Knossos

The beautiful Palace of Knossos was built on top of the hill where it was believed that Zeus was hidden by his mother Rea to save him from its father Cronus, who wanted to devour him. With its 20000 square meters, 1300 rooms and 5 floors, it is the biggest Minoan building ever built. Further to its largeness, the palace surprises for the variety of materials used and the beautiful still-existing decorations that adorn its areas. The best-known wall paintings found in Knossos are the “Bull Jumping” and “The Prince of Lilies”, which colors are still stunningly intact. Another interesting part of the building are Queen’s Baths, which present a modern sewage pipe system and some wonderful decorations.

The first site excavations were conducted by Minos Kalokerinos of Herakleion in 1878 and they were continued in the 1920s by a famous English archaeologist called Sir Arthur Evans. The complicated planimetry of a building where it was almost impossible to get orientated suggested that Knossos could be the place that had inspired the popular Minotaur legend.

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