Knossos Palace in Crete - a mystery of the Minoan civilization

Knossos Palace in Crete is considered the prototype of the mythical labyrinth of King Minos, where he hid the terrible Minotaur. When the legend about this monster was recorded, the building was long ago destroyed, and the Minoan civilization has already been forgotten. For this reason, the palace itself was regarded as something fictional, unrealistic. This continued until the moment when, in 1878, Minos Kalokerinos paid attention to the hill. During the excavations, the archaeologist discovered storage facilities that were part of the royal palace complex. At that time, Crete was occupied by the Turks, so the study of ancient civilizations was postponed until better times.

Knossos Palace in Crete was once again the center of attention in 1894, when Arthur Evans finds out about it. He bought land in the area of the alleged location of the building and in 1900 he began excavations. Such large-scale discoveries for a long time did not know mankind, literally every day archaeologists found something new. A lot of statues, frescoes, bronze vessels, playing boards, stone vases were raised from the ground. The answers to many questions were found, but there were also white spots in the history of the Minoan civilization. For example, until now researchers have not been able to decipher linear letters.

Evans decided not only to conduct large-scale excavations, but also partially restore the Knossos Palace in Crete. Photos of this building can now be seen on many postcards, in guidebooks. Although Evans was criticized by his contemporaries, it was thanks to his colossal work that we could look into the past and learn a little about the way of life and culture of the ancient people who lived in 1900 BC. E. What Evans restored, is already the second palace, built in 1450 BC. The first was destroyed by a strong earthquake.

It is very difficult to explore the culture of people who lived many millennia ago, but still the archaeologist succeeded. Knossos Palace in Crete was not only the home of the king, dignitaries and priests, he was also the administrative and economic center of the city of Knossos, which at that time was home to about 90,000 people. The palace was built 5 km from the modern capital of the island - Heraklion. Its dimensions were 180 x 130 m and accommodated about 1000 rooms, warehouses, sewerage system, courtyards and halls.

The Minoans did not adhere to symmetry, so the Knossos palace on Crete resembles a labyrinth, only one who knew his layout could get out of it. Especially it was easy to get lost in the utility rooms located on the lower floors. On walls very often there is an image of a double ax - labrys. Most likely, it was a sacred symbol of this people, therefore there is an opinion that the word "labyrinth" originated from Lydia Labrys, but these are only assumptions.

All those who wish to get acquainted with the ancient Minoan civilization and learn some of its secrets, understand the culture and traditions of this people should come to: Knossos Palace, Crete, Greece. This is the main attraction of the island, which makes an unforgettable impression on visitors. Archaeologists have solved many mysteries, but we can not say that everything is clear. Minoan civilization keeps many secrets, and whether we learn about them, only time will show.