Malta in the eyes of a Greek

Hellenic Travels to the Past, edited by George Manetakis, is a collection of tales f'rom one Antipodean’s experiences to magical locations from across the Eurasian continent'. This post describes a visit to Malta on the way from Sydney to London:

Flying in to Malta I was excited. I had always wanted to be met at an airport by someone holding a placard (sign) with my name on it. The Maltese Tourism Authority (MTA) had kindly arranged for a driver to meet me at the airport with a sign displaying my name. However, unseasonable rain and a car accident ensured that the driver was unable to show.

As a person who clings to omens like a Roman to his Toga, I wondered what this would mean for my Malta trip. Rain, no signs or placards and a delayed flight into Malta – would I struggle to find signs of Malta’s Byzantine (Medieval Greek) past. I had given myself 2 days to find evidence of Malta’s Byzantine history. And the signs weren’t looking good!

Malta is undoubtedly a jewel in the Mediterranean. Reminiscent of a Medieval Greek island (i.e. Rhodes) combined with modern comforts, this emerging EU member is a traveller’s delight. It is also a unique melting pot of influences from some of histories greatest civilizations – the Phoenicians, Carthaginian, Romans, Arabs, Normans, the Knights of St John, Spanish, British and of course the Byzantines. Interestingly, the Knights of St John also ruled the Greek island of Rhodes for a significant number of years.

Before I get to the Medieval Greek empire of Byzantium and its presence in Malta I should alert the reader to a remarkable aspect of Malta. It is home to a number of megalithic temples. These temples are older than the Pyramids, dating back to 4000 BC. This makes Malta home to the oldest freestanding buildings in Europe. I also heard a rumour from the locals that Malta could have been the home to the supposed ‘mythical’ kingdom of Atlantis – which in my opinion was in Santorini, but that’s a story for another day.

When you consider the ancient Greeks established numerous towns and villages in Sicily it is surprising that Malta, the immediate neighbour, was largely ignored. In fact there are no signs of the ancient Greeks making attempts at colonisation. Instead the Greeks of Sicily passed on the secrets of making olives, oil, cloth and honey which in Greek means ‘meli’ and may actually be the origin of Malta’s name (Melita). It was not until several centuries later that the Byzantines under the Thracian general Belisarius established a permanent presence in Malta. It is generally agreed by historians that Belisarius’ forces occupied Malta in 535AD about the same time northern Africa was reclaimed for the Empire. However, there are dispatches from Greek historian Precopius that could place the Byzantine fleet in Malta in 533AD..

..The fall of Malta had a profound impact on Byzantium’s Mediterranean territories – by 902 AD all of Sicily was occupied by Arabs, as well as Sardinia and Corsica around the same time and by the late twelfth century Byzantine Italy was occupied by either Arabs or other foreign conquerors.

Considering the proximity of Malta to the Greek speaking Sicily, one wonders why the Greek language was not the main tongue of the locals. The Byzantines maintained rather small garrisons and whilst many of the clergy were Greek speakers there was never really a substantial Greek presence on the island. Although when the island fell in 870 AD, many of the locals fled to Greek speaking territories of the Byzantine Empire...