[DictumMortuum]

Given that my father was born and raised in Crete, I've visited the island numerous times.

This place is deep, I always have a very weird feeling when I'm there, it's like starring in those movies, where everyone is happy and joyful, however you know that something mysterious is lurking below all of this.

There are places that still are called by their Minoan names.

If you ever get there, don't miss the archaeological museum in Heraklion. Here is a small sample:

https://ibb.co/P5RWZtZ https://ibb.co/khqvm8F

[twic]

I didn't go to that museum, but i went to the one in Chania. The thing i remember most clearly is the little pull-along toy, substantially the same as one you might buy in a bougie toyshop today, that's getting on for three thousand years old:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clay_oxen_wheel,_a_t...

[throwaway73838]

Is that one of those cultures that had invented the wheel for a child’s toy, but not for any more practical purpose?

[prennert]

It is thought that the biggest challenge for using a wheel for serious applications was getting the axle right. This is not an issue for toys.

https://interestingengineering.com/the-history-and-evolution...

[jrootabega]

Sorry if I'm just spreading factoids and platitudes, but isn't this the point at which some people say "it's not the wheel that was the hard part; it was the axle and bearings."? So a wheel for a child's toy would almost not even be a wheel.

[shkkmo]

I think you are confused with the idea "the romans invented the steam engine but only used it as a toy" which semi-misleadingly refers to the Aeolipile.

[peoplefromibiza]

My girlfriend was conceived in Crete, by her Greek father and her Italian mother.

She tells me that the feeling you get in Crete and the way Cretans think of life and death (what you call "something mysterious is lurking below") can be explained by the story of the Arkadi Monastery [1]: during the Cretan Revolt against the Ottoman empire in 1866 943 Greeks, mostly women and children, sought refuge in the monastery. After three days of battle and under orders from the hegumen (abbot) of the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadi_Monastery