The Minoans built at least four palaces on Crete, each one responsible for the administration of a different part of the island. It appears that the greatest, or at least the most extensive of the palaces was at Knossos. Archeologists believe that this was the religious and administrative capital of the Minoan civilization. Knossos is five kilometers from the modern capital of Iraklion which served as the port for Knossos in antiquity. It is situated on a hilltop looking over fertile valleys in all directions. In its heyday, it was thought to have 100,000 inhabitants. That is the current number of people the modern capital has. There appears to have been two palace complexes built upon the hill here. The first one was built in 1900 B.C. A cataclysm occurred in 1700 (BC) which appears to have done extensive remodeling to the old palace (i.e. an earthquake leveled most of it.) This did not stop the Minoans. They built a new, bigger and better palace on the ruins of their old ones. This palace lasted about 250 years when it to, was destroyed (1450 BC). It is thought that the tidal wave, caused by the eruption of Thera (Santorini), , hit the shores of Crete with such destructive force that it leveled most of the costal settlements, killing thousands of people. Aftershocks undoubtedly caused additional destruction and deaths. Knossos was still inhabited at this point, but the palace was not rebuilt.
The Mycenaens, or another band of Achaeans, then moved into Crete, taking control of much of the island. A fire caused by fighting destroyed much of what was left of the place. The city's importance diminished during the Roman period when the capital was moved to Gortyn. It still was an important city-state until the end of the Byzantine period. Under the Venetians allowed the town to sink into obscurity. By now, the ruins of the palace were under arable land, smart farmers farmed upon it.
In the early 1920's an archeologist by the name of Arthur Evans excavated much of the new palace. Seeking to preserve it, he reinforced many of the walls with concrete. It is thought that the two story structures would not have survived until the present day if he had not done this. It is also thought that Evans rebuilt it how he thought it should look and perhaps was in error. His restoration work looks a lot like the ruined Minoan town on Thera (Akrotiri or Therakori), which was covered by ash when Thera erupted.
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 Guard Room |
 North Entrance |
 "Throne Room" |
 Inside Throne Room |
 Double Ax room???? |
 South Entrance Entrance of the procession |
 Rebuilt Door |
 Rebuilt Columns |
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