Crete – Greek Diaspora Travel
What Is Knossos Known For?
What Is Knossos Known For?
Knossos is known for being Europe’s oldest city and is famous for the Minoan Palace of Knossos. The Palace of Knossos is located just five kilometers southeast of the island of Crete’s capital city – Heraklion. Built by the Minoans, the palace has revealed unique frescoes and artwork which has given historians an insight into Europe’s first civilization.
The Discovery of the Minoan Palace of Knossos
The archaeological site of Knossos was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos who was a Cretan Greek businessman and an amateur archaeologist. In 1900, the English archaeologist – Sir Arthur Evans led excavations in Knossos which continued for 35 years. Evans found that the Palace of Knossos was destroyed and rebuilt at least two times, with the first palace built around 1900 BC and the second palace built after 1700 BC.
Larger than two football fields, the size of the palace far exceeded original expectations. The discovery of the Palace of Knossos also uncovered the two oldest, ancient scripts in Greece – Linear A and Linear B. This is one of the most important linguistic discoveries in Greece, if not the most important.
Other findings during the excavations of Knossos include:
- Three separate water-management systems
- A water supply management system
- A water runoff drainage management system
- A waste water drainage management system
- Minoan columns
- Differing from the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian style Greek columns – these columns were smaller at the bottom and wider at the top
- The columns were also painted red and mounted on stone bases with round capitals
- Pottery
- Frescoes
- The bull-leaping fresco is the most famous of these and the most completely restored, giving us an insight into the ancient ritual
- The griffin fresco depicting an important mythological creature
- The dolphin fresco
- The throne room
Knossos in Mythology and History
Many Greeks of the diaspora will be familiar with the legendary myth of King Minos. The kind hired Daedalus, a famed Athenian architect, and his son Icarus to build a palace with an elaborate labyrinth (maze) inside. The labyrinth was designed to contain the Minotaur – a mythological creature half bull and half man. Daedalus and Icarus built such an intricate labyrinth that no man could find his way out. Every nine years, King Minos would make King Aegeus of Athens pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Knossos, to be eaten by the Minotaur.
Theseus, King Aegeus’ son, volunteered to go to Knossos to slay the Minotaur and save the future youths of Athens. He promised his father that if he was successful, he would raise a white sail on his journey back, but if he died, his crew would raise black sails. At Knossos, King Minos’ daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of thread, so that he could retrace his path out of the labyrinth. Theseus successfully killed the Minotaur and set sail back to Athens.
As the legend goes, after being overjoyed at his victory, Theseus forgot to raise a white sail. King Aegeus saw the black-sailed ship from his lookout on Cape Sounion and presumed his son was dead. Consumed by grief, Aegus committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea and that is how the Aegean Sea got its name.
For a long time, historians did not think Knossos was a real city and was only considered as a myth. Until off course, Sir Arthur Evans excavated the archaeological site of Knossos and upon uncovering labyrinth like architecture and the other aforementioned finds, he named the site – the Minoan Palace of Knossos.
Travelling to Knossos
If you’re planning a trip to Knossos, we highly recommend staying at the capital city of Crete – Herakleion. Depending where in Herakleion you stay, Knossos is about 4-5km away, which makes it very convenient to get to. The Line 2 bus will take you directly to Knossos, otherwise you can take a short 5 min taxi ride there. You could even walk there in approximately one hour if you’re a keen walker. Click here to find accommodation in Herakleion.
Off course there are also many guided tours of Knossos, we’ve included some for you below.
Knossos Opening Hours: 8am – 8pm in Summer and 8am – 5pm in Winter.
Knossos Admission Price: Approximately $25 per person.
Hot Tip: We recommend pre-purchasing your tickets online to skip the line. Book your e-ticket here.
Do you want to travel to Knossos? Book your trip to Crete now.