperms spread outward from the Atlantic coast region of N. America, and first appeared in Europe in the Aptian of Portugal; towards the close of the Lower Cretaceous period they occupied parts of Greenland, the remaining land areas of N. America, and were steadily advancing in every quarter of the globe. At first the Jurassic plants, the Cycads, ferns and conifers, lived on and were the dominant plant forms. Gradually, however, they took a subordinate place, and by the close of the Cretaceous period the angiosperms had gained the upper hand. The earliest of these fossil angiosperms is not in a true sense a primitive form, and no records of such types have yet been discovered. Some of the early forms of the Lower Cretaceous are distinctly similar to modern genera, such as _Ficus_, _Sassafras_ and _Aralia_; others bore leaves closely resembling our elm, maple, willow, oak, eucalyptus, &c. Before the close of the period many other representatives of living genera had appeared, beech, walnut, tamarisk, plane, laurel (_Laurus_), cinnamon, ivy, ilex, viburnum, buckthorn, breadfruit, oleander and others; there were also junipers, thujas, pines and sequoias and monocotyledons such as _Potamogeton_ and _Arundo_. This flora was widely spread and uniform; there was great similarity between that of Europe and N. America, and in parts of the United States (Virginia and Maryland) the plants were very like those in Greenland. The general aspect of the flora was sub-tropical; the eucalyptus and other plants then common in Europe and N. America are now confined to the southern hemisphere.

The marine fauna comprised foraminifera which must have swarmed in the Chalk and some of the limestone seas; their shells have formed great thickness of rock. Common forms are the genera _Alveolina_, _Cristellaria_, _Rotalia_, _Textularia_, _Orbitolina_, _Globigerina_. Radiolarians were doubtless abundant, but their remains are rare. Sponges with calcareous (_Peronidilla_, _Barroisia_) and siliceous skeletons (_Siphonia_, _Coeloptychium_, _Ventriculites_) were very numerous in certain of the Cretaceous waters. Corals were comparatively rare, _Trochosmilia_, _Parasmilia_, _Holocystis_ being typical genera; reefs were formed in the Maestricht beds of Denmark and Faxoe, in the Neocomian and Turonian of France, in the Turonian of the Alps and Pyrenees, and also in the Gosau beds and in the Utatur group of India. Sea-urchins were a conspicuous feature, and many nearly allied forms are still living; _Cidaris_, _Micraster_, _Discoidea_ are examples. Crinoids were represented by _Marsupites_, _Uintacrinus_ and _Bourgueticrinus_; starfish (_Calliderma_ and _Pentagonaster_) were not uncommon. Polyzoa were abundant; brachiopods were fairly common, though subordinate to the pelecypods; they were mostly rhynchonellids and terebratulids, which lived side by side with the ancient forms, like _Crania_ and _Discina_. The bivalve mollusca were very important during this period, _Inoceramus_, _Ostrea_, _Spondylus_, _Gervillia_, _Exogyra_, _Pecten_, _Trigonia_ being particularly abundant in the northern seas, while in the southern waters the remarkable _Hippurites_, _Radiolites_, _Caprotina_, _Caprina_, _Monopleura_ and _Requienia_ prevailed. Gasteropods were well represented and included many modern genera. Cephalopods were important as a group, but the ammonites, so vigorous in the foregoing period, were declining and were assuming curious degenerate forms, often with a tendency to uncoil the shell; _Baculites_, _Hoplites_, _Turrilites_, _Ptychoceras_, _Hamites_ are some of the typical genera, while _Belemnites_ and _Belemnitella_ were abundant in the northern seas.

The vertebrate fauna of the Cretaceous period differed in many features from that of the present day; mammals appear to have been only poorly represented by puny forms, related to Triassic and Jurassic types; they were mainly marsupials (_Batodon_, _Cimolestes_) with a few monotreme-like forms; carnivores, rodents and ungulates were still unknown. As in Jurassic times, reptiles were the dominant forms, and not a few genera lived on from the former period into the Cretaceous; but, on the whole, the reptilian assemblage was no longer so varied, and most of the distinctive mesozoic types had passed away before the close of this period. Dinosaurs were represented by herbivorous and carnivorous genera as in the Jurassic period, but the latter were less abundant than before. The _Iguanodon_ of the Sussex-Weald and Bernissart in Belgium is perhaps the best-known genus; but there were many others, their remains being particularly abundant and well-preserved in the Cretaceous deposits of N. America. _Titanosaurus_, _Acanthopholis_, _Megalosaurus_ and _Hypsilophodon_ may be mentioned, some of these being of great size, while _Diclonius_ was a curious duck-billed creature; but most remarkable in appearance must have been the horned Dinosaurs, _Ceratops_ and _Triceratops_, gross, unwieldy creatures, 25 to 30 ft. long, whose huge heads were grotesquely armed with horns and bony frills.

Coincident, perhaps, with the widespread extension of the sea was the development of aquatic habits and structures suitable thereto amongst all the reptilian groups including also the birds. The foremost place was undoubtedly taken by the pythonomorphs or sea-serpents, including _Mosasaurus_ and many others; these were enormously elongated creatures, reaching up to 75 ft., with swimming flappers and powerful swimming tails, and they lived a predatory life in the open sea. Ichthyosaurians soon disappeared from Cretaceous waters; but the plesiosaurians (_Cimoliosaurus_ and others) reached their maximum development in this period. The remarkable flying lizards, pterosaurs, likewise attained their great development and then passed away; they ranged in size from that of a pigeon to creatures with a wing-spread of 25 ft.; notable genera are _Pteranodon_, _Ornithocheirus_, _Nyctiosaurus_. Ordinary lizard-like forms were represented by _Coniosaurus_, _Dolichosaurus_, &c.; and true crocodiles, _Goniopholis_, _Suchosaurus_, appeared in this period, and continued to approximate to modern genera. The earliest known river turtles are found in the Belly River deposits of Canada; marine turtles also made their first appearance and were widely represented, some of them, _Archelon_ and _Protostega_, being of great size. True snakes appeared later in the period.

The birds, as far as existing evidence goes, were aquatic; some, like _Ichthyornis_, were built for powerful flight; others, like _Hesperornis_, were flightless. _Enaliornis_ is a form well known from the Cambridge Greensand. They were toothed birds having structural affinities with the Dinosaurs and Pterodactyles.

Fish remains of this period show that a marked change was taking place; teleosteans (with bony internal skeleton) were taking a more prominent place, and although ganoids were still represented (_Macropoma_, _Lepidotus_, _Amiopris_, &c.) they had quite ceased to be the dominant types before the close of Cretaceous times. Sharks and rays were of the modern types, though distinct in species. Amongst the early forms of Cretaceous teleosteans may be mentioned _Elopopsis_, _Ichthyodectes_, _Diplomystus_ (herring), _Haplopteryx_ and _Urenchelys_ (eel).

For further information see the articles CHALK; GREENSAND; WEALDEN.
Sir A. Geikie's _Text-book of Geology_, vol. ii. (4th ed., 1903),
contains in addition to a full general account of the system very full
references to the literature.

CRETE (Gr. [Greek: Krete]; Turk. _Kirid_, Ital. _Candia_), after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus the largest island in the Mediterranean, situated between 34 deg. 50' and 35 deg. 40' N. lat. and between 23 deg. 30' and 26 deg. 20' E. long. Its north-eastern extremity, Cape Sidero, is distant about 110 m. from Cape Krio in Asia Minor, the interval being partly filled by the islands of Carpathos and Rhodes; its north-western, Cape Grabusa, is within 60 m. of Cape Malea in the Morea. Crete thus forms the natural limit between the Mediterranean and the Archipelago. The island is of elongated form; its length from E. to W. is 160 m., its breadth from N. to S. varies from 35 to 7-1/2 m., its area is 3330 sq. m. The northern coast-line is much indented. On the W. two narrow mountainous promontories, the western terminating in Cape Grabusa or Busa (ancient Corycus), the eastern in Cape Spada, shut in the Bay of Kisamos; beyond the Bay of Canea, to the E., the rocky peninsula of Akrotiri shelters the magnificent natural harbour of Suda (8-1/2 sq. m.), the only completely protected anchorage for large vessels which the island affords. Farther E. are the bays of Candia and Malea, the deep Mirabello Bay and the Bay of Sitia. The south coast is less broken, and possesses no natural harbours, the mountains in many parts rising almost like a wall from the sea; in the centre is Cape Lithinos, the southernmost point of the island, partly sheltering the Bay of Messara on the W. Immediately to the E. of Cape Lithinos is the small bay of Kali Limenes or Fair Havens, where the ship conveying St Paul took refuge (Acts xxvii. 8). Of the islands in the neighbourhood of the Cretan coast the largest is Gavdo (ancient Clauda, Acts xxvii. 16), about 25 m. from the south coast at Sphakia, in the middle ages the see of a bishop. On the N. side the small island of Dia, or Standia, about 8 m. from Candia, offers a convenient shelter against northerly gales. Three small islands on the northern coast--Grabusa at the N.W. extremity, Suda, at the entrance to Suda harbour, and Spinalonga, in Mirabello Bay--remained for some time in the possession of Venice after the conquest of Crete by the Turks. Grabusa, long regarded as an impregnable fortress, was surrendered in 1692, Suda (where the flags of Turkey and the four protecting powers are now hoisted) and Spinalonga in 1715.

_Natural Features._--The greater part of the island is occupied by ranges of mountains which form four principal groups. In the western portion rises the massive range of the White Mountains (_Aspra Vouna_), directly overhanging the southern coast with spurs projecting towards the W. and N.W. (highest summit, Hagios Theodoros, 7882 ft.). In the centre is the smaller, almost detached mass of Psiloriti ([Greek: Hypsiloreition], ancient Ida), culminating in Stavros (8193 ft.), the highest summit in the island. To the E. are the Lassithi mountains with Aphenti Christos (7165 ft.), and farther E. the mountains of Sitia with Aphenti Kavousi (4850 ft.). The Kophino mountains (3888 ft.) separate the central plain of Messara from the southern coast. The isolated peak of Iuktas (about 2700 ft.), nearly due S. of Candia, was regarded with veneration in antiquity as the burial-place of Zeus. The principal groups are for the greater part of the year covered with snow, which remains in the deeper clefts throughout the summer; the intervals between them are filled by connecting chains which sometimes reach the height of 3000 ft. The largest plain is that of Monofatsi and Messara, a fertile tract extending between Mt. Psiloriti and the Kophino range, about 37 m. in length and 10 m. in breadth. The smaller plain, or rather slope, adjoining Canea and the valley of Alikianu, through which the Platanos (ancient Iardanos) flows, are of great beauty and fertility. A peculiar feature is presented by the level upland basins which furnish abundant pasturage during the summer months; the more remarkable are the Omalo in the White Mountains (about 4000 ft.) drained by subterranean outlets ([Greek: katabothra]), Nida ([Greek: eis ten Idan]) in Psiloriti (between 5000 and 6000 ft.), and the Lassithi plain (about 3000 ft.), a more extensive area, on which are several villages. Another remarkable characteristic is found in the deep narrow ravines ([Greek: pharangia]), bordered by precipitous cliffs, which traverse the mountainous districts; into some of these the daylight scarcely penetrates. Numerous large caves exist in the mountains; among the most remarkable are the famous Idaean cave in Psiloriti, the caves of Melidoni, in Mylopotamo, and Sarchu, in Malevisi, which sheltered hundreds of refugees after the insurrection of 1866, and the Dictaean cave in Lassithi, the birth-place of Zeus. The so-called Labyrinth, near the ruins of Gortyna, was a subterranean quarry from which the city was built. The principal rivers are the Metropoli Potamos and the Anapothiari, which drain the plain of Monofatsi and enter the southern sea E. and W. respectively of the Kophino range; the Platanos, which flows northwards from the White Mountains into the Bay of Canea; and the Mylopotamo (ancient Oaxes) flowing northwards from Psiloriti to the sea E. of Retimo.

_Geology._[1]--The metamorphic rocks of western Crete form a series
some 9000 to 10,000 ft. in thickness, of very varied composition. They
include gypsum, dolomite, conglomerates, phyllites, and a basic series
of eruptive rocks (gabbros, peridotites, serpentines). Glaucophane
rocks are widely spread. In the centre of the folds fossiliferous beds
with crinoids have been found, and the black slates at the top of the
series contain _Myophoria_ and other fossils, indicating that the
rocks are of Triassic age. It is, however, not impossible that the
metamorphic series includes also some of the Lias. The later beds of
the island belong to the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary systems. At
the western foot of the Ida massif calcareous beds with corals,
brachiopods (_Rhynchonella inconstans_, &c.) have been found, the
fossils indicating the horizon of the Kimmeridge clay. Lower
Cretaceous limestones and schists, with radiolarian cherts, arc
extensively developed; and in many parts of the island Upper
Cretaceous limestones with _Rudistes_ and Eocene beds with nummulites
have been found. All these are involved in the earth movements to
which the mountains of the island owe their formation, but the Miocene
beds (with _Clypeaster_) and later deposits lie almost undisturbed
upon the coasts and the low-lying ground. With the Jurassic beds is
associated an extensive series of eruptive rocks (gabbro, peridotite,
serpentine, diorite, granite, &c.); they are chiefly of Jurassic age,
but the eruptions may have continued into the Lower Cretaceous.

The structure of the island is complex. In the west the folds run from
north to south, curving gradually westward towards the southern and
western coasts; but in the east the folds appear to run from west to
east, and to be the continuation of the Dinaric folds of the Balkan
peninsula. The structure is further complicated by a great
thrust-plane which has brought the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous beds
upon the Upper Cretaceous and Eocene beds.

_Vegetation._--The forests which once covered the mountains have for the most part disappeared and the slopes are now desolate wastes. The cypress still grows wild in the higher regions; the lower hills and the valleys, which are extremely fertile, are covered with olive woods. Oranges and lemons also abound, and are of excellent quality, furnishing almost the whole supply of continental Greece and Constantinople. Chestnut woods are found in the Selino district, and forests of the valonia oak in that of Retimo; in some parts the carob tree is abundant and supplies an important article of consumption. Pears, apples, quinces, mulberries and other fruit-trees flourish, as well as vines; the Cretan wines, however, no longer enjoy the reputation which they possessed in the time of the Venetians. Tobacco and cotton succeed well in the plains and low grounds, though not at present cultivated to any great extent.

_Animals._--Of the wild animals of Crete, the wild goat or _agrimi (Capra aegagrus)_ alone need be mentioned; it is still found in considerable numbers on the higher summits of Psiloriti and the White Mountains. The same species is found in the Caucasus and Mount Taurus, and is distinct from the ibex or bouquetin of the Alps. Crete, like several other large islands, enjoys immunity from dangerous serpents--a privilege ascribed by popular belief to the intercession of Titus, the companion of St Paul, who according to tradition was the first bishop of the island, and became in consequence its patron saint. Wolves also are not found in the island, though common in Greece and Asia Minor. The native breed of mules is remarkably fine.

_Population._--The population of Crete under the Venetians was estimated at about 250,000. After the Turkish conquest it greatly diminished, but afterwards gradually rose, till it was supposed to have attained to about 260,000, of whom about half were Mahommedans, at the time of the outbreak of the Greek revolution in 1821. The ravages of the war from 1821 to 1830, and the emigration that followed, caused a great diminution, and the population was estimated by Pashley in 1836 at only about 130,000. In the next generation it again materially increased; it was calculated by Spratt in 1865 as amounting to 210,000. According to the census taken in 1881, the complete publication of which was interdicted by the Turkish authorities, the population of the island was 279,165, or 35.78 to the square kilometre. Of this total, 141,602 were males, 137,563 females; 33,173 were literate, 242,114 illiterate; 205,010 were orthodox Christians, 73,234 Moslems, and 921 of other religious persuasions. The Moslem element predominated in the principal towns, of which the population was--Candia, 21,368; Canea, 13,812; Retimo, 9274. According to the census taken in June 1900, the population of the island was 301,273, the Christians having increased to 267,266, while the Moslems had diminished to 33,281. The Moslems, as well as the Christians, are of Greek origin and speak Greek.

_Towns._--The three principal towns are on the northern coast and possess small harbours suitable for vessels of light draught. Candia, the former capital and the see of the archbishop of Crete (pop. in 1900, 22,501), is officially styled Herakleion; it is surrounded by remarkable Venetian fortifications and possesses a museum with a valuable collection of objects found at Cnossus, Phaestus, the Idaean cave and elsewhere. It has been occupied since 1897 by British troops. Canea (Xavia), the seat of government since 1840 (pop. 20,972), is built in the Italian style; its walls and interesting galley-slips recall the Venetian period. The residence of the high commissioner and the consulates of the powers are in the suburb of Halepa. Retimo [Greek: Rethumnos] is, like Canea, the see of a bishop (pop. 9311). The other towns, Hierapetra, Sitia, Kisamos, Selino and Sphakia, are unimportant.

_Production and Industries._--Owing to the volcanic nature of its
soil, Crete is probably rich in minerals. Recent experiments lead to
the conclusion that iron, lead, manganese, lignite and sulphur exist
in considerable abundance. Copper and zinc have also been found. A
large number of applications for mining concessions have been received
since the establishment of the autonomous government. The principal
wealth of the island is derived from its olive groves; notwithstanding
the destruction of many thousands of trees during each successive
insurrection, the production is apparently undiminished, and will
probably increase very considerably owing to the planting of young
trees and the improved methods of cultivation which the Government is
endeavouring to promote. The orange and lemon groves have also
suffered considerably, but new varieties of the orange tree are now
being introduced, and an impulse will be given to the export trade in
this fruit by the removal of the restriction on its importation into
Greece. Agriculture is still in a primitive condition; notwithstanding
the fertility of the arable land the supply of cereals is far below
the requirements of the population. A great portion of the central
plain of Monofatsi, the principal grain-producing district, is lying
fallow owing to the exodus of the Moslem peasantry. The cultivation of
silk cocoons, formerly a flourishing industry, has greatly declined in
recent years, but efforts are now being made to revive it. There are
few manufactures. Soap is produced at fifteen factories in the
principal towns, and there are two distilleries of cognac at Candia.

_Commerce._--The expansion of Cretan commerce has been retarded by
many drawbacks, such as the unsatisfactory condition of the harbours,
the want of direct steamship lines to England and other countries, and
the deficiency of internal communications. The total value of imports
in the four years 1901-1904 was L1,756,888, of exports L1,386,777;
excess of imports over exports, L370,111. Exports in 1904 were valued
at L419,642, the principal items being agricultural products (oranges,
lemons, carobs, almonds, grapes, valonia, &c.), value L153,858, olives
and products of olives (oil, soap, &c.), L134,788, and wines and
liquors, L48,544. The countries which accept the largest share of
Cretan produce are Turkey, England, Egypt, Austria and Russia. Imports
in 1904 were valued at L549,665, including agricultural products
(mainly flour and corn), value L162,535, and textiles, L129,349.
Cereals are imported from the Black Sea and Danube ports, ready-made
clothing from Austria and Germany, articles of luxury from Austria and
France, and cotton textiles from England. Imports are charged 8%,
exports 1% _ad valorem_ duty. According to a law published in 1899,
Turkish merchandise became subjected to the same rates as that of
foreign nations.

_Constitution and Government._--During the past half-century the affairs of Crete have repeatedly occupied the attention of Europe. Owing to the existence of a strong Mussulman minority among its inhabitants, the warlike character of the natives, and the mountainous configuration of the country, which enabled a portion of the Christian population to maintain itself in a state of partial independence, the island has constantly been the scene of prolonged and sanguinary struggles in which the numerical superiority of the Christians was counterbalanced by the aid rendered to the Moslems by the Ottoman troops. This unhappy state of affairs was aggravated and perpetuated by the intrigues set on foot at Constantinople against successive governors of the island, the conflicts between the Palace and the Porte, the duplicity of the Turkish authorities, the dissensions of the representatives of the great powers, the machinations of Greek agitators, the rivalry of Cretan politicians, and prolonged financial mismanagement. A long series of insurrections--those of 1821, 1833, 1841, 1858, 1866-1868, 1878, 1889 and 1896 may be especially mentioned--culminated in the general rebellion of 1897, which led to the interference of Greece, the intervention of the great powers, the expulsion of the Turkish authorities, and the establishment of an autonomous Cretan government under the suzerainty of the sultan. According to the autonomous constitution of 1899 the supreme power was vested in Prince George of Greece, acting as high commissioner of the protecting powers. The authority thus conferred was confided exclusively to the prince, and was declared liable to modification by law in the case of his successor. The modified constitution of February 1907 curtailed the large exceptional legislative and administrative powers then accorded. The high commissioner is irresponsible, but his decrees, except in certain specified cases, must be countersigned by a member of his council. He convokes, prorogues and dissolves the chamber, sanctions laws, exercises the right of pardon in case of political offences, represents the island in its foreign relations and is chief of its military forces. The chamber ([Greek: boule]), which is elected in the proportion of one deputy to every 5000 inhabitants, meets annually for a session of two months. New elections are held every two years. The chamber exercises a complete financial control, and no taxes can be imposed without its consent. The high commissioner is aided in the administration by a cabinet of three members, styled "councillors" ([Greek: symbouloi]), who superintend the departments of justice, finance, education, public security and the interior. The councillors, who are nominated and dismissed by the high commissioner, are responsible to the chamber, which may impeach them before a special tribunal for any illegal act or neglect of duty.

In general the Cretan constitution is characterized by a conservative spirit, and contrasts with the ultra-democratic systems established in Greece and the Balkan States. A further point of difference is the more liberal payment of public functionaries in Crete. For administrative purposes the departmental divisions existing under the Turkish government have been retained. There are 5 _nomoi_ or prefectures (formerly _sanjaks_) each under a prefect ([Greek: nomarchos]), and 23 eparchies (formerly _kazas_) each under a sub-prefect ([Greek: eparchos]). All these functionaries are nominated by the high commissioner. The prefects are assisted by departmental councils. The system of municipal and communal government remains practically unchanged. The island is divided into 86 communes, each with a mayor, an assistant-mayor, and a communal council elected by the people. The councils assess within certain limits the communal taxes, maintain roads, bridges, &c., and generally superintend local affairs. Public order is maintained by a force of gendarmerie ([Greek: chorophulake]) organized and at first commanded by Italian officers, who were replaced by Greek officers in December 1906. The constitution authorizes the formation of a militia ([Greek: politophulake]) to be enrolled by conscription, but in existing circumstances the embodiment of this force seems unnecessary.

_Justice._--The administration of justice is on the French model. A supreme court of appeal, which also discharges the functions of a court of cassation, sits at Canea. There are two assize courts at Canea and Candia respectively with jurisdiction in regard to serious offences ([Greek: kakourgemata ]). Minor offences ([Greek: plemmelemata]) and civil causes are tried by courts of first instance in each of the five departments. There are 26 justices of peace, to whose decision are referred slight contraventions of the law ([Greek: ptaismata]) and civil causes in which the amount claimed is below 600 francs. These functionaries also hold monthly sessions in the various communes. The judges are chosen without regard to religious belief, and precautions have been taken to render them independent of political parties. They are appointed, promoted, transferred or removed by order of the council of justice, a body composed of the five highest judicial dignitaries, sitting at Canea. An order for the removal of a judge must be based upon a conviction for some specified offence before a court of law. The jury system has not been introduced. The Greek penal code has been adopted with some modifications. The Ottoman civil code is maintained for the present, but it is proposed to establish a code recently drawn up by Greek jurists which is mainly based on Italian and Saxon law. The Mussulman cadis retain their jurisdiction in regard to religious affairs, marriage, divorce, the wardship of minors and inheritance.

_Religion and Education._--The vast majority of the Christian population belongs to the Orthodox (Greek) Church, which is governed by a synod of seven bishops under the presidency of the metropolitan of Candia. The Cretan Church is not, strictly speaking, autocephalous, being dependent on the patriarchate of Constantinople. There were in 1907 3500 Greek churches in the island with 53 monasteries and 3 nunneries; 55 mosques, 4 Roman Catholic churches and 4 synagogues. Education is nominally compulsory. In 1907 there were 547 primary schools (527 Christian and 20 Mahommedan), and 31 secondary schools (all Christian). About L20,000 is granted annually by the state for the purposes of education.

_Finance._--Owing to the havoc wrought during repeated insurrections,
the impoverishment of the peasants, the desolation of the districts
formerly inhabited by the Moslem agricultural population, and the
drain of gold resulting from the sale of Moslem lands and emigration
of the former proprietors, together with other causes, the financial
situation has been unsatisfactory. Notwithstanding the advance of
L160,000 made by the four protecting powers after the institution of
autonomous government and the profits (L61,937) derived from the issue
of a new currency in 1900, there was at the beginning of 1906 an
accumulated deficit of L23,470, which represents the floating debt. In
addition to the above-mentioned debt to the powers, the state
contracted a loan of L60,000 in 1901 to acquire the rights and
privileges of the Ottoman Debt, to which the salt monopoly has been
conceded for 20 years. In the budgets for 1905 and 1906 considerable
economies were effected by the curtailment of salaries, the abolition
of various posts, and the reduction of the estimates for education and
public works. The estimated revenue and expenditure for 1906 were as
follows:--

Revenue. Expenditure.
Drachmae (gold). Drachmae (gold).

Direct taxes 1,494,000 High Commissioner 200,000
Indirect taxes 1,715,000 Financial
administration 694,670
Stamp dues 351,700 Interior (including
gendarmerie) 1,678,566
Other sources 780,967 Education and Justice 1,453,500
--------- ---------
4,341,667 4,026,736
--------- ---------

The salary of the high commissioner was reduced in 1907 to 100,000
drachmae.

Improved communications are much needed for the transport of
agricultural produce, but the state of the treasury does not admit of
more than a nominal expenditure on road-making and other public works.
On these the average yearly expenditure between 1898 and 1905 was
L13,404. The prosperity of the island depends on the development of
agriculture, the acquirement of industrious habits by the people, and
the abandonment of political agitation. The Cretans were in 1906 more
lightly taxed than any other people in Europe. The tithe had been
replaced by an export tax on exported agricultural produce levied at
the custom-houses, and the smaller peasant proprietors and shepherds
of the mountainous districts were practically exempt from any
contribution to the state. The communal tax did not exceed on the
average two francs annually for each family. The poorer communes are
aided by a state subvention. (J. D. B.)

_Archaeology._

Early, Middle and Late "Minoan" periods.

The recent exploration and excavation of early sites in Crete have entirely revolutionized our knowledge of its remote past, and afforded the most astonishing evidence of the existence of a highly advanced civilization going far back behind the historic period. Great "Minoan" palaces have been brought to light at Cnossus and Phaestus, together with a minor but highly interesting royal abode at Hagia Triada near Phaestus. "Minoan" towns, some of considerable extent, have been discovered at Cnossus itself, at Gournia, Palaikastro, and at Zakro. The cave sanctuary of the Dictaean Zeus has been explored, and throughout the whole length and breadth of the island a mass of early materials has now been collected. The comparative evidence afforded by the discovery of Egyptian relics shows that the Great Age of the Cretan palaces covers the close of the third and the first half of the second millennium before our era. But the contents of early tombs and dwellings and indications supplied by such objects as stone vases and seal-stones show that the Cretans had already attained to a considerable degree of culture, and had opened out communication with the Nile valley in the time of the earliest Egyptian dynasties. This more primitive phase of the indigenous culture, of which several distinct stages are traceable, is known as the Early Minoan, and roughly corresponds with the first half of the third millennium B.C. The succeeding period, to which the first palaces are due and to which the name of Middle Minoan is appropriately given, roughly coincides with the Middle Empire of Egypt. An extraordinary perfection was at this time attained in many branches of art, notably in the painted pottery, often with polychrome decoration, of a class known as "Kamares" from its first discovery in a cave of that name on Mount Ida. Imported specimens of this ware were found by Flinders Petrie among XIIth Dynasty remains at Kahun. The beginnings of a school of wall painting also go back to the Middle Minoan period, and metal technique and such arts as gem engraving show great advance. By the close of this period a manufactory of fine faience was attached to the palace of Cnossus. The succeeding Late Minoan period, best illustrated by the later palace at Cnossus and that at Hagia Triada, corresponds in Egypt with the Hyksos period and the earlier part of the New Empire. In the first phase of this the Minoan civilization attains its acme, and the succeeding style already shows much that may be described as rococo. The later phase, which follows on the destruction of the Cnossian palace, and corresponds with the diffused Mycenaean style of mainland Greece and elsewhere, is already partly decadent. Late Minoan art in its finest aspect is best illustrated by the animated ivory figures, wall paintings, and _gesso duro_ reliefs at Cnossus, by the painted stucco designs at Hagia Triada, and the steatite vases found on the same site with zones in reliefs exhibiting life-like scenes of warriors, toreadors, gladiators, wrestlers and pugilists, and of a festal throng perhaps representing a kind of "harvest home." Of the more conventional side of Late Minoan life a graphic illustration is supplied by the remains of miniature wall paintings found in the palace of Cnossus, showing groups of court ladies in curiously modern costumes, seated on the terraces and balustrades of a sanctuary. A grand "palace style" of vase painting was at the same time evolved, in harmony with the general decoration of the royal halls.

Minoan script.

It had been held till lately that the great civilization of prehistoric Greece, as first revealed to us by Schliemann's discoveries at Mycenae, was not possessed of the art of writing. In 1893, however, Arthur Evans observed some signs on seal-stones from Crete which led him to believe that a hieroglyphic system of writing had existed in Minoan times. Explorations carried out by him in Crete from 1894 onwards, for the purpose of investigating the prehistoric civilization of the island, fully corroborated this belief, and showed that a linear as well as a semi-pictorial form of writing was diffused in the island at a very early period ("Cretan Pictographs and Prae-Phoenician Script," _Journ. of Hellenic Studies_, xiv. pt. 11). In 1895 he obtained a libation-table from the Dictaean cave with a linear dedication in the prehistoric writing ("Further Discoveries," &c., _J.H.S._ xvii.). Finally in 1900 all scepticism in the learned world was set at rest by his discovery in the palace of Cnossus of whole archives consisting of clay tablets inscribed both in the pictographic (hieroglyphic) and linear forms of the Minoan script (Evans, "Palace of Knossos," _Reports of Excavation, 1900-1905_; _Scripta Minoa_, vol. i., 1909). Supplementary finds of inscribed tablets have since been found at Hagia Triada (F. Halbherr, _Rapporto, &c., Monumenti antichi_, 1903) and elsewhere (Palaikastro, Zakro and Gournia). It thus appears that a highly developed system of writing existed in Minoan Crete some two thousand years earlier than the first introduction under Phoenician influence of Greek letters. In this, as in so many other respects, the old Cretan tradition receives striking confirmation. According to the Cretan version preserved by Diodorus (v. 74), the Phoenicians did not invent letters but simply altered their forms.

Earlier pictographic script.

There is evidence that the use in Crete of both linear and pictorial signs existed in the Early Minoan period, contemporary with the first Egyptian dynasties. It is, however, during the Middle Minoan age, the centre point of which corresponds with the XIIth Egyptian dynasty, according to the Sothic system of dating, c. 2000-1850 B.C., that a systematized pictographic or hieroglyphic script makes its appearance which is common both to signets and clay tablets. During the Third Middle Minoan period, the lower limits of which approach 1600 B.C., this pictographic script finally gives way to a still more developed linear system--which is itself divided into an earlier and a later class. The earlier class (A) is already found in the temple repositories of Cnossus belonging to the age immediately preceding the great remodelling of the palace, and this class is specially well represented in the tablets of Hagia Triada (M.M. iii. and L.M. i.). The later class (B) of the linear script is that used on the great bulk of the clay tablets of the Cnossian palace, amounting in number to nearly 2000.

These clay archives are almost exclusively inventories and business documents. Their general purport is shown in many cases by pictorial figures relating to various objects which appear on them--such as chariots and horses, ingots and metal vases, arms and implements, stores of corn, &c., flocks and herds. Many showing human figures apparently contain lists of personal names. A decimal system of numeration was used, with numbers going up to 10,000. But the script itself is as yet undeciphered, though it is clear that certain words have changing suffixes, and that there were many compound words. The script also recurs on walls in the shape of graffiti, and on vases, sometimes ink-written; and from the number of seals originally attached to perishable documents it is probable that parchment or some similar material was also used. In the easternmost district of Crete, where the aboriginal "Eteocretan" element survived to historic times (Praesus, Palaikastro), later inscriptions have been discovered belonging to the 5th and succeeding centuries B.C., written in Greek letters but in the indigenous language (Comparetti, _Mon. Ant._ iii. 451 sqq.; R. S. Conway, _British School Annual_, viii. 125 sqq. and ib. xl.). In 1908 a remarkable discovery was made by the Italian Mission at Phaestus of a clay disk with imprinted hieroglyphic characters belonging to a non-Cretan system and probably from W. Anatolia.

Character of Minoan religion.

The remains of several shrines within the building, and the religious element perceptible in the frescoes, show that a considerable part of the Palace of Cnossus was devoted to purposes of cult. It is clear that the rulers, as so commonly in ancient states, fulfilled priestly as well as royal functions. The evidence supplied by this and other Cretan sites shows that the principal Minoan divinity was a kind of _Magna Mater_, a Great Mother or nature goddess, with whom was associated a male satellite. The cult in fact corresponds in its main outlines with the early religious conceptions of Syria and a large part of Anatolia--a correspondence probably explained by a considerable amount of ethnic affinity existing between a large section of the primitive Cretan population and that of southern Asia Minor. The Minoan goddess is sometimes seen in her chthonic form with serpents, sometimes in a more celestial aspect with doves, at times with lions. One part of her religious being survives in that of the later Rhea, another in that of Aphrodite, one of whose epithets, _Ariadne_ ( = the exceeding holy), takes us back to the earliest Cnossian tradition. Under her native name, Britomartis ( = the sweet maiden) or Dictynna, she approaches Artemis and Leto, again associated with an infant god, and this Cretan virgin goddess was worshipped in Aegina under the name of Aphaea. It is noteworthy that whereas, in Greece proper, Zeus attains a supreme position, the old superiority of the Mother Goddess is still visible in the Cretan traditions of Rhea and Dictynna and the infant Zeus.

Although images of the divinities were certainly known, the principal objects of cult in the Minoan age were of the aniconic class; in many cases these were natural objects, such as rocks and mountain peaks, with their cave sanctuaries, like those of Ida or of Dicte. Trees and curiously shaped stones were also worshipped, and artificial pillars of wood or stone. These latter, as in the well-known case of the Lion's Gate at Mycenae, often appear with guardian animals as their supporters. The essential feature of this cult is the bringing down of the celestial spirit by proper incantations and ritual into these fetish objects, the dove perched on a column sometimes indicating its descent. It is a primitive cult similar to that of Early Canaan, illustrated by the pillow stone set up by Jacob, which was literally "Bethel" or the "House of God." The story of the _baetylus_, or stone swallowed by Saturn under the belief that it was his son, the Cretan Zeus, seems to cover the same idea and has been derived from the same Semitic word.

A special form of this "baetylic" cult in Minoan Crete was the representation of the two principal divinities in their fetish form by double axes. Shrines of the Double Axes have been found in the palace of Cnossus itself, at Hagia Triada, and in a small palace at Gournia, and many specimens of the sacred emblem occurred in the Cave Sanctuary of Dicte, the mythical birthplace of the Cretan Zeus. Complete scenes of worship in which libations are poured before the Sacred Axes are, moreover, given on a fine painted sarcophagus found at Hagia Triada.

Labyrinth and Minotaur.

The same cult survived to later times in Caria in the case of Zeus Labrandeus, whose name is derived from _labrys_, the native name for the double axe, and it had already been suggested on philological grounds that the Cretan "labyrinthos" was formed from a kindred form of the same word. The discovery that the great Minoan foundation at Cnossus was at once a palace and a sanctuary of the Double Axe and its associated divinities has now supplied a striking and it may well be thought an overwhelming confirmation of this view. We can hardly any longer hesitate to recognize in this vast building, with its winding corridors and subterranean ducts, the Labyrinth of later tradition; and as a matter of fact a maze pattern recalling the conventional representation of the Labyrinth in Greek art actually formed the decoration of one of the corridors of the palace. It is difficult, moreover, not to connect the repeated wall-paintings and reliefs of the palace illustrating the cruel bull sports of the Minoan arena, in which girls as well as youths took part, with the legend of the Minotaur, or bull of Minos, for whose grisly meals Athens was forced to pay annual tribute of her sons and daughters. It appears certain from the associations in which they are found at Cnossus, that these Minoan bull sports formed part of a religious ceremony. Actual figures of a monster with a bull's head and man's body occurred on seals of Minoan fabric found on this and other Cretan sites.

Historic substratum of Cretan myths.

It is abundantly evident that whatever mythic element may have been interwoven with the old traditions of the spot, they have a solid substratum of reality. With such remains before us it is no longer sufficient to relegate Minos to the regions of sun-myths. His legendary presentation as the "Friend of God," like Abraham, to whom as to Moses the law was revealed on the holy mountain, calls up indeed just such a priest-king of antiquity as the palace-sanctuary of Cnossus itself presupposes. It seems possible even that the ancient tradition which recorded an earlier or later king of the name of Minos may, as suggested above, cover a dynastic title. The earlier and later palaces at Cnossus and Phaestus, and the interrupted phases of each, seem to point to a succession of dynasties, to which, as to its civilization as a whole, it is certainly convenient to apply the name "Minoan." It is interesting, as bringing out the personal element in the traditional royal seat, that an inscribed sealing belonging to the earliest period of the later palace of Cnossus bears on it the impression of two official signets with portrait heads of a man and of a boy, recalling the "associations" on the coinage of imperial Rome. It is clear that the later traditions in many respects accurately summed up the performances of the "Minoan" dynast who carried out the great buildings now brought to light. The palace, with its wonderful works of art, executed for Minos by the craftsman Daedalus, has ceased to belong to the realms of fancy. The extraordinary architectural skill, the sanitary and hydraulic science revealed in details of the building, bring us at the same time face to face with the power of mechanical invention with which Daedalus was credited. The elaborate method and bureaucratic control visible in the clay documents of the palace point to a highly developed legal organization. The powerful fleet and maritime empire which Minos was said to have established will no doubt receive fuller illustration when the sea-town of Cnossus comes to be explored. The appearance of ships on some of the most important seal-impressions is not needed, however, to show how widely Minoan influence made itself felt in the neighbouring Mediterranean regions.

Early relations with Egypt.

The Kefts and Philistines.

Early relations with Cyprus and N. Aegean.

The Nilotic influence visible in the vases, seals and other fabrics of the Early Minoan age, seems to imply a maritime activity on the part of the islanders going back to the days of the first Egyptian dynasties. In a deposit at Kahun, belonging to the XIIth Dynasty, c. 2000 B.C., were already found imported polychrome vases of "Middle Minoan" fabric. In the same way the important part played by Cretan enterprise in the days of the New Egyptian empire is illustrated by repeated finds of Late Minoan pottery on Egyptian sites. A series of monuments, moreover, belonging to the early part of the XVIIIth Dynasty show the representatives of the Kefts or peoples of "The Ring" and of the "Lands to the West" in the fashionable costume of the Cnossian court, bearing precious vessels and other objects of typical Minoan forms. Farther to the east the recent excavations on the old Philistine sites like Gezer have brought to light swords and vases of Cretan manufacture in the later palace style. The principal Philistine tribe is indeed known in the biblical records as the Cherethims or Cretans, and the Minoan name and the cult of the Cretan Zeus were preserved at Gaza to the latest classical days. Similar evidence of Minoan contact, and indeed of wholesale colonization from the Aegean side, recurs in Cyprus. The culture of the more northerly Aegean islands, best revealed to us by the excavations of the British School at Phylakopi in Melos, also attest a growing influence from the Cretan side, which, about the time of the later palace at Cnossus, becomes finally predominant.

Minoan influence on mainland of Greece.

Turning to the mainland of Greece we see that the astonishing remains of a highly developed prehistoric civilization, which Schliemann first brought to light in 1876 at Mycenae, and which from those discoveries received the general name of "Mycenaean," in the main represent a transmarine offshoot from the Minoan stock. The earlier remains both at Mycenae and Tiryns, still imperfectly investigated, show that this Cretan influence goes back to the Middle Minoan age, with its characteristic style of polychrome vase decoration. The contents of the royal tombs, on the other hand, reveal a wholesale correspondence with the fabrics of the first, and, to a less degree, the second Late Minoan age, as illustrated by the relics belonging to the Middle Period of the later palace at Cnossus and by those of the royal villa at Hagia Triada. The chronological centre of the great beehive tombs seems to be slightly lower. The ceiling of that of Orchomenos, and the painted vases and gold cups from the Vaphio tomb by Sparta, with their marvellous reliefs showing scenes of bull-hunting, represent the late palace style at Cnossus in its final development.