Novel Notes
The Last Moon Tree
Set on the Island of Crete, 1952, Gloria in the Morning tells the story of Gloria, a 14 year old British girl living with her archaeologist father and mentally ill mother while her father is excavating Minoan ruins. Gloria’s psychological birth hangs in the balance, and the back story told to her by her tutor, Andromache about a Minoan family, 1600 BC, at the height of their culture and just before their mysterious disappearance,
introduces her to the good mother and the love she’s never known.
“The Moon Tree; Its root of white crystal stretches toward the deep
Its seat is the central place of the earth; Its foliage is the couch of Zikum, the primeval mother.
Into the heart of this holy house spreading its shade like a forest. No man has entered:
It is the house of the Mighty Mother, who passes across the sky. In the midst of it is Tammuz.”
Hymn to the goddess at Eridu, 3000BC Baghdad, Sumeria
Excerpt from the novel:
Prologue
Early in the 20th century archaeologists unearthed an ancient civilization on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. They believed they’d found the people Homer referred to in the Iliad ruled by King Minos, so they named the people Minoans. However, what evidence there is of Minos’ rule would put him on Crete after the high palace period of the original Cretan people, when the Mycenaeans from the mainland had taken over the island. If Minos existed, he was a Mycenaean.
Egyptian records of the civilization, whose center was located on Crete from at least 5000 B.C. to 1400 B.C., show that they were called the Keftiu, The Island People who come from the Great Green Sea. They were great mariners and traders, and also kept the seas safe from piracy. Their power on the Mediterranean was unequaled during that period. Their sculptural and pictorial art shows a maturity and grace that would not be seen again on earth for thousands of years. Their technological advances were also unequaled; hard-paved roads, running hot and cold water, and flush toilets, are just a few of the Keftui’s discoveries. For the rest of the world, these things would not be known for another two thousand years.
Since the discovery of this ancient culture and its unique way of life, hundreds of books and theories have been written about them. They have clearly captured both our intellectual curiosity and our imagination. For my part, I’ve stayed as close as possible to the historical record of both Crete and the Mediterranean around 1600 B.C… The Egyptian and Sumerian writings from that time have given some details. However, the greater part of the information about the Keftui has come from studying the art and architecture discovered on Crete from before 1500 B.C… After that time the Mycenaean influence makes there presence as the new rulers on Crete obvious.
Theories about what happened to the Keftui abound. I leave them to the imagination.
READ: Time and Transformation, A Novel of Mayan Mysticism
NEXT PAGE
Pages: 1 2
