Palace of Knossos

The Palace of Knossos stands on the Kephala hill about five kilometres south-east of Heraklion on the island of Crete. Settled from the Neolithic period, it became the major centre of Minoan civilisation, with the first palace built around 1900 BC and rebuilt after an earthquake around 1700 BC. The later palace remained in use until its destruction, usually dated to about 1375-1350 BC, after which the Mycenaeans influenced the site. In Greek myth, it was the home of King Minos, the Minotaur and Daedalus's Labyrinth.

The complex is organised around a large Central Court, with storerooms, workshops, royal apartments and ceremonial rooms arranged on several levels. Visitors walk through the West Court and the Corridor of the Procession, the Throne Room with its alabaster seat and griffin frescoes, the Grand Staircase and the Hall of the Double Axes, and the storerooms with their large pithoi, or storage jars. The Minoan columns, which taper toward the base and are painted dark red, stand out, as do the bull-themed frescoes and the North Entrance with its restored Bull relief. The famous Bull-Leaping Fresco and many finds are now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, while painted copies stand in situ.

Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist, excavated the site between 1900 and 1931 and carried out extensive reconstruction using reinforced concrete, with painted restorations of walls and columns based on fragments. His work made the palace legible and gave visitors a vivid sense of its design, but it remains controversial because some reconstructions are conjectural and conceal original surfaces. Conservation by the Greek Ministry of Culture and the British School at Athens continues to address the deterioration of concrete and exposed gypsum.

Interpretation is by signs in Greek and English, and most visitors combine the site with the museum for context. A visit takes about 1.5 to 2 hours, and the site has limited shade and large tour groups at mid-morning.