The Santorini Summer Read Online Free PDF Page B

Maureen was won over by the Cretan fashions. Our return journey saw us both smiling with satisfaction and laden with parcels.
    Naturally, that evening I wore one of my new dresses. It was white, with delicate embroidery each side of the V-shaped neckline and along the hem. The cotton was very fine and felt silky as it brushed against my bare legs. My body felt free and I felt womanly for the first time in my life.
    The Greek boys peered in the window of our favourite taverna, established that we were inside, and very politely asked if they might join us. We agreed graciously, and shuffled about to make room for them, as though it were not all pre-planned. Somehow, Christos was seated beside me as he always was.
    ‘I think you are going native, Olivia,’ he began, mischievously, indicating my new dress. ‘You are becoming a Cretan.’
    I wished I did not blush so easily. ‘I needed some cooler clothes.’
    ‘And it is most becoming. But I rather miss your other dresses. They seemed to pay respect to Greece.’
    My lack of comprehension was written on my face.
    ‘Your blue and white clothes. Our national flag.’
    The penny dropped and I blushed again. But I liked him teasing me. To my astonishment, he took my hand under cover of the tablecloth.
    ‘Forgive me, but I like to see you blushing. Oh, my Olivia, you are named after the tree of Crete – the olive tree. I think it was your destiny to come here and meet me, as it was mine to meet you.’
    I was not yet used to my new status as Christos’ girlfriend, and found flirting thrilling but equally embarrassing. To cover my gaucheness I changed the subject.
    ‘How is the dig going, do you think? Will it ever be proved that Sir Arthur was definitely wrong?’
    If he was disappointed at my choice of topic he gave no sign of it. ‘The deciphering of the Linear B tablet seems to prove that the Minoans had a civilisation separate from that of the Mycenians, so he was right about that. But I’m afraid he jumped to conclusions in declaring Knossus to be the site of Minos’ palace. And I do wish he had not reconstructed so much from his own imagination. He should have left what he found as it was, for future study.’
    ‘But I can understand the temptation. He so wanted others to see what he imagined.’
    ‘But that is not archaeology, Olivia. It is whimsical romance. And it was desecration to use modern materials. Concrete has no place here.’
    ‘But concrete was all he had. And if he hadn’t rebuilt where he did, many of the buildings would have collapsed. So he was only doing the best he could at the time, wasn’t he?’
    This dig was just a field trip for me, a student of Ancient History, but for Christos, who was studying archaeology, it was a passion.
    ‘Do you know the legend of Atlantis, Olivia? A once highly civilised state which was destroyed in a great flood? Plato writes of it.’
    I had to confess that my knowledge of Plato was sketchy.
    ‘There is a theory…An archaeologist named Marinatos has a theory that Santorini and Crete together formed the great state of Atlantis. When the major eruption occurred on Santorini a tidal wave engulfed the area.’
    My blank face betrayed my ignorance, so he continued: ‘Santorini is a small island to the north of Crete. It arose as the result of volcanic activity. It is a geological fact that there was a great volcanic eruption on Santorini around 1600BC which destroyed much of the island. It must have caused a huge wave that would have affected much of the Mediterranean. The Old Palace at Knossus was destroyed by some natural disaster around that time and the remains we see today were built on top. The Santorini volcano would explain that. There is even a theory that the strange happenings written about in the book of Exodus were the result of this eruption. You know the Bible, Olivia?’
    I could hold my head up here, because Religious Studies had been compulsory at the girls’ grammar school I’d