Two performers approach the archaeological site of Gournia in Eastern Crete, shifting focus from the usual human-centered perspective to the diverse bio-communities that have inhabited the site over the centuries.

The emblematic settlement of Gournia was first excavated at the very beginning of the 20th century by the pioneer American archaeologist Harriet Boyd Hawes—when the then male-dominated field of Minoan studies was taking its first steps. New investigations have been carried out in the last couple of decades, adding to the richness of the finds and our understanding of the significance of Gournia. The site lies in the vicinity of Pacheia Ammos, a village with about 500 inhabitants who come into contact with hundreds of summer visitors to the Gulf of Mirabello, mainly on their way to the far eastern part of Crete. Large numbers of visiting archaeologists and students who work at INSTAP SCEC are also present in the area during the summer months.

Our performance sought to reintroduce Gournia to the locals and seasonal visitors: not through the previous human presence and actions, as is usually the case, but as the realm of other living beings too—in particular animals that dwelled there in the “longue durée” and/or that are inhabiting its domain today. In the months of preparation for the play, our team of archaeologists and artists first studied the archaeology of Gournia and its broader region and also the zooarchaeology of Minoan sites in East Crete together with the island’s recent biodiversity. Additionally, we looked into the behavioral features of certain animals. A script resulted, in active collaboration with zooarchaeologist Dimitra Mylona.

Our first rehearsals were generously hosted by the Cultural Center Vitsentzos Kornaros in Siteia in a mutual effort to mobilize and involve wider regional agencies. We then moved to Pacheia Ammos for the last leg of preparations, which coincided with an extreme heat wave, but fortunately we were well sheltered in the INSTAP SCEC.

Bestiario was performed in the courtyard of the central building on top of the Gournia hill on the evenings of August 1st and 2nd. An audience of some 150 people—including inhabitants from the region, archaeologists, and visitors—watched the hourlong play surrounded by the architectural remains. We used no artificial lighting, only the sun as it slowly set behind the Dicte Mountains.

During the course of the performance, two performers attempted a stream-of-consciousness, non-linear and, sometimes, dreamlike “journey” through different temporalities, following the trails of local animals—their species, attitudes, and lives. Starting with the deep past and pre- Holocene fossils of dwarf elephants and hippopotamuses, like those long known at the Katharo mountain plain in the (not so distant) domain of Lasithi. We continued with the abundant terrestrial and marine fauna of the Bronze Age preserved in excavation stratigraphies and represented in the art: from dogs and deer to octopuses and sea urchins; present-day species that roam freely when summer visitors are gone, like various insects, rodents, and reptiles; and even those that will “settle” in the place in the future—as conceived in a dystopian “reverie” of a (very possibly inundated) Mirabello region to come.

Speech and action and the whole dramaturgy were organized in collaboration with the composer Thanasis Deligiannis, whose musical material mainly drew from his earlier work Yriaeas (listen here) and functioned as an “environment” that could host the performative action on location and as a “sonic gate” between human perception and that of other beings. Through small “on-stage” experiments during the play, we tried to explore how this very music would have been heard by different animals, such as an eagle, a dog, or a mouse. We ponder thus, along with the audience, the countless ways in which our world is experienced by its various living creatures.

These viewpoints are in line with current theoretical (zoo-)archaeological discourse and the so-called multi-species archaeology. This contemporary approach goes beyond the anthropocentric lenses through which material past is constantly viewed, in scientific and artistic narratives and in public perception, and instead reflects on all life forms and their ways of coexisting.

After the performance, the audience remained at the powerful Minoan site of Gournia, discussing their experience and interacting with each other. This gathering confirmed in some way the site’s efficiency in hosting a group in lively exchange, and in so doing, also the importance of the settlement’s central court—the πλατεία (plateia, communal gathering place)—as a place where the group’s members would gather and reinforce their community ties.