We walked to the nearby Eleftherias Square this morning and
boarded a local bus for the short journey to Knossos and Crete’s most famous
historical attraction, the Palace of Knossos. The site began with a neolithic
settlement in the 7th millennium BC and the palace was built by the
Minoans in about 1900 BC on the ruins of previous settlements. It was destroyed for the first time
about 1700 BC, probably by a large earthquake or foreign invaders. It was
immediately rebuilt to an even more elaborate complex and until its abandonment
was damaged several times during earthquakes, invasions, and in 1450 BC by the
colossal volcanic eruption of Thera, and the invasion of Mycenaeans who used it
as their capital as they ruled the island of Crete until 1375 BC. In contrast to most of the other archaeological
sites we have visited, Knossos has been partially restored (by British
archaeologist George Evans, who excavated the site in 1900) so it is possible
to get a good idea of the grandeur that would have been presented those three
or four thousand years ago.
It is a most
impressive palace, covering 20,000 square metres. According to Greek mythology, it was designed
by the famed architect Dedalos with such complexity that no one placed in it
could ever find its exit. King Minos, who commissioned the palace, then kept
the architect prisoner to ensure that he would not reveal the palace plan to
anyone. Dedalos, a great inventor, built two sets of wings so he and his son
Ikaros could fly off the island, and so they did. On their way out, Dedalos
warned his son not to fly too close to the sun because the wax that held the
wings together would melt. In a tragic turn of events, during their escape
Ikaros, young and impulsive as he was, flew higher and higher until the sun
rays dismantled his wings and the young boy fell to his death in the Aegean
sea. The Labyrinth, another feature of the palace, was the home of the Minotaur
- half man, half bull - who was imprisoned beneath the king’s chamber and idled
away his time by munching on youth and maidens, and many associate the palace
of Knossos with the legend of Theseus killing the Minotaur. From these examples it can be seen that the
Palace of Knossos figures prominently in Greek mythology.
We spent a couple of hours
wandering around, marvelling at the complexity of the whole structure and the
sympathetic way it has been restored – you can clearly see how parts of it
would have looked all those centuries ago, but you can also clearly see what is
restoration work and what is original. And
in the middle of the great throng of visitors, we spotted a lone archaeologist
patiently working on the floor of one of the lower sections. Some of the restored rooms have replicas of
the famous frescoes, with remnants of the originals now housed in the Heraklion
Archaeological Museum. So after lunch at
a nearby rooftop restaurant, that’s where we headed.
The Museum is absolutely
amazing; thousands upon thousands of relics from Neolithic through to Roman times.
The Minoan collection is breathtaking; the artefacts are beautifully displayed
and include pottery and metals, jewellery, coins, weapons, sarcophagi, mosaics,
sculptures and frescoes. We also saw the
original 4000-year-old Phaistos Disk (which we mentioned yesterday) and when
you look at it closely it is easy to understand why it has withstood
interpretation. This is undoubtedly the
most comprehensive and best-presented museum of antiquity that we have visited;
perhaps not the biggest, but certainly the best.
After an absorbing couple of
hours at the museum we wended our way home – another long but immensely
satisfying day.
Tomorrow: on the bus again
for the 90 minute (fingers crossed) journey to Agio Nikolas and the island of
Spinalonga.
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