Knossos Palace Crete

Knossos is the largest and most famous Minoan era palace in history, located in Kefala surrounded by the Kairatos river on a hill about six kilometers from Heraklio, the capital of the beautiful Crete island.

The reason for the position is presumed to have been chosen as it is very close to Mount Ida where mythology tells that in this sacred place Zeus was hidden by his mother Hera to avoid being eaten by his father Cronus, for its scenic beauty and also for its perfect natural defensive advantage as well as for the water sources that fed the fertile forest and last but not least the access to the sea.

Knossos was the economic, political and religious center of the Minoan Empire with two ports that of Iraklion and those of Amnios both reachable through the Kairatos river (today it is called Katsaba). Without any kind of external fortification, it is assumed that the Minoans at the time either had no rivals or because it was only used as a sacred place for ceremonies.

From the findings, the Palace of Knossos is already present in the Neolithic period but had its sparkling growth towards 2000 BC in the midst of the famous and important Minoan civilization. In this period the trade with the Egyptians became particularly flourishing so much so that even the culture was influenced and this is demonstrated by the finds of the beautiful frescoes painted with Egyptian techniques. In 1628 BC the tremendous earthquake of the island of Santorini swept the island of Crete completely destroying even Knossos. Between 1700 and 1400 BC the palace was rebuilt even more imposing and sumptuous but always without any kind of defensive walls. In 1450 BC the Mycenaeans occupied Crete, devastating the area and then arriving in the mid-14th century BC when it was completely abandoned because it was devoured by fire.

It was formed by about 20 thousand square meters in the architectural style of 1700 BC. A square plan with four wings with a rectangular courtyard in the middle and a labyrinthine shape oriented from north to south, it had five floors of rustic ashlar, with frescoes representing cult ceremonies and naturalistic scenes. In the eastern part were the rooms of the king, queen and a temple. In the western part, warehouses with huge pithoi (container vessels), the throne room and areas with narrow streets as precession streets dedicated to cults with the rooms for parties on the upper floors. The most important area of the palace were the bathrooms of the queen's apartment with a state-of-the-art structure compared to the time of construction with sewer channels and hot water always available. The northern part instead housed the purifying basin and the theater completely made of stone. Also to the south, the most majestic building on the slope was the Propylon (propylaeus https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propileo) with two columns decorated with frescoes that opens into a secondary courtyard where at the end of a room he arrived at the representative apartment.

The discovery of the Palace of Knossos is due to Minos Kalokairinos an antiquarian who in 1878 found the site and brought to light the warehouses and a piece of the facade on the west side. After him others tried to continue the excavations like W.J. Stillman the American consul in Greece. H. Schliemann who had already contributed to the excavations in Mycenae, but all had to abandon the project as the owners of the land demanded large sums of money. In 1898 Crete became an independent state and Prince George issued a law that attributed all the antiquities of the island to the state and Sir Arthur Evans restarted the excavations which were completed in 1931 with an interruption in the period of the wars between 1912 and 1914.

If you have your own vehicle (the ideal solution so you will not be bound by timetables), just arrive in Heraklion and head south inland and at about 6 kilometers you will find the site of Knossos. If you are not autonomous from Herklion there are buses from the city center. Always remember to consult the timetable.

Some important finds from the Palace of Knossos can be found in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion such as the fresco of the Prince of Lilies one of the few representations of a male figure and the fresco of dolphins, as well as statuettes and other jewelry of the time.

A must in Crete is the Knossos Palace that must necessarily be included in the list of things to see in Crete, a very important piece of history and that will make you enter with your imagination in an era that has marked the world.

Knossos Palace

Open every day from 8.00am to 6.00pm

+30 2810231940

Price € 15 per person

Heraklio Archaeological Museum

Xanthoudidou & Hatzidaki str

Tel .: 2810279000

Full price € 12 - reduced € 6

Special ticket package (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and Knossos): Full price: € 20