What did King Minos build at Knossos?
Knossos Palace is the legendary site of Theseus fighting the Minotaur, Ariadne and her ball of string, Daedalus the architect and doomed Icarus of the wax wings: how many of us dream Minoan dreams and never realize it? The Aegean culture known as Minoan is the Bronze Age civilization that flourished on the island of Crete during the second and third millennia B.C. The city of Knossos was one of its main cities–and it contained its largest palace after the shattering earthquake that marks the beginning of the New Palace period in Greek archaeology, ca. 1700 BC. The Minoan Language: Linear A We know little of the Minoan culture, compared to later Greek cultures, because much of their language has been lost. Homer spoke of the Cretan civilization–that’s from where the legends of Minos and Ariadne come. Two written languages are associated with Minoan culture; Linear A, first used during the early Minoan period, and Linear B, which doesn’t appear on tablets until ca 1450, well past the c
The Minoan Palace of Knossos lies at a distance of 5 km from the town centre of Iraklion (Heraklion), Crete along the road to Archanes. This is the Palace of King Minos The imposing Palace is built on the hill of “Kefala” next to the river “Kairatos”, in a site which was admired for its natural advantages, the strong position, good water supplies, access to the sea and proximity to a large fertile forest. The forest that produced the “Cephalonian Pine” a tree that supplied the beams and the columns for the construction of the Palace. The site itself includes the Palace of Knossos, The Minoan Houses, the Little Palace, the Royal Villa, the villa “Dionysos” with famous Roman mosaics, the south Royal Temple – Tomb and the Caravanserai. The Palace and the Minoan houses are open for visits to the public. It is well known that the area lies on a great seismic site. The Palace had been destroyed time after time and always emerged from its ruins more magnificent than before until the last time
Hedges, fig trees and even a field of sunflowers enclose maze-goers across the state, writes Rachel Sullivan. As we dive into the narrow alleys between hedges in hot pursuit of our children for the umpteenth time, we begin to understand why mazes have been so popular for so long: the delicious thrill of getting lost, the strange silence in the heart of the maze and that rush of relief when you eventually emerge blinking into the sunlight. Then we hear our children’s screams of delight and realise they’ve returned to the chase. Since King Minos built a labyrinth to imprison the mythical minotaur at Knossos on the island of Crete, mazes and labyrinths have drawn thrill-seekers and fired the imaginations of artists. Mazes have appeared on coins and on the walls of caves, and featured in crime novels and film noir. There are pavement mazes on the floors of medieval churches, including one in Chartres Cathedral near Paris. Sources:
