Shafun Islam

April 14, 2022

| The Palace Of Knossos |

The Palace of Knossos is was the center of admiration and power for the island of crete. The
palace was built by the ancient civilization, the Minoans. It was said to be built by Daedalus, the
father of Icarus according to greek mythology. King Minos ruled over the palace. The purpose of
the palace was to trap King Minos’s son, the minotaur, who is half man and half bull.

Knossos was inhabited for several

thousand years, beginning with a
neolithic settlement in the seventh
millennium BC, and then abandoned
after its destruction in 1375 BC which
marked the end of Minoan civilization.
The first palace was built around 1900
BC on the ruins of previous
settlements. It was destroyed for the
first time along with the other Protopalatial palaces around Crete at 1700 BC, most likely by a
large earthquake or foreign invaders. It was immediately rebuilt to an even more elaborate
complex and until its abandonment was damaged several times during earthquakes, invasions,
and in 1450 BC by the colossal volcanic eruption of Thera, and the invasion of Mycenaeans who
used it as their capital as they ruled the island of Crete until 1375 BC.

The palace of knossos was significant due to many different reasons. One being its great
antiquity, being around 9000 years old. It is also a architectural masterpiece. The architectur
behind this is extremely complex, the inside is almost as if its never ending. The inside is meant
to feel like if you were placed in it, you could never find its exit.

The palace did impact the future. It showed us a lot about greek culture, lifestyle and their
mythology. Especially since the palace of Knossos is where the famed Myth of the Minotaur’s
labyrinth was. For the visitor today, the area around the ramp which leads to the main palace,
immediately exposes the rich layers of ruins that existed for thousands of years. The palace of
Knossos was the center of administration of the entire island during Minoan times, and its
position as such allowed for growth and prosperity as witnessed by the many storage magazines,
workshops, and wall paintings. The Throne room with a throne made of gypsum and benches to
accommodate sixteen persons, the central courtyard, and the theater, along with the royal
chambers paint a portrait of Knossos as a forum of elaborate rituals and extraordinary historical
occurrences. All of this allowed us to learn more and more about greek architecture and
mythology.

The palace did indeed shed light on a deeper meaning.

The true purpose of the palace was to contain the
minotaur. Hence the never ending, labyrinth like rooms
/interior. King Minos kept the architect, Dedalos as a
prisoner to make certain that the palace plans will not be
revealed to anyone at all. To escape, Dedalos created two
sets of wings, one for him and one for his son. On their
escape he warned his son to not fly too close to the sun or
else he wax will melt from the sun rays, but due to his
implusivenss he flew too high. This caused his wings to burn and for him to perish and drown in
the Aegan Sea, hence the myth of Icarus.

King Minos ruled Athens and forced the Athenians to

deliver seven children and seven women every nine
years. They became prey of the Minotaur in the
labyrinth. The Minotaur was a terrible monster with
the body of a man, and the head of a bull, born from
the union of Pasiphae and the bull offered as a gift to
Minos by Poseidon. Theseus, son of Aegean ruler of
Attica, traveled to Crete as part of the youths to be
sacrificed, but once in the labyrinth he killed the
Minotaur and managed to find his way out of the
labyrinth with the aid of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus as
soon as he arrived, and gave him a ball of thread which he unraveled behind him as he walked
through the labyrinthine corridors. Exiting was a simple matter of following the thread
backwards towards his freedom. Theseus sailed back to Athens forgetting in his elation to
replace the black sails with white ones as a signal of victory. His father Aegean who was
watching for the returning ships from the Sounio rock saw the black sail, he thought was a failed
mission that resulted to the death of his son, ended his life by jumping into the sea. The sea
henceforth is named Aegean sea in his memory.