THE GENESIS and DEMISE OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION

About the Book

List of subjects which Rubin addressed. Major Works in Book Form The Frescoes in the Palace of Knossos The Development of Scholarship on The Minoan Religion from Sir Arthur Evans To the Present Philo was he a Greek Philosopher or a Jewish cleric. The above are in hard book cover print form. If satisfied with the first book published I will consider publishing the above. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Minoan Burial Customs Minoan Domestic and Palatial Architecture Circular Tombs in the Mesara The First Palaces in the Aegean Places of worship in the Minoan Civilization The Rise and Fall of the Minoan Palaces Aegean Bronze Age architecture Religion through architecture

About the Author

MONTREAL – For David Rubin, retirement has always been about one thing – taking care of unfinished business. At 89, the Hampstead resident celebrated the bar mitzvah he never had as a teenager growing up in a cold-water flat on what is now de Bullion St. Now 93, Rubin proudly shows off his latest achievement – a 60,000-word Ph.D.-style thesis titled The Genesis and Demise of the Minoan Civilization. It sounds like an obscure topic for a man who spent his working life making buttons, then belts at a time when the city’s clothing trade was thriving. It’s that same relentless commitment to quality that made him a successful manufacturer, combined with an inquisitive nature and love of art, that set him on the road to inquire into the Minoan puzzle. In the early 1990s, Rubin and his wife, Frances, twice visited the island of Crete. That is where this Mediterranean civilization, with its still-undeciphered Linear A and decoded Linear B languages, thrived from 2600 to 1100 BCE. His fascination began when he was introduced to Minoan art and culture as part of his studies at Concordia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1986. He went on to write two theses as part of the Master’s program he completed at Concordia in 1993, one of which focused on the Frescoes in the Palace of Minos at Knossos in Crete. Over the years Rubin developed a relationship with Philip Betancourt, noted art history and archaeology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, who after reading the manuscript sent a congratulatory message with a few editing suggestions. Rubin, however, figures he’ll put his energy elsewhere, including twice-weekly therapy sessions at the YMHA swimming pool to recover his ability to get around without a walker. His mobility has been affected by the aggravation of an injury suffered after a fall while with the Canadian Army in the Second World War. “I think I’ll return to my painting and plate-making in the kiln in the beautiful studio I have in the basement,” he mused. “I think it’s time to forget about schooling.”