The Minoan Palace of Knossos

[Gwen Parker]

The following thread will examine the Minoan Palace of Knossos, discovered by Sir Arthur Evans on the eve of the year 1900.

First, I would like to show an artist's depiction of what this palace must have looked like, in all it's original glory:

[Gwen Parker]

The Birth Place of Greece...

On the eve of the year 1900, Sir Authur Evans, discovered the Minoan Palace Knossos and what was to become the Minoan civilization. Settled upon the isle of Crete, and named after the mythical Cretan King Minos, Evans not only discovered an influential civilization with extensive trade routes covering such vast territories as Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Afghanistan,and Scandinavia, but the birthplace of ancient Greece as well.


The Palace of Knossos



(The Palace of Knossos)
 
The palace of Knossos and the Minoan Civilization thrived in the Bronze age (in roughly 3,000 BC) within the Aegean. The product of early Phoenician settlement upon Crete, the Minoans hosted three great palaces known as Knossos, Kato Sakro (also known as Phaestos), and Mallia. Of the three great palaces, none surpasses the exquisite palace of Knossos.


 
(Large pots such as these found at Knossos, were part of a large storeroom. Evans measured the capacity of each, and found in total the storeroom could hold roughly 19,000 gallons of material.)
The palace of Knossos was a multi-storied building, spanning five and a half acres of land, and housed not only the King of the Minoan State, but also his advisors, his trade goods, and several craftspeople. In addition, the palace held within its walls a central court yard, numerous rooms and corridors, a throne room, large baths, a large courtyard, enormous storerooms, some craft workshops, the administrative chambers, and an intricate plumbing system. The palace itself, however, was not indestructible to the ravages of time or change. Renovated, one renovation atop of the other, the palace changed as the administrative center of Minoan civilization grew, but, it was always built according to a plan. Outside of the palace of Knossos were many houses, a smaller palace, and some craft workshops. Important to the status and power of the Minoan state were the palace's trade routes, via the extensive stream systems of Crete, the intricate roads, and most importantly the naval strength of the Minoan civilization itself. Where the Egyptians feared the treacherous seas of the Aegean and Mediterranean, the Minoans dwelt in power, so much so that the city of Knossos did not build city walls for protection. The trade routes from Knossos established communications and goods from such diverse areas as Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Scandinavia. Goods traded with Knossos were copper, ivory, amethyst, lapis-lazuli, carnelian, gold, amber, and other important commodities.

 

(Fresco of three Minoan Women.)
 
The palace of Knossos was only destroyed twice in it’s history, once from fire (roughly in 1700 BC) and a wall collapse, the second and later destruction from a major earthquake which ravaged Crete. The later earthquake not only brought destruction to both Knossos, but to Kato Sakro and Mallia as well. These events, however, were not to end Minoan civilization. Not until 1450 BC was the end of Minoan Civilization realized. The final collapse of the Minoan state remains a half-solved mystery. Two factors are thought to have contributed to the end of the Minoan: the possible eruption of the volcano Thera and the rise of the Mycenean civilization upon Crete.

[Gwen Parker]

The Myth of Knossos and King Minos


 
(The Throne of King Minos)
 
Greek mythology immortalized Crete and Knossos with its legends. 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 Knossos, Crete, and the rest of the Aegean.

King Minos' son, Androgeus, according to the myth, was a strong, athletic 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 deployed the mighty Cretan fleet. The fleet took Athens and, instead of destroying the city, Minos decreed that every nine years Athens was obligated to send seven young men and seven virgin women. King Minos threw them into a labyrinth where they were sacrificed to 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 ending 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 on his ship. 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, in his excitement, 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 flung himself into the sea and died.

[Gwen Parker]

The remains of the Minoan Civilization

What remains of Minoan culture, is a half understood mystery. The language of the Minoans, known as 'Linear A', has never been deciphered. The lack of a decipherable language has made attempts at a definite description of Minoan life and culture nearly impossible. However, what archeologists have learned about Minoan life comes from the exceptional art, architecture, and tool artifacts of the Minoans.


(Minoan Prince)


Minoan life was ruled by a King and nobles who governed all aspects of Minoan life, including trade, art, and religion. The government of the Minoan was theocratic, and the religion of Minoan was matriarchal and centered around the worship of several goddess and high priestesses. Accordingly the Minoans took part in many ritual acts, including "bull leaping". Bull leaping involved mid-air leaping, onto the back of a charging bull.

Stratification in Minoan Culture consisted mostly between Nobel, Citizen, and Slave. However, the stratification of the Minoan appears to have been minimal. Slaves were said to have been treated fairly by their masters and in the religious spectrum the only act slaves could not partake in was bull leaping. Additionally, there were no acts which were restricted from women (that we know of). As seen on many of the beautiful fresco's often times the women worked along side the men. Similarly, archeologists surmise that due to a lack of elaborate burials, (like those seen in Ancient Egypt) the king and nobles were not kept in the highly structured position often kept by state civilizations of its type.



(Bull Leaping Fresco)


http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/pre-greece/minoan/minoan.html

[Gwen Parker]

The Minoan Palace of Knossos



The famous Minoan Palace of Knossos is located about 5-6 km south of the city of Iraklion. Knossos was the most impressive and luxurious building that someone could see all over Europe during Bronze Age (2800-1100 BC).
The excavations were conducted at first by Minos Kalokairinos and then by the Englishman Sir Arthur Evans. The Palace was built twice, every time even more beautiful. It covered an area of 22,000 sq.m. About 1400 rooms could be seen in the original palace and 300 people lived in them (the Royal family of Knossos and their servants). The king was called Minos, son of Zeus.
On the island of Crete there are 4 Minoan Palaces but the Palace of Knossos is the greatest of all. All palaces have common characteristics in their courtyards, temples and storerooms. In Knossos one can see 2 big paved courtyards, many storerooms, temples, private rooms and a theater. Some parts of the Palace were 4-5 floors high. Staircases with shallow alabaster steps led on the upper or underground floors.

[Gwen Parker]

The visitors can see openings (windows, doors, light-wells) all over the Palace. Minoans loved nature and lovely frescoes decorate the walls of the Palace. Their themes were taken from the everyday life or from nature itself.
It is said that no visitor could enter the Palace without someone to guide him around. The reason is that no one could find his way around the famous "labyrinth".This name comes from the word "Lavrys" which means "double axe". Axes were used a lot in everyday life and many of them were found in the palace or even inscribed on the walls of Knossos. So, Labyrinth means the "House of the double axes", or the Palace itself.

[Gwen Parker]

It is really exciting to pay a visit to the Minoan Palace of Knossos and admire the King's and the Queen's apartments with the lovely decoration of blue dolphins. You may also see the oldest throne in Europe: the alabaster-made throne of King Minos in the throne room.



(the entrance to the Throne room in Knossos)

[Gwen Parker]

Bull's Horns, a sacred Minoan symbol

[Gwen Parker]

Huge Minoan vases used for storage of solid or liguid food: "Pythoi"



Alabaster is a common material at Knossos

[Gwen Parker]

http://www.explorecrete.com/archaeology/knossos.html

[Gwen Parker]

Knossos

The Minoan Palace of Knossos lies at a distance of 5 km from the town centre of Iraklion along the road to Archanes.   
 Knossos South Propylaea Throne Room North Entrance with Bull Frescoe West court yard magazines Queens Megaron Dolphin Frescoe detail Ptince with lillies To lustral basin Stairs to lustral basin Detail from a frescoe Great pithoi East Wing Water ducts 
The Palace of King Minos



The imposing Palace is built on the hill of "Kefala" next to the river "Kairatos", in a site which was admired for its natural advantages, the strong position, good water supplies, access to the sea and proximity to a large fertile forest. The forest that produced the "Cephalonian Pine" a tree that supplied the beams and the columns for the construction of the Palace.

The site itself includes the Palace of Knossos, The Minoan Houses, the "Little Palace", the "Royal Villa", the villa "Dionysos" with famous Roman mosaics, the south Royal Temple - Tomb and the "Caravanserai".

The Palace and the Minoan houses are open for visits to the public. It is well known that the area lies on a great seismic site. The Palace had been destroyed time after time and always emerged from its ruins more magnificent than before until the last time that there was no recovery.

Excavations showed that the area was inhabited since the Neolithic times (6000 BC and perhaps even earlier) and verified that the Neolithic levels of Knossos are amongst the deepest in Europe.

An important Pre Palace already existed on this Neolithic site as far as 3000 BC. while the first Palace was built around 2000 BC and destroyed 300 years later.

On the same site a new Palace was built, more elaborate than the previous, only to be severely damaged from an earthquake one hundred years latter.

During this period we see the development of a series of satellite buildings like the "Little Palace", the "Royal Villa" and the "South House". Knossos has now developed into a large city whose population - judged by the adjacent cemeteries - must have not been less than 100 000 inhabitants.

The Palace now lives and prospers until the next disaster of around 1450 BC connected to the volcanic eruption of Santorini. Following this event, it is restored once more and used by the Achaean sovereign until at least 1380 BC although other city states in Crete had already been destroyed.

After its final destruction the palace was not used again except for the "temple of Rhea" in later historical times.

Knossos survived through the historical times as a great city - state until the first Byzantine times. Its final decline came during the Middle Ages where it was diminished to an unimportant small village with the name "Makrys Toihos".

Its central court divides the Palace of Knossos into two wings, the West and the East. The West wing where the visitor enters today is where the religious and official staterooms are found while domestic rooms and workshops occupy the East wing.

To visit the palace today you can take a bus (KNOSSOS) from Iraklion main bus station by the port. This bus also stops at Lion's Square.

If you intend to use a tripod with your photographic camera you must obtain a licence from the authority found at the building of the Iraklion Museum. It is valid for 14 days and for more than one archaeological sites.

A visit to Knossos must be completed with a visit to the Iraklion Archaeological Museum where all the items found on the site are on display.

http://www.dilos.com/location/13370

[rockessence]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://witcombe.sbc.edu/snakegoddess/images/minoansnakegoddess2a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://witcombe.sbc.edu/snakegoddess/&h=432&w=263&sz=16&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=ibvH6YwrES3QVM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=77&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMinoan%2Bsnake%2Bgoddess%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

[Boreas]

I just found there are three similar figurines known, showing two different royal women ("godesses"). The snake-woman shows that she is the one participating in both the male and the female "string-of-pearls", i.e. serpents. As she get to digest both the male nectar as well as the female elixir she would be the mother of the royal family - eventually known as "Al Matar" - as in "mother-of-(us)-all". 






Her husbands oldest sister would be the head of the collection of the female elixir - and as such the most important woman in the kingdom - of her brother. The self-stimulation of her breasts relates to her production of the life-water, from which they filled an amphora - to strengthen and support the health and spirit of the queen - as she became pregnant with the next royal generation of princes and princesses.


Besides - I couldn't help noticing their tools of collecting their juicyfruits - in the sacred rituals and processions where the noblewomen arrived from the various districts...!




Individual collection



Processional collection

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/pre-greece/minoan/minoan.html

[Gwen Parker]

I'd like to share some of pix from my own collection on Crete!

[Gwen Parker]