The Palace of Knossos has four significant firsts: the oldest
European throne, the first paved road in Europe, coloured frescoes 3000 years
before the technique was rediscovered in the Renaissance and used to paint the
Sistine chapel, and Europe’s first toilet.
Located on the North coast, about 5km from the town of
Heraklion, most of what can be seen today is part of the second palace that was
built on the site. Both were destroyed
by earthquakes, but it was quickly rebuilt after the destruction of the first in
around 1700 BC. Further excavations of
the first palace aren’t currently possible because of the damage it would cause
to the later palace.
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King Minos' throne on the right, surrounded by
griffons |
The oldest throne in
Europe is a little underwhelming now that modern comparison is to the Iron
Throne.
Back in 1450-1400 BC, when the
throne was likely built, the average height of a woman was 150cm and a man was
160cm.
The throne is on the North wall
and is surrounded by griffons, with the head of an eagle, body of a lion and tail
of a snake.
The actual use of the room
is unclear, but the bowl in the middle was probably for purification before
talking with the King.
Beyond the myth
Myth: King Minos is one of three
sons of Zeus and Europa who ruled over Crete.
Each had a palace of their own, and Minos ruled in the palace of
Knossos, the larger of the four palaces on the Island. It’s unclear who ruled the fourth
palace.
Reality: The term “King Minos”
was actually a title, much like “Pharaoh,” passing down the male line with each
son claiming the divine right of being the son of Zeus when he was crowned.
The first paved road
in Europe is still intact 4000 years later!
It isn’t level any more due to the earthquakes which shook Crete and
ultimately destroyed both palaces. The
courtyard at the end is likely to be a theatre where boxing matches happened in
front of crowds and the royal box.
Alternatively, it could have been an entrance square for tradespeople bringing
goods into the customs house of the palace.
Or, it could even have been both at different times of the year.
Beyond the myth
Myth: King Minos had Daedalus
build a labyrinth under the palace to contain his Minotaur son.
Reality: The complex is 22,000m2
and had over 1000 rooms split over five storeys. It would have been home to thousands of
people, with hundreds more living in the surrounding city and entering the
palace to work each day. It’s labyrinthine, but there’s no actual labyrinth
here.
The frescoes at
Knossos are one of its main attractions.
The West Entrance was plastered and covered in
a painting of 400 life-size figures partaking in everyday activities and
festivities.
The originals are in the Heraklion
Archaeological Museum, with replicas in the palace.
The colours are so vibrant because they were made
using dyes from plants, stone and blood painted onto wet plaster, sealing them
into the material as it dries.
This
technique was lost to Europeans for centuries until the Italian Renaissance and
Michelangelo used it to paint the Sistine Chapel.
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Bull-leaping, a traditional, but dangerous, sport at the time
The man in the middle is red and the two women either side of the
bull are painted white |
At the time of the first palace, in 4000 BC, Crete had a
sub-tropical climate and was home to monkeys, which is why there are frescoes
of the animals. In all the paintings, the
primates are painted blue, men are red, and women are white.
Scenes of war and weapons are noticeably absent from the frescoes. Similarly, the palace didn’t have any city
walls. The kings didn’t fear a
revolution from its people, who lived in the surrounding hills and would have
regularly come into the complex for work or trade. The threat to the nation would have come from
the sea, which was protected by the Minoan navy.
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Paving from the first palace in front of the West
Entrance. The white stone of the wall is from
the second palace, and the yellow stone is from
Evans' renovations.
|
The final impressive first is Europe’s first toilet, complete with a complex cleaning system
which flushed with water. Found in the
Queen’s Rooms, it’s unfortunately closed to visitors now due to the structural
weakness of the ceiling above. In fact,
Knossos had three drainage systems; one for rainwater, one for drinking water taken
from the nearby springs and one for sewage and dirty water. These were made of both stone gutters and
clay pipes. The queen also has a pot for
body lotion made of donkey milk and honey.
Beyond the myth
Myth: King Minos' wife had a son who had
the body of a human and the head of a bull.
He was imprisoned in the labyrinth under the palace.
Reality: Archaeologists have
uncovered a sequence of rooms next to the Queen’s rooms which don’t have any
windows or doors to the outside. It’s possible
that the King had a child who was disabled or for hidden away for some
reason. The secrets that the palace held
probably led rise to the myth.
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Dolphin frescoes in the Queen's rooms.
The bowl was for the Queen's body lotion |
It wasn’t just the water systems which were technologically
advanced for the time, Knossos architects also had a way to provide air
conditioning to a room.
Even small rooms
have 7-9 doors and windows to circulate the air, causing them to be significantly
cooler than outside.
In cooler times of
the year, the doors can be shut to increase the temperature.
When visitors see the palace now, it is with the additions
made by English archaeologist Arthur Evans, who came to the palace in 1900,
just two years after the Cretan revolution had repelled the Ottoman Empire. Evans controversially used concrete in the
renovations. At the time, this was a
revolutionary material that had only just been invented in France. Another reason for its use? The trees in 1900 simply weren’t big enough
anymore. Each column would have
originally been made from a single tree, stood upside down so that the thicker
end was at the ceiling. Wood was used by
the Minoans because of its elasticity and resistance against earthquakes. Concrete provides a similar protection from seismic
activity.
Beyond the myth
Myth: The minotaur lived on the
sacrifice that Athens made of 7 boys and 7 girls each year.
Reality: It’s likely that Athens
did send the children to be sacrificed in the kingdom. The West Entrance to the palace was the
religious/ceremonial entrance and it’s paving with two altars and triangular
markings show that sacrifices and religious offerings were likely to take place
here. The bones of animals have been
found on the altars.
The destruction of the second palace is shrouded in
mystery.
Historians are now certain that
an earthquake destroyed the complex, but there haven’t been any skeletons found
in the ruins, meaning that people must have been warned of the event in time
enough to escape.
However, they left in
such a hurry that they left all their personal belongings and even left the oil
lamps burning.
When they fell in the earthquake,
fire spread throughout the buildings but particularly in the 18 storerooms which
contained cereals, wine and olive oil which fuelled the fire.
The blackened scars of this can still be seen
on the stone and marble walls and pillars.
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Bull fresco with Arthur Evans' reconstruction
of the structure and pillars |
If you are heading to Knossos, check out a private tour with Evangelos Alefantinos from
www.travel-crete.gr or on
GetYourGuide.
An hour from the airport city of
Heraklion, the Iberostar Creta Marine
(iberostar.com,
from €100/night)
is the all-inclusive hotel with a private beach that is ideally located to
explore Northern Crete. Bungalows are
broken up with winding paths, palm trees and gardens, giving the 4* hotel a
much smaller feel than it deserves for its three restaurants, four pools and
spa.
History and mythology are Crete’s eternal appeal, from when
amateur archaeologist Arthur Evans began excavating the Palace of Knossos to
today’s private guides (getyourguide.com,
cost €140
for two people). The Heraklion
Archaeology Museum (heraklionmuseum.gr,
entry €10)boasts
artefacts such as the Disc of Phaistos and the Harvester Vase, but I got a real
sense of the scale of the civilisation at the Palace of Knossos (odysseus.culture.gr,
entry €15),
5km south of Heraklion. With Europe’s
oldest throne, its first working toilet and colourful frescoes, I was astounded
by how advanced the Minoans were in 4000BC.
