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,
Ned Painter Ned Painter Edward Painter (1784 – 18 September 1852), better known as Ned Painter, was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. He was born in Stretford, then in Lancashire, and was possibly the son of John and Mary Painter baptised at St Mary's Church Stretford on 15 February 1784. Painter is known to have served time in King's Bench Prison. His first fight was against the Irish boxer J. Coyne, who stood tall and weighed ; Painter was a stone lighter and 5 ft in (1.77 m). The contest took place at St Nicholas near Margate on 23 August 1813, and