Palace State of Knossos

Origins

Knossos, near modern Heraklion, was occupied from the Neolithic and became Crete's largest settlement. Around 1950 BCE the first palace was built around a central court. Rebuilt after an earthquake c. 1700 BCE, it grew into a complex of more than a thousand rooms, with a town of perhaps several thousand people around it.

Rule and society

Knossos was the centre of Minoan civilisation, with frescoes such as the bull-leaping scene, light wells, storerooms of pithoi and a theatral area. Administration used Linear A. After c. 1450 BCE Greek-speaking rulers took control and kept records in Linear B, listing sheep, wool, textiles and offerings to gods such as Potnia. The palace then dominated much of central and western Crete.

Decline and legacy

The palace was destroyed by fire, traditionally c. 1375 BCE, though the date is debated and some scholars place the final destruction later. Knossos survived as a town and became the Greek city-state described separately as Knossos. Arthur Evans excavated and partly reconstructed the site from 1900.