History of Crete Venice, overthrew official Venetian authorities and declared an independent Cretan Republic. The revolt took Venice five years to quell. During Venetian rule, the Greek population of Crete was exposed to Renaissance culture. A thriving literature in the Cretan dialect of Greek developed on the island. The best-known work from this period is the poem "Erotokritos" by Vitsentzos Kornaros (Βιτσένζος Κορνάρος). Another major Cretan literary figure was Nicholas Kalliakis (1645–1707), a Greek scholar and philosopher who flourished in Italy in the 17th Century. Georgios Hortatzis was author of the dramatic work "Erophile". The painter Domenicos Theotocopoulos, better known as El Greco,
Polos Painter Polos Painter The Polos Painter was a vase painter of the Attic black-figure style. His works date to c. 575 to 565 BC. The Polos Painter is considered to have a distinctive personal style, while only being of mediocre artistic talent. Stylistically, he resembles the earlier Ragusa Group, which was strongly influenced by Corinthian vase painting. He was very productive. Most of his vases were decorated with “degenerate animal friezes” (John Boardman). His conventional name is based on the cross-hatched "polos" crowns worn by the women, animals and sirens he painted. More than 100 known vases and fragments are ascribed