CRETE 



1633 



CRIBBAGE 



teeth set in sockets; sea serpents and land rep- 

 tiles of great size. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 



the following 1 articles in these volumes : 



Chalk Jurassic Period 



Geology Mesozoic Era 



CRETE, kreet. Below the southern end of 

 the Aegean Sea, about sixty miles from the 

 Grecian mainland and not quite twice as far 

 from the shores of Asia Minor, lies the island 

 of Crete, famed during all the ages that man 



ASIA MINOR 



EGYPT ^ /exandria \ 



LOCATION MAP 



has lived. Three thousand years ago Ulysses 

 thus described it to Penelope: 



Crete is a region lying in the midst 

 Of the black deep, a fair and fruitful land, 

 Girt by the waters. Many are the men, . 

 Nay, numberless, who make it their abode, 

 And ninety are its cities. Different tongues 

 Are spoken by the dwellers of the isle. 



Centuries before Homer's time Crete was the 

 home of kings whose fleets held sway over the 

 eastern Mediterranean, and of a people whose 

 civilization influenced Egypt, Syria, Greece, 

 Sicily and even the Adriatic lands about 

 Venice. Cretans taught the Phoenicians, the 

 fathers of our alphabet, how to write. 



The island is about 160 miles long and has 

 an area of 3,365 square miles. Its mountains 

 run from end to end, rising to a height of 8,000 

 feet in Mount Saint Theodore and Mount Ida, 

 famed in Greek mythology as the birthplace 

 of Jupiter. The three chief towns are Canea, 

 Retimo and Candia. Near the last was 



Cnossus, where the monarch Minos dwelt, 

 He who at every nine years' end conferred 

 With Jove Almighty. 



Among the ruins of Cnossus is the great 

 labyrinth, built by Daedalus, where events 

 actually occurred which gave rise to the legend 

 of Theseus and the terrible minotaur. So 

 wonderfully was the ancient city constructed 

 that its stone sewers, now 4,000 years old, are 

 still fit for use. 

 103 



Since 1912 Crete has been a part of Greece. 

 Once it was included in the Roman Empire, 

 then fell successively under the rule of Byzan- 

 tines, Venetians, Turks and Egyptians. In 

 1840 it became Turkish again, .but because 

 most of its 350,000 people are Christians there 

 was continuous anarchy, and in 1898 the Turks 

 gave way to a high commissioner of England, 

 France, Italy and Russia. The people demanded 

 and several times proclaimed union with Greece. 

 Eleutherios Venizelos, their leader, became 

 Premier of Greece and organized the Balkan 

 League against Turkey; in the ensuing war 

 Cretans fought beside Greeks and in 1913 the 

 powers withdrew their government. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles In these volumes : 

 Ariadne Minos 



Daedalus Minotaur 



Jupiter Theseus 



Labyrinth Venizelos, Eleutherios 



CRETONNE, kretahn', originally a soft, 

 white hemp and linen cloth, now a cotton cloth 

 either twilled, creped, basket-woven, or with 

 dots or other raised figures, on which an at- 

 tractively-colored pattern is printed. Colors 

 on such an uneven surface produce a rich, soft 

 effect, unlike the distinct bright colorings of 

 chintzes. Floral designs usually are the 

 most popular and are printed on a white or 

 colored background, sometimes each side hav- 

 ing a different pattern. In cheaper cretonnes 

 the thick threads used are commonly formed 

 of waste cotton. 



Cretonnes are used for many purposes, whole 

 rooms often being decorated with the cloth, 

 from window hangings to the furniture cov- 

 ering, scarfs, tray linings, etc. It is also used 

 for bags of many varieties laundry bags, hat 

 bags, work bags and for garden dresses and 

 hats. The prices of this material range from 

 25 cents to $5 a yard. 



CRIBBAGE , krib ' aj, a popular game of cards 

 which does not invite gambling. It is a game 

 of skill, requiring careful calculation and 

 observation. A full pack of fifty-two cards 

 is used, and the players may number two, 

 three or four. The most popular game is be- 

 tween two players. The cards are cut to de- 

 cide who shall deal. The winner of the cut 

 then shuffles the cards and deals six cards to 

 his opponent and six to himself. The remain- 

 ing cards are then cut and one card is placed 

 face up on the table as the "turn up," the use 

 of which is explained later. Each player 

 studies his hand and takes out two cards 



