Place of interest

Sights of Special Interest in the District: the ancient Cities of Knossos, Gortys, Phaestos, Agia Triada and the Palace of Malia

Knossos : The famous Palace of Knossos is the number one attraction on Crete . Excavations started in 1899 by Sir Arthur Evans, soon discovered the Palace of King Minos, built around 1900 BC, The ruins seen today are from the 1700 BC, after the first palace was destroyed by a earthquake. The Palace once again was destroyed an earthquake between 1500 and 1450 BC, and survived for about 50 years before a great fire destroyed the Palace, which was then abandoned. Knossos , is suffering under the pressure of hordes of visitors, wandering about the palace.

Restrictions are in place in some of the areas of the Palace, in an aim to preserve this outstanding building. Their guided tours around the site, or you can by a map at the ticket office and walk around the site yourself, this will take two to four hours (it can be very hot, so remember to take refreshments, as the prices are steep in the café).

The Palace with an area of approx. 21,000 square metres was the largest Palace in the Minoan Empire. Starting at the Western Court that leads into the Procession Corridor, which originally was 90 m long, and where frescoes on the wall, depicted bearers carrying gifts to the King, only fragments remain, however, a reproduction of part of the frescos is in the Central Court . At the end of the corridor an entrance leads up to the Piano Nobile, thought to be a reception room. Stairs lead up from here to an official stateroom.

Storage rooms below used to store large jars (pithoi); these were for the storage of olive oil, grain and wine. In the Central Court , on the west side steps lead down to the Throne Room, here is a throne carved out of alabaster with a fresco depicting Griffins, mythical birds sacred to the Minoans. The room now closed for access, but you are able to look in and envisage the former grandeur of the room. On the eastern side of the Central Court , are the steps leading up to the Royal Quarters. The Quarters are not open for public access.

The Royal Quarters consists of the Queens Megaron (a combined bedroom and office), over the door leading into this room is a copy of one of the Minoans finest mosaics, the Dolphin Fresco. The Queens bathroom is next door, complete with perhaps the worlds flushing closet, a handmaiden poured water down the closet. The Hall of the Double Axes was the Kings Megaron; the sign of the double axe was a sacred symbol to the Minoans.

At the northern end of the site are steps whose purpose remains a mystery, its thought that they were seats for theatre performances or a reception area for important visitors. From here, the Royal Road , lined with shops and houses leads to the west. Near the northern entrance is the Lustral Pool, thought to be for ceremonial cleansing before religious ceremonies. Visitors to Knossos should also visit the Iraklio Archaeological Museum , where finds from the site are on display.

Gortys: south from the City of Iraklio , is one of the most interesting ancient sites on the island, also the largest. The city of Gortys became wealthy through accumulating the spoils of piracy, in the 5 th century BC they became a city of importance. They traded with North Africa, and Hannibal (without his elephants), after being defeated by the Romans in 189 BC, sought exile here. When the Romans were planning to invaded Crete, the rulers of Gortys allied with them, and when the Romans took control of Crete in 67 BC, they declared the city as the capital of Crete . The Romans also rewarded the city with the construction of numerous buildings, public baths, amphitheatre, schools and temples. They also introduced better farming methods; they built aqueducts to transport water from a water source 15km away at Votomos to the Messara Plain, where corn and other produce grew in abundance. After centuries of prosperity, the Saracens who invaded Crete in 824 AD razed the city to the ground. The site first excavated in the1880s, by the Italian archaeologist Federico Halbherr, revealed archaeological treasures from the past of this once great city. Archaeologists are still excavating the site today, to reveal the full scale of the city. Among the ruins one can see today are; the Temple of Pythian Apollo , from the 7 th century BC, the Praetorium, dating from the 2 nd century AD, here the Roman governor of Crete had his residence and headquarters. The church of Agios Titus , (St. Titus is the patron Saint of Crete ); built in the 6 th century the ruins of this church give a hint to the size and splendour of this building. The 1 st century theatre built by the Romans is nearby. For those interested in the mythology of Greece , the Plane Trees behind the theatre is according to legend, is the love nest of Zeus and the beautiful Europe . Another bit of information useful or not is; that the trees never loose their leaves due to that they sheltered the lovers. The major attraction of Gortys is the 6 th century “Laws of Gortys” written on stone tablets. The tablets with about 600 lines were the first codes of conduct in the Greek world, and they reveal matters from divorce, the conveyance of property to the social structure of the life for the citizens of Crete and the rest of the Grecian Empire. The Acropolis on the top of the hill is worth the walk up, a few remains of a rampart are visible, and from here, you get a splendid view over the ancient city of Gortys .

Phaestos: about 60km south of Iraklio, built in about 2000 BC this Minoan City , also excavated by Federico Halbherr in the 1900s, and has the best location of all the ancient cities, with marvellous views over the countryside and Mt. Psiloritis . An earthquake destroyed the palace, but around 1700 BC they built a new palace on the same site. About 250 years later, another earthquake destroyed the palace. The palace is smaller than Knossos and designed to balance with the nature around it. Due to the absence of reconstruction of some of the ruins, and that two palaces were built on the same site it is difficult to imagine the total layout of the city. Very few artefacts have been unearthed in Phaestos, with the exception of “the Phaestos Disk”. This disk 3600 year old is on display at the archaeological museum in Iraklio; the inscriptions on the disk has been studied by experts, who as of yet have been unable to decipher the inscriptions. On entering the site, you enter the Upper Court containing ruins from the Hellenistic Period. Descending the stairs, that leads you to the Theatral Area, used for theatrical performances. a 15m wide flight of steps leads you east to the Propylon (porch), nearby are the storerooms containing “Pithoi” (storage jars). The Central Court , once lined with columns offers views over the surrounding area. In the northern wing of the palace are the Royal apartments, also Like Knossos, complete flushing toilets. After a battle against Gortys in the 2 nd century BC, the city fell into decline.

Agia Triada: three kilometres west of Phaestos is a small summer palace belonging to the Royalty of Phaestos. Artefacts found here include the three vases, “the Harvesters Vase, the Boxer vase and the Chieftain Cup all fine examples of Minoan art. These are now on display at the Archaeological Museum in Iraklio. On entering the site past the ruins of a Minoan house that leads to a 14 th century BC shrine, which once had a floor fresco depicting dolphins and octopus, also in the museum in Iraklio. Past the Court of Shrines are the storage rooms of the palace. To the north is the residential area of the palace, with reception rooms for entertaining. The Archive room had a painting on the wall depicting the wild cat of Crete, now in the Archaeological Museum . The Ramp al Mare that led down to sea is to the north, nearby is the Minoan cemetery containing two beehive tombs.

Palace of Malia : situated 3km east of the resort of Malia, on the northeastern coast, is the Palace of Malia . Built in around 1900 BC, the palace destroyed in 1700 BC after an earthquake. The ruins seen today are from the second palace built after the earthquake. Entering the site through the West Court , to the south are eight round pits used for the storage of grain. The Kernos Stone, pierced by 24 holes around the edge to the northeast, remains a mystery as to its use. Nearby are the grand Staircase, the Pillar Corridor and the Pillar Crypt with the sacred symbol to the Minoans, the double axe engraved on the pillars. The Central Court measures 48 metres by 22 metres, in the middle is a pit thought to be the sight of a alter. On the western side of the court are the rooms of The Panther, where they found a stone axe shaped in the form of a panther, made in the 17 th century BC. The Royal Apartments along with the Lustral Basin lie to the northwest. The Archive Room nearby, contained stone tablets with “Linear A” script engraved upon the.