The subject of Cretan mythology is handled by a well-known Cretan master of the art of communication, specifically of the even more challenging oral discourse, and one who, despite his youth, is already a wise researcher of the timelessness of Cretan culture, possessing the most direct, I would say secret, connection to the roots of Crete.
For Psilakis, Cretan myth is not a tangled, scientifically incomprehensible riddle. On the contrary, it is luminous because it is digested. In Psilakis' "Cretan Mythology," myth becomes the eternal fairy tale that nourishes, regains its roots, and therefore blooms again and bears fruit.
Through these mythical figures, the thread of ancient anxiety, inventiveness, creative imagination, and the interpretative ingenuity of the Cretans unfolds regarding life, birth, love, death, mourning rituals, retribution, play, war, initiation ceremonies, the regenerating Cretan deity, the Great Mother, fertility, and astral beliefs.
The readability of the work has offered much knowledge, as one enjoys the depth and breadth of the author's efforts, understanding his toil and love for the blessed and long-suffering island.
With a critical spirit and synthetic ability, Nikos Psilakis manages to gather rich material from ancient and modern writers and from oral tradition, then categorizes, analyzes, interprets, and presents it, approaching it psychologically while documenting it bibliographically.
The work is multifacetedly significant and enlightening, where the exhaustive presentation of the subject combines with scientific methodology.
