Knossos

The bronze age palace at Knosós is the largest and most important site on the island of Crete. In this place you can find many pictures from Knossos. My friends visited Knossos in 2007. This is attractive place for lots of tourists today. They are going to visit this place again.

Crete is the most southerly of the large islands of Europe. It provides a protective border of the Aegean sea and a long, thin, land link between the southern peninsulas of the Greek mainland and south-west Asia Minor. Further West lie Cyprus and Syria and to the South, Africa across the Libyan Sea. Crete is a home of the first civilisation in Europe - called Minoan by Sir Arthur Evans. Central place of this civilization was Knossos.
The island offered fertile lands well suited for the growth of grape and olive crops and Crete developed into a land of wine and olive oil. The Minoan citizens of Knossos enjoyed opulent lifestyles while Crete became a commercial center and obtained a level of an economic golden age.

According to the Greeks, Mount Ida which is on Crete was the location where Rhea, the Earth Mother, gave birth to Zeus. He was fed by nature a diet of honey and goat’s milk, was tended by a group of nymphs, and was guarded by an army of youths against his father, Cronis, whose reign was threatened by Zeus’ existence. Zeus fathered a son, Minos, who became the King of Crete. King Minos built his palace in the city of Knossos, and had a son, Androgeus. Androgeus, according to the myth, was a strong youth. He was sent to represent Crete in the Athenian games and was successful in winning many events. The King of Athens murdered Androgeus out of jealousy. When Minos heard about the death of his son, he was enraged and he deployed the mighty Cretan fleet.

The fleet took Athens and instead of destroying the city, Minos decreed that every 9 years Athens was obligated to send 7 young men and 7 virgin women. King Minos threw them into a labyrinth where they were sacrificed to his monster, the Minotaur. Theseus, the Athenian King’s son, volunteered to be one of the seven sacrificial young men with the intention of killing the Minotaur and end the suffering of Athens. If he succeeded in his mission, he told his father that he would raise white sails instead of the black sails.

Theseus arrived at the palace of the Cretan King, and with the help of Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, who fell in love with Theseus, he was able to kill the Minotaur. In returning home, Theseus, forgot to change the sails on the ship from black to white. The King of Athens saw the black sails. Thinking that his son’s plan failed and that Theseus was dead, the king made a suicide.

Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered Troy, was fully intending to excavate Knossos until his death. Arthur Evans, succeeded in revealing the Minoan culture on Crete with the assistance of Duncan McKenzie, an experienced excavator. When Evans began digging in 1900, the remains of the walls lay close to the surface. After a few weeks, Evans discovered the remains of buildings.
The remains of the palace itself covered five acres. The palace was originally built in 1900 BC. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1700 BC after a strong earthquake and again rebuilt and modified in 1500 BC after a devastating fire. At its most modern, the palace provided drainage sumps, luxurious bathrooms, ground-water conduits and waste chutes.

Evans unearthed other wonders of Knossos as well. Thousands of artifacts found helped identify the various rooms and their functions. Kitchens, residences, storerooms, bathrooms, workshops, and ceremonial rooms were discovered. The artifacts included pottery, stone and metal work and other lovely, colorful works of art, revealing the level of artistry the Minoan people possessed.In one of the old storerooms that Evans discovered in the palace at Knossos, stood rows of huge, vase-like jars that once contained oil. The oil vessels were ornamented in rich, elegant detail. Some pottery had a foreign origin, particularly Egyptian.

Evans also found stone and metal artifacts. Some of his findings predated the earliest period of Minoan history, dating back to Neolithic times. Originally Evans believed the artifacts were ten thousand years old, but later experts dated these stone artifacts to be five thousand years old. Other works of art recovered from Knossos included terra cotta figurines of goddesses. Evans uncovered two large faience figurines. Both statues were wearing the typical Minoan court costume consisting of a wide skirt with a tight, stiff bodice collar and exposed breasts. Evans identified the larger statue as a snake goddess or a mother goddess. The smaller one is generally accepted as her daughter or a priestess.

Many mysteries surround Knossos. How much of the ancient myths are true? Evidence indicated that the legends have a thread of truth. The palace had a courtyard designed like a labyrinth. The bull dancing indicated by the art works could possibly be youths sacrificed to a bull. Experts suggest that Theseus represented an army that conquered Crete.

Knossos harbored another mystery. How was the civilization destroyed? The destruction is apparent but its cause is not. Evans believed that Knossos was destroyed by a powerful seismic event. However, most experts have since decided that Crete was invaded and destroyed. The debate continued as to which group of people was responsible for the massive destruction. Many experts believe that is was either the Dorians, the Achaens, or the Mycenaeans.
The site of Knossos offered valuable information in understanding Europe’s earliest civilization. The answers must be found by a closer examination of the site of Knossos. Otherwise, they are doomed to remain a mystery.