| The next day we drove to Irakleio to visit the ruins of the great Minoan civilization unearthed at Knossos, supposedly home to King Minos and the mythical Minotaur mentioned in Greek Mythology. The discovery of this ancient Minoan city in 1900 by British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans was immense. Through his discoveries, much was learned about the Minoan civilization that lasted over 1500 years, from 2600 to 1100 BC, as the artifacts excavated showed an advanced sophisticated civilization. The major part of the excavation at Knossos was the palace. Apparently, it had contained over 100 rooms, complete with running water and a good drainage system. At the heart of the palace was its central court where business was conducted surrounded by royal living quarters, storerooms, devotional shrines, etc. Sir Arthur Evans was so excited by his discovery that he spent a fortune of his own money reconstructing parts of the palace. Unfortunately, his imaginative restorations made considerable use of reinforced concrete, a material foreign to Minoan architecture. Having seen so many fantastic restored Roman, Greek, and Egyptian ruins, the Knossos archeological site was disappointing because when we looked at the ruins it was impossible to know what was real. |
