August
26
Labyrinth
of the Minotaur?
THE MYTH
 |
| Minotaur |
 |
| labyrinth? |
In
Greek Mythology the Palace at Knossos near Heraklion in Crete is
often associated with the story of King Minos (who gave his name to
the Minoan civilization) and the Labyrinth he built for the Minotaur.
The Minotaur was the part man part bull offspring of the king's wife
and a white bull. Minos had the Labyrinth built as a prison for the unnatural man-eating monster. The Knossos Palace had some 1300 rooms
that were connected by passages and hallways that were built in
varying directions that led to the disorientation and confusion experienced in a maze. It can thus be thought of as labyrinthine.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
THE BOAT
We
sailed from Santorini to Crete on a high speed ferry called SeaJets.
Instead of propellers it looked to me that the SeaJet had something
of a jet engine that pushed water through much the same way as a jet
plane pushes air. At 40 knots per hour it took about two hours to
arrive at the port of Heraklion. Our hotel, the Megaron was visible
from the landing dock and an easy walk. The next day we took a local bus,
conveniently located just in front of the hotel, to Knossos about
five and a half kilometers away to explore the archaelogical site of
the Knossos Palace.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE PALACE
 |
| scale model of the Knossos Palace |
We arrived by local bus at high noon with a prepaid combination ticket from the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion purchased the previous day, and so were able to avoid the long queue of people buying tickets and walked right in. There are many signs informing visitors about the various points of interest so a self-guided tour is not only possible, but more relaxed and easier to pace than having to follow the schedule of a tour guide. There are benches scattered here and there among shade trees and a breeze makes the walking comfortable enough, even in the strong sunlight of early afternoon.
 |
| first view of the palace from the West looking east |
 |
partial reconstruction with
with natural and modern materials |
 |
reconstruction with copies of frescoes
of men bearing various vessels |
The
archeological site of the Minoan “Palace at Knossos” is something
of an amalgam of Art and Archaeology. It is the result of 35 years of
devoted excavation by Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist, and his
somewhat imaginative recreation of parts of the palace in concrete.
For this reason, Knossos cannot be listed in the annals of World
Heritage sites. It is, nevertheless, an interesting experience for
the layman visitor to the site who cannot visualize the structures
that might have risen from the outlines of rock foundations without a
few visual clues, a wall here, a column there, rising from those
foundation.
A Lot of Bull
 |
| stones representing bull's horns |
 |
colorful reconstruction in North Gate area
with fresco of charging bulls |
 |
| fresco depicting bull leaping - a popular sport at Knossos |
The North Gate
 |
characteristic reconstruction using
modern materials - with an "Art Deco" feel
as some critics have wryly noted |
 |
| you must admit Evans' artistic color sense |
So,
I accepted the concrete reconstructions in the spirit that I assume
motivated Evans—to give the non-specialist layman an idea of how
the the palace might have looked in its heyday, and to indulge his
own artistic imagination. “Expert” opinions of the reconstruction
work vary from “pure fantasy” to “probably a good general facsimile”. [Wikipedia]
The truth or reality lies somewhere in between. The
visitor is free to accept Evans' vision or create his own within the
limits of his own imagination.
 |
the North Gate area, the best known reconstructed section of the palace
the Throne Room is visible on the upper left |
The Throne Room
 |
| entrance to the King's throne room |
 |
second level of the throne room
a kind of skylight |
The
site of Knossos Palace (c. 2000 to 1100 BC) that a visitor sees today
represents the Late Minoan features of the palace when the site was
definitively abandoned between c. 1380-1100 BC. The site was not as
big or unmanageable as I had imagined. Two hours was quite adequate
to cover the important parts of the site. It is well laid out with
pathways for relatively easy access and comfortable walking around
the site.
 |
| the throne room |
Fresco Reproductions
 |
| Ladies in Blue |
We
sailed from Santorini to Crete on a high speed ferry called SeaJets.
Instead of propellers it looked to me that the SeaJet had something
of a jet engine that pushed water through much the same way as a jet
plane pushes air. At 40 knots per hour it took about two hours to
arrive at the port of Heraklion. Our hotel, the Megaron was visible
from the landing dock and an easy walk. The next day we took a local bus,
conveniently located just in front of the hotel, to Knossos about
five and a half kilometers away to explore the archaelogical site of
the Knossos Palace.
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