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by CreteLocals
Knossos Palace (also Cnossus) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, located 5 km south of Heraklion (open daily from 8:00 to 19:00). Nowadays, Knossos is known worldwide as the place where Sir Arthur John Evans, a British archaeologist, found evidence of the existence of ancient civilizations of Crete. Evans was the one who gave them the name of Minoans, after their best-known king Minos. In Greek mythology, Minos was a King of Crete, the son of Zeus and Europa. Evans’ team began archaeological excavations in 1900, after the British nobleman bought the land, financing the program with his own funds. Shortly after the work started, he found the first traces of the Bronze Age palace, full of valuables.
The Knossos Palace today is one of the most important attractions in Crete. Although no written sources have been found, most Cretans believe that Knossos was the place where the famous battle between Theseus and the Minotaur took place in the labyrinth under the palace of King Minos.
The first Knossos Palace was built around 2000 BC. in the protopalatial era but was destroyed by a strong earthquake 300 years later. The relics you see today belong to the second palace, built after the disaster. Its construction coincides with the golden age of the Minoan civilization (the neo-palatial era, which began in 1700 BC). When the inhabitants became wealthy due to the flourishing trade, art was at its peak. The palace expanded continuously in the following years, resulting in a multi-storey complex with 1,200 small rooms and an area of 20,000 m2. This period of maximum development ended in 1450 BC, and a large fire caused significant damage around 1350 BC. The palace was completely destroyed, but the city around it continued to be inhabited until the 5th century BC.
The Knossos Palace was built around a large central courtyard, probably used for public gatherings and which is now the focal point of the archaeological site. Imagine the Minoans carrying out various activities here, as depicted on ceramic objects and frescoes on display in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion – acrobats, dancers and bullfighters. Visitors enter through what is left of the Western Court, used as a gateway to the Western Wings, where administrative and religious activities took place. The Minonians marched in procession through the palace’s corridors, with frescoed walls, to reach the propylaia (sacred entrance). A staircase then led them to the essential official rooms, with painted columns, just like those found everywhere in the palace.
The lower floors housed the throne room, with frescoes with gryphons and a lustral pool for purification rituals. In front of which were stone chairs believed to be the king’s advisers, and the walls were decorated with red plaster ornaments and pedestals. In the northeast corner was the crypt, where treasures were discovered during excavations.
The staircase next to the throne room led to what Evans called the piano nobile – a rebuilt upper floor of the west wing. Next to the stairs is the Tripartite Altar, where were discovered the inscribed tablets, now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.
Excursion to the Knossos Palace is perhaps on the top of the offer lists of both reputable tour operators and street travel agents. You can see offers to visit Heraklion and Knossos everywhere. The guided excursion also can be found on the spot, at the entrance to the palace.
A visit to the Palace of Knossos is possible regardless of the season. The palace is year-round open with the difference only in the schedule:
You can find the up-to-date information here.
The construction methods used in the Palace of Knossos were complicated, with illuminators cut in stone to bring sunlight into the rooms on the lower floors, with huge supporting pillars and massive wooden doors that delimited the spaces in the palaces. Cypress or juniper trunks were used for the walls as a damping device in the event of an earthquake. Many living rooms were in the basement, for increased comfort in those high temperatures, with tall windows, for ventilation.
On the east side of the courtyard, another staircase leads to the royal bedrooms or Megara, where some of the best-preserved rooms were discovered. The plaster staircase is a fantastic construction and one of the masterpieces of Minoan architecture. Notice the ingenious way the lower floors were lit with the help of wall-cut illuminators (there were four). The king’s chamber has a simple wooden throne. However, the antechamber’s walls are decorated with significant symbols of the mythology that surrounded Knossos, such as the double-edged axe or labrys. The room is also called the Double Edge Axe Room. Its architecture is typical of the neo-palatial period, with polythyra supporting the roof. It is believed that the large wooden doors were framed by pillars that could be separated to create a stoa (open arch), if the king wanted it. The Queen’s room has a beautiful fresco with dolphins on a wall. On the far side of the hall are the remains of the royal road leading to the coast, which is still in exceptional condition.
Evans made many remarkable discoveries in this area because the place was completely covered by the disaster of 1350 BC. and left untouched. Ceramic objects carefully painted with marine animals, bronze figurines and exceptional jewellery – many discovered in the tombs carved in the rock, dating from the post-palace era. However, the objects used by the locals every day are the ones that made Knossos Palace a fascinating place. It was discovered that the settlements had sanitary, water and heating systems, which proves how advanced they were.
For the Minoan civilization, the bull was the symbol of masculinity and all-natural forces. The walls of the Knossos Palace were covered with paintings and sculptures depicting massive horns. In the yard, the young people participated in sports games during which they had to grab the bull by the horns and jump over the animal. Every year a bull was sacrificed whose neck was cut, and blood was collected. Through this ritual, the Minoan society and the divine powers of the animal were united with the cycles of nature. The Mother Goddess was represented by a female deity who held snakes in her hand and had bare breasts, a sign of fertility. The serpent was a symbol of reincarnation and healing. The sacred pillar represented the goddess, while the double-edged axe represented the king-priest’s dual power – religious and political.
