The Knossos Palace
The palace of Knossos stands on the hill of Kefala, 5 km south of Heraklion, and was the centre of the Minoan civilisation. Knossos was the most significant city on Crete before the Roman era and the hub of the first European civilisation. The palace is the most visited archaeological site in Crete, with over 1,000,000 visitors a year.
Knossos Avenue carries the traffic to the site, connecting Heraklion with the village of Skalani, and the ruins sit near the banks of the Knosano Gorge. Archaeological finds fill the ground around the palace as well, which follows from the size of the settlement: the town of Knossos held a population of more than 100,000 people.
King Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur
The palace served as the residence of the legendary King Minos, and it carries the myths of Daedalus and Icarus, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. Minos was not one man but a line of kings who all held the same name, in the way the title Pharaoh worked in Egypt. Greek tradition deified Minos and made him the son of Europa and Zeus, the pair whose story is told as the Rape of Europe.
How the palace was built and destroyed
The palace of Minos sat at the heart of Knossos from the Neolithic era to the early Byzantine era and took part in every turn of Cretan history. Its building record runs through 6 dated phases, listed below in order.
- Neolithic period, 7th to 4th millennium BC. The earliest signs of habitation on the hill date from this span.
- 1900 BC. The older structures were pulled down to make room for a larger palace covering 22 acres.
- 1700 BC. An earthquake appears to have destroyed that palace, and the Minoans built a new one on the same ground.
- 1600 BC. Another earthquake caused significant damage, repaired quickly, with several new buildings added. This version of the palace is the one on show at the site today.
- 1450 BC. Catastrophic damage followed, caused either by an earthquake or by a tsunami from the eruption of the Santorini volcano.
- 1350 BC. The Achaeans reached Crete and the palace was destroyed for good, while the city of Knossos carried on until 500 BC.
Excavations at Knossos
The Cretan archaeologist Minos Kalokerinos dug the first trenches at Knossos in 1878 and uncovered numerous ancient storage pots and other artefacts. Kalokerinos had to break off the work when the Cretan-Turkish wars began. The Englishman Arthur Evans took it up again in 1900 and finished in 1930, the year his restorations were completed.
Evans has drawn harsh criticism for the scale of that restoration and for the cement he used to build it. The counter-argument is plain enough: had every building been left in the state Evans found it, the site would read as rubble rather than as rooms.
Knossos after the palace
Knossos stayed the most powerful city on Crete for several centuries after the destruction of the palace of Minos. The city competed with Gortys, which became the next capital of Crete in Roman times, and with Lyttos. Knossos waged war on Lyttos in 221-219 and destroyed it while its men were away on another campaign, and Gortys then kept gaining power until the capital passed to it.
Coins and symbols of Knossos
The coins of Knossos depict the Minotaur, the Labyrinth and ancient gods. The labrys, the double axe, served as the symbol of the city, while the double bull horns stood for the Minoan religion. Those coins are held 5 km north of the site at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.
Things to do near Knossos
Six further sites and walks sit within 9 km of the palace, listed below with the nearest first.
- Spend the rest of the day in the city. Heraklion lies 3.2 km from the site, and its own attractions are covered on our Heraklion town page.
- Swim at Karteros. The beach of Karteros lies 4.8 km away on the north coast.
- Walk the Astrakiano Gorge. The gorge starts 5 km from Knossos, with the Kounaviano Gorge a little further out at 5.9 km.
- See more Minoan ground. Ancient Amnisos is 5.3 km away and the Fourni Minoan Cemetery 5.8 km.
- Visit the two sanctuaries above Archanes. The Anemospilia sanctuary and the Jiouchtas Peak Sanctuary both stand 6.7 km from the palace.
- Carry on to Archanes. The Tourkogitonia Minoan Palace lies 6.9 km out, inside the village of Archanes.
Getting to Knossos
Reach Knossos by Knossos Avenue, the road that runs south out of Heraklion towards Skalani village. The city centre sits 5 km north, which makes the palace the closest major archaeological site to Heraklion. Drivers coming from the coast road pass the beach of Ammoudara, 8.4 km from the site.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the palace of Knossos?
The palace of Knossos stands on the hill of Kefala, 5 km south of Heraklion. The site lies near the banks of the Knosano Gorge, on Knossos Avenue, the road connecting Heraklion with Skalani village.
How old is the palace of Knossos?
The hill was first inhabited in the Neolithic period, between the 7th and the 4th millennium BC. The palace visitors walk through today took its present shape after the earthquake of 1600 BC, on the site of a palace begun around 1900 BC.
Who excavated Knossos?
Minos Kalokerinos began the excavation in 1878 and Arthur Evans carried it out between 1900 and 1930. Kalokerinos, a Cretan, found storage pots and other artefacts before the Cretan-Turkish wars stopped his work, and Evans, an Englishman, added the cement restorations the site is known for.
Was King Minos a real person?
Minos was a succession of kings who shared one name, rather than a single ruler. The title worked much as Pharaoh did in Egypt. Myth made Minos a god and the son of Europa and Zeus, and tied his palace to Daedalus and Icarus, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.
Where can you see finds from Knossos?
The coins of Knossos are held at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, 5 km north of the site. They carry the Minotaur, the Labyrinth and ancient gods, alongside the labrys, the double axe that served as the symbol of the city.
How many people visit Knossos?
Knossos receives over 1,000,000 visitors a year, which makes it the most frequented archaeological site in Crete.
Location
The Knossos Palace is located at The Knossos Palace, in the Heraklion region of Crete. The map below shows the exact spot; Google Maps and Waze give turn-by-turn directions.
