Most forgotten period of Greek history?

[mj_toronto8]

I was in Crete once eating at a restaurant and there was a pile of artifacts heaped - broken pottery shards, etc. The restaurant told us that they were going to throw them out. I said, but they are artifacts, why?! They said that no one cares about that time period the artifacts came from - something about an Arabic occupation.

I thought it was interesting and it stayed with me nearly two decades later. This is clearly a forgotten period of Greek history. Does this happen a lot in Greece? Got me thinking about Greek history and what else may be forgotten... Would love your thoughts.

 

[k_tsoukalas]

That's a fascinating story, and I can see why it stayed with you. I wonder if part of it comes from Greece having such an overwhelming amount of history. When your landscape includes Minoan palaces, Classical temples, Byzantine churches, Venetian fortresses, and Ottoman architecture, it's almost inevitable that some periods receive more attention than others.

That said, I don't think the Arabic period in Crete is unimportant, it simply isn't as visible in tourism or public conversation. Historians have been paying more attention to these "in-between" periods because they help explain how Greek culture evolved over time.

I've also noticed that local museums often tell stories that larger archaeological sites don't. Sometimes the most overlooked chapters of history turn out to be the most interesting because they're less polished and more connected to everyday life.