Μανόλης Σκλάβος, Της Κρήτης ο χαλασμός [Manolis Sklavos, The destruction of Crete]

The short poem The destruction of Crete, by Manolis Sklavos, is the most important literary source for the earthquake that struck Venetian Crete in 1508 and was felt as far as Asia Minor and Cyprus. Its intensity was great, and the earthquake lasted, as the Venetian governor of Crete eloquently put it, “for as much time as it took one to recite Pater Noster a bit in a hurry”. Especially for Candia/Kastro (today’s Heraklion) the earthquake was devastating: it razed half the town to the ground on the night of May 29, 1508 – exactly 55 years after the fall of Constantinople – burying many of its dwellers under the rubble.

The descriptive, lyric/lamenting but also didactic poem, which was composed shortly after the earthquake, reveals the author’s connection with the Venetian authorities and his ecclesiastical education, and projects the traditional belief that the destruction was God’s righteous punishment for specific sins committed by people. The Appendix also includes other contemporary accounts about the earthquake: letters/documents, songs, pilgrims’ and travelers’ accounts, “brief chronicles”.

The book was edited by Tasoula Markomichelaki, Assistant Professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.