Knossos Palace will help you to plunge into ancient times - the time of mysterious civilizations, ever-living human passions, immortal courage and the triumph of justice.
Throne of Minos or priestesses? Mystery Columns. The "engineering networks" of the ancient world. Roads leading ... to Minoan culture. Legends, reality and the Labyrinth. Were there sacrifices of the bull-man? And in general, did the Minotaur himself live? All these mysterious paradoxes are kept in the palace of Knossos, which will probably reveal to you the secrets ...
You know, when the legends of Greece intertwine with reality, there is ... another wonder of the world. Some of our contemporaries sometimes wonder - and what is so unusual about the canonical 7 wonders? Well, for example, the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis. After all, there are plenty of them in Israel today. But do not forget: what is obvious now, thousands of years ago, it seemed simply impossible to do. But the inhabitants of the Ancient World knew how to create Wonders.
About the same can be said about the citadel of Cretan-Minoan culture, the Palace of Knossos. It so happened that this was the main building of Crete, where king Minoja lived and ruled, some 4,000 years ago.
Today one can hardly be surprised by big palace-houses. But, remember, we are talking about the Bronze Age! Yes, yes, at that time Minoans built grandiose mansions of marble and cedar for the ruler and his, as it turned out, naughty-windy wife.
Of course, time has slightly mocked the palace, but even what has survived, gives reason to think about the genius of our ancestors. The fact is that the ancient architects and builders managed to think out and make a heavy-duty drainage system, laid under the palace. And this, for the Cretan rains, is even more relevant.
Imagine, while other nations were fertilizing the planet, the palace of Knossos already had a real toilet. Of course, this topic is delicate, but the genius of our ancestors also touched the lowly needs of the king.
There were also columns in the palace. "And what," you might say, "is a big deal - columns in a palace..." Yes, but these were not monumental stone pillars in the middle of, say, the XVIII century, but round, cut out of the hardest cedar. By the way, at that time lathes had not yet been invented (let me remind you again - passions were raging in the Bronze Age).
So in order to support these columns these heavy-duty structures, marble stairs and whole floors God knows what knowledge was needed - alas, not all graduates of modern construction universities can calculate the pitch, alignment, diameter and other parameters of the columns installed on such a huge area. And if you remember that they were placed (through the ceiling) strictly one above the other, then you can take off your hat to the "Left-handed" Minoan culture.
By the way, you think that the paved roads leading to the Eternal City is a Roman idea? No, it wasn't! Such roads, you know, first "led" directly to the Palace of Knossos. And they became an excellent route not only for cartage (in the form of clattering horses with the riders, ancient carts and nondescript carts). Both the supreme authorities and the servants-people walked along them with no less enthusiasm - in fact, apart from the carriageway they had already built a sidewalk.
And there were more than half a thousand rooms in that building! And most of them were located under the ground. They say that even the nobles and servants who were permanently present there often lost their heads, not understanding where to go next. Neither luxurious frescos nor luxurious stone carvings served as a guide. In the palace everything was so mysteriously beautiful, that once entered it, not everyone could leave the royal chambers and find the desired exit.
You know, all religions consider adultery as one of the deadly sins. It seems to have applied to the Ancient World as well. At least, when Minos' wife had an affair with the Sacred Bull (the Greek symbol of power, by the way) from such a mesalliance, alas, nothing good was born. Because the Minotaur was born, who was bloodthirsty, ugly and ruthless.
This monster looked a bit creepy: his head was like his father's, and everything else was almost like his mother's, only in a less attractive way (but it was still a human figure). So, to keep the stepson out of sight, Minoy ordered that he be placed in a labyrinth. And so that the "fruit of adultery" wouldn't tear everything apart, every year the seven best Cretan girls and boys were given to him to eat. It is also said that the Minotaur villain ate his unhappy victims without salt and pepper. And he was happy for exactly one year.
Don't you believe it? But this is exactly how this sad piece of Cretan history is described in Greek mythology. Though archeologists unanimously assert that there was no Minotaur, no labyrinth and no victims to eat. The scientific world has maintained that a great number of rooms, passages, galleries, etc., were associated with a labyrinth in the minds of the Minoans. And word of mouth carried this version to their receivers, the Greeks.
Is it true? Who knows ... If you believe in the triumph of good over evil, then be sure - there was the Minotaur in the labyrinth! And brave Theseus defeated this evil, proving that justice exists. But if you are a near-scientific skeptic... Well, then wander around the remains of Knossos architectural marvel and imagine how the "palace labyrinth" looked, where, they say, even Minoan himself was often lost in space.
Whether you're a pragmatist or a romantic, the palace of Knossos will take you back in time to times of mysterious civilizations, ever-living human passions, immortal courage and the triumph of justice. Of course, there is much to see and do in Crete that is fascinating and unfathomable. But remember - the sea and the Palace of Knossos are the island's two main sanctuaries. Come and experience both...
