[Destro]

There is a lot of speculation that Columbus came from the island of Khios (or Chios) in Greece. The main point of this theory (http://www.grecoreport.com/christopher_columbus.htm) is that Columbus never said he was from Genoa but from the Republic of Genoa. The island of Khios was under the Genoese rule (1346 - 1566 AD), for the period of his life, and therefore it was part of the Republic of Genoa. There is a village named Pirgi in the island of Khios where to this day many of its inhabitants carry the surname "Colombus".

[Destro]

Discovery Channel: Columbus: Secrets From the Grave

airing repeat now - which I did not see.

[Destro]

bump

[Jaysun]

One aspect of Columbus and his journey to America is consistently left out. We're often told that Columbus decided to take the voyage in hopes of establishing trade routes. I don't know of any evidence that supports that notion, and Columbus himself wrote an entirely different reason in the only book that he ever wrote, "Libro de las Profecias" (or Book of Prophecies):

" At a very early age I began to sail upon the ocean. For more than forty years, I have sailed everywhere that people go. I prayed to the most merciful Lord about my heart's great desire, and He gave me the spirit and the intelligence for the task: seafaring, astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, skill in drafting spherical maps and placing correctly the cities, rivers, mountains and ports. I also studied cosmology, history, chronology and philosophy.

It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures, a strong and clear testimony from the 44 books of the Old Testament, from the four Gospels, and from the 23 Epistles of the blessed Apostles, encouraging me continually to press forward, and without ceasing for a moment they now encourage me to make haste.

Our Lord Jesus desired to perform a very obvious miracle in the voyage to the Indies, to comfort me and the whole people of God. I spent seven years in the royal court, discussing the matter with many persons of great reputation and wisdom in all the arts; and in the end they concluded that it was all foolishness, so they gave it up. But since things generally came to pass that were predicted by our Savior Jesus Christ, we should also believe that this particular prophecy will come to pass. In support of this, I office the gospel text, Matt. 24:35, in which Jesus said that all things would pass away, but not his marvelous Word. He also affirmed that it was necessary that all things be fulfilled that were prophesied by Himself and by the prophets...

For the execution of the journey to the Indies I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied. All this is what I desire to write down for you in this book...

I said that some of the prophecies remained yet to be fulfilled. These are great and wonderful things for the earth, and the signs are that the Lord is hastening the end. The fact that the gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time - this is what convinces me."

[eleni121]

Great find Destro!

Many Greeks came West after the downfall of the Byzantine Empire trippgering the Renaissance.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, I'd not seen that one. I've seen him claimed by Italy (Syracuse NY has a big huge monument to Columbus, erected by the Italian community there), and far and away the consensus is that he came from Genoa. But I've seen him claimed by several other Italian towns, by the Basques in Iberia, and by the Jews:

Columbus's Medinah?
Calgary Jewish Free Press

As we shall see in a moment, however, there has been some weighty scholarly debate over the possibility that Columbus, though undeniably a devout and zealous Catholic, might also have been the proud descendant of Spanish Jews. Ironically, this view has been championed by some patriotic Spaniards, who would rather have him a Spanish Jew than an Italian gentile.

The first time I saw this claim was in a semi-humorous book, "The Jewish Connection" but it appears also (via a quote of the above quoted page) on a site called "Jew Watch", and one can guess where its interests lie. :'D

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Christopher Columbus's Jewish roots by Jane Frances Amler 1991 find nearest library copy

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[Destro]

Was Columbus Greek?

[Destro]

Cross Refrence: Was Columbus from Chios, Greece?

[eleni121]

Columbus bump!!

[SunkenCiv]

Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[SunkenCiv]

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[stboz]

Greek....Italian....who worries? Either way, the food is great!