Sights - Chania Prefecture - Akrotiri

Agia Triada Monastery

Pashleys' description

 

Robert Pashley (1805-1859) was born in York. At the age of 20, he started as a law student at the University of Cambridge. In 1833 he obtained a permit to travel freely with the vessels of the English navy, which took him to the Ionian Islands, Albania, Greece, Asia Minor and Constantinople, and the following year to Crete. On his way back to England he stayed for a while in Venice, where he studied manuscripts in the St. Mark's Library. His book Travels in Crete was published in 1837.

 

 
The road from this spot to the monastery of Haghía Triádha runs near two or three villages, without entering into any of them. The part of the Akrotéri over which it passes is generally uncultivated, and seems to be barren. There is a great abundance of game, especially red-legged partridges, on it. Haghía Triádha is surrounded by many lofty cypresses, a long avenue of which leads up to the principal entrance of the monastery. The Hegúmenos [abbot] is a venerable and communicative old man, with whom I had much conversation.

 
This monastery is most substantially built: the church in the middle of its court is in the form of a Latin cross: its front is ornamented by Doric columns. Over its doorway is an inscription, the words of which are sufficiently appropriate in a convent dedicated to the Trinity. On the frieze of the entablature of this edifice are the capital letters

Β Γ Y Θ Τ Π

 
A conjectural explanation of them may be seen in the note*, if any one should think it worth looking at. On either side of the doorway of this church is an inscription: to the spectator's left in Greek, and to his right in Latin. The purport of both is the same; and is to record the names of the two founders of the monastery. The date affixed at the foot of the Greek inscription is 1634, that over the principal entrance into the monastery being 1631. The church was not quite finished when the Turks obtained possession of Khaniá, and thus put a stop to the progress of the building.

 
* Βάθος Γνώσεως, Ύψιστος Θεός, Τρισυπόστατος, Παντοκράτωρ
  (profundity of cognition, God on high, the Trinity, the Almighty)

 
At the eastern corner of the court is a small chapel, a view of which is seen at the head of this chapter. Under it is the cemetery of the monastery. The graves have nearly all been opened, so that the bones of their occupants lie exposed to view, and each of them "grins horrible a ghastly smile" on his visitors.

 

 
This profanation of the grave was committed by the Mohammedans, during the revolution, in the vain hope of finding hidden treasure. In an apartment, with which this burial-chamber communicates, dead men's skulls and bones are heaped up to the height of about four feet. Above the doorway of the Golgotha, and in many other places about the monastery, I noticed inscriptions, to some of which a Latin translation is added.

 
The old Hegúmenos assured me that, before the revolution broke out, there were forty Patéres (priests and monks) here, and ten more at the different metókhis or farms of the monastery. They had then also thirteen Deacons. Although their arable land was sufficient to employ thirty-five pairs of oxen, eighteen pairs on the Akrotéri and the rest in the metókhis, yet, being so numerous a body, they were always obliged to purchase corn. The produce of oil annually sold by them may have amounted, according to the Hegúmenos, who is not likely to exaggerate their wealth, to nearly two thousand místata [about 25 tonnes] . The present number of Patéres is ten.