Misplaced Pages

#436563

131-525: Knossos is dominated by the monumental Palace of Minos . Like other Minoan palaces , this complex of buildings served as a combination religious and administrative centre rather than a royal residence. The earliest parts of the palace were built around 1900 BC in an area that had been used for ritual feasting since the Neolithic . The palace was continually renovated and expanded over the next five centuries until its final destruction around 1350 BC. The site

262-461: A floor drain or by bailing. This toilet and bathtub were exceptional structures within the 1,300-room complex. As the hill was periodically drenched by torrential rains, a runoff system was a necessity. It began with channels in the flat surfaces, which were zigzag and contained catchment basins to control the water velocity. Probably the upper system was open. Manholes provided access to parts that were covered. Some links to photographs of parts of

393-486: A pier-and-door partition . By opening or closing the doors, occupants could control light and airflow, transforming the hall into either an interior or exterior space. Few artifacts have been found in the halls themselves, leaving little evidence of the activity that went on there. However, several examples are located near tablet archives, raising the possibility that they were used as meeting places for bureaucrats. Lustral basins are small rectangular chambers sunk into

524-407: A redistributive economy . Thus, their development is often taken as a sign of social stratification and formation of state-level societies on Crete. While this view is still widespread among scholars, it has also been questioned. In particular, the functions of the palaces seem to have varied by time and by site, and many seemingly palatial functions also took place in other kinds of buildings. Thus,

655-491: A Roman colony placed just to the north of, and politically including, Kephala. The Romans believed they were the first to colonize Knossos. In 325, Knossos became a diocese , suffragan of the metropolitan see of Gortyna . In Ottoman Crete , the see of Knossos was in Agios Myron , 14 km to the southwest. The bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves bishops of Knossos until the nineteenth century. The diocese

786-452: A base for standing, sides nearly straight or generously curved, and a large mouth with a lid, sealed for shipping. Jars of this size could not be handled by individuals, especially when full. Various numbers of handles, lugs, or some combination thereof, gave a purchase for some sort of harness used in lifting the jar with a crane. Pithoi were manufactured and exported or imported over the entire Mediterranean. They were used most heavily in

917-413: A central court and archives. It was also fortified, including with watchtowers. It had a central court, though a tiny one only 6m by 13m which was shrunk to 4.9 m by 12 m in later phases. At Kommos , a grandiose structure known as Building T had a paved rectangular court surrounded by monumental wings much like the palaces. Comparable in size to the palace at Phaistos , its facade was constructed from

1048-453: A certain ambiguity of meaning as to whether actual rope was used to physically impress them, or they are merely intended to visually resemble rope. If the pithos was small enough to stand in a conspicuous location, the bands were further divided into polychrome geometric patterns, such as a checkerboard or chevrons , or painted panel or band scenes, often in relief. These scenes are in no way inferior to those of other painted pots; in fact,

1179-426: A closed system leading to a sewer apart from the hill. The queen's megaron contained an example of the first known water-flushing system latrine adjoining the bathroom. This toilet was a seat over a drain that was flushed by pouring water from a jug. The bathtub located in the adjoining bathroom similarly had to be filled by someone heating, carrying, and pouring water, and must have been drained by overturning into

1310-851: A common architectural vocabulary and organization, including distinctive room types such as the lustral basin and the pillar crypt . However, each palace was unique, and their appearances changed dramatically as they were continually remodeled throughout their lifespans. The palaces' function is a topic of continuing debate in Minoan archaeology. Despite the modern term "palace", it is generally agreed that they did not primarily serve as royal residences. They are known to have contained shrines , open areas for communal festivals, industrial workshops, as well as storage magazines for large agricultural surpluses. Archives of Linear A and Linear B tablets suggest that they served in part as local administrative centers. The first palaces were constructed around 1900 BC, as

1441-430: A concentration of political and economic power. The tablets mention 100 place names, which seem economically tied to Knossos. The tablets record enormous quantities of goods, particularly sheep and textiles, but also grain and other produce. The quantities go far beyond what would be needed for local subsitence, suggesting that the palace administered a vibrant export economy. The date of the final destruction of Knossos

SECTION 10

#1732781030437

1572-411: A derivation from Proto-Indo European *bhidh- , "container", that followed all the rules of language change and moreover was related to Latin fiscus , "purse", from which English obtains "fiscal". Regardless of the real derivation, a pithos certainly seems to be a large purse containing economic goods in quantity. The derivation would have been elegant, tracing fiscality back to prehistoric Greece, it

1703-426: A drainage system. A theatre was found at Knossos that would have held 400 spectators (an earlier one has been found at Phaestos). The orchestral area was rectangular, unlike later Athenian models, and they were probably used for religious dances. Building techniques at Knossos were typical. The foundations and lower course were stonework with the whole built on a timber framework of beams and pillars. The main structure

1834-400: A factor of the cube of 3.542, or 44.438, which would be 1804 liters. The capacity of the 170 cm pot, however, is 996 liters, half the amount estimated using the cube, and that is generally true of the several pots for which Younger lists heights. An exponent of 2.53 estimates the increase in capacity, which means that, at least for these vases, the potters did not add to the diameter to keep

1965-441: A line or two of Linear A . Perhaps pithos derives from a Linear A word. Ventris and Chadwick do not exclude fiscus from necessarily being related to pithos , they only point out that, if such is the derivation, the process is more complex than previously thought. A study done in 2003 by John Younger used a computer program, "vase", to calculate the maximum capacity of an LM I pithos, catalog number ZA Zb 3. The program required

2096-464: A military headquarters during World War II . Knossos is now situated in the expanding suburbs of Heraklion. In Greek mythology, King Minos dwelt in a palace at Knossos. He had Daedalus construct a labyrinth , a very large maze in which to retain his son, the Minotaur . Daedalus also built a dancing floor for Queen Ariadne . The name "Knossos" was subsequently adopted by Arthur Evans. As far as

2227-423: A monumental staircase leading to state rooms on an upper floor. A ritual cult centre was on the ground floor. The palace stores occupied sixteen rooms, the main feature in these being the pithoi that were large storage jars up to five feet tall. They were mainly used for storage of oil, wool, wine, and grain. Smaller and more valuable objects were stored in lead-lined cists . The palace had bathrooms, toilets, and

2358-464: A place called Da-wo . However, both writing and sealing predate the construction of the palaces and were never exclusive to them. For instance, there is less evidence of administrative bureaucracy at the Palace of Phaistos than at non-palatial buildings in nearby Ayia Triada . Similarly, even in eras where there is clear evidence of palace-based redistribution, there was still economic activity outside

2489-420: A public court and an ashlar facade, and may have served a similar administrative function to the palaces. However, its layout and quality of masonry differ from the canonical palaces. Similar considerations apply to a building at Petras, which mixes classic palatial features with characteristics adopted from earlier regional architectural traditions. The multistory building served as an administrative center with

2620-409: A purchase in sufficient numbers in the space around the jar to effect even a simple lift. From the physical point of view, at least for these multi-ton pithoi, J. L. Stokes' view that they were "unmoveable furniture, being in general, either wholly or partially sunk in the ground", is most likely accurate. Currently at Knossos some empty pithoi have been placed standing in passageways, such as those of

2751-505: A second storey was present. The presence of the house, which is unlikely to have been a private residence like the others, suggests a communal or public use; i.e., it may have been the predecessor of a palace. In the Late or Final Neolithic (two different but overlapping classification systems, around 4000–3000 BC), the population increased dramatically. It is believed that the first Cretan palaces were built soon after c.  2000 BC , in

SECTION 20

#1732781030437

2882-438: A smaller audience of elites. The Sacred Grove Fresco appears to depict such a ritual at Knossos, the west court identifiable by the causeways. The Minoan Hall has been referred to as "the very essence of Minoan architecture". Typically found on the palaces' north sides, they consisted of a main room, a forehall, and a lightwell. The latter was separated from the main room by a series of wooden doors mounted on piers, called

3013-457: A study of Minoan architecture, John McEnroe comments that "the distinction between 'Palatial' and 'non-Palatial' is often a matter of degree." Monumental buildings at Petras , Zominthos , Makrygiallos , Kommos , Monastiraki , and Archanes had palatial features such as central courts but otherwise do not pattern with the palaces in terms of form or function. At Gournia, a monumental Neopalatial building adopted palatial features including

3144-496: A wall. They share similar tendencies in organization, for instance having their main storage magazines and industrial areas in the north and northwest wings. Palaces were typically at the center of a larger settlement and are not always clearly demarcated from the rest of the town. Despite their common architectural vocabulary, each palace was distinct. For instance, while the palaces share a common overall organization, their specific floorplans are unique. Similarly, while they share

3275-490: A wooden throne. Both rooms are located in the ceremonial complex on the west of the central court. The throne is flanked by the Griffin Fresco, with two griffins couchant (lying down) facing the throne, one on either side. Griffins were important mythological creatures, also appearing on seal rings , which were used to stamp the identities of the bearers into pliable material, such as clay or wax. The actual use of

3406-590: Is aligned with Mount Juktas . The central courts at Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia were nearly identical in area, measuring roughly 24 by 52 meters. Zakros had a smaller central court, roughly 12 by 29 meters. The central courts were used for rituals and festivals. One of these festivals is believed to be depicted in the Grandstand Fresco found at Knossos. Altars found in the courts of some palaces suggest other kinds of ritual activity. Some scholars have suggested that bull-leaping would have taken place in

3537-625: Is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic , the Bronze Age and the succeeding Iron Age . Pithoi were used for bulk storage, primarily for fluids and grains; they were comparable to the drums, barrels and casks of recent times. The name was different in other languages; for instance, the Hittites used harsi- . Secondarily, discarded pithoi found other uses. Like

3668-425: Is based on the cube of the percentage of change in height; that is, if the diameter doubles when the height doubles, then the resulting volume ought to be 8 times the previous volume, the cube of two. Younger gives several heights of pots with associated volumes. The smallest listed with height is 40.6 liters at 48 cm high. If the height increases by a factor of 3.542 to 170 cm, the volume should increase by

3799-574: Is common to the Mediterranean. While Greek columns are smaller at the top and wider at the bottom to create the illusion of greater height ( entasis ), the Minoan columns are smaller at the bottom and wider at the top, a result of inverting the cypress trunk to prevent sprouting once in place. The columns at the Palace of Minos were plastered, painted red and mounted on stone bases with round, pillow-like capitals . The palace at Knossos used considerable amounts of colour, as were Greek buildings in

3930-527: Is currently known, it was William Stillman, the American consul who published Kalokairinos' discoveries, who, seeing the sign of the double axe ( labrys ) on the massive walls partly uncovered by Kalokairinos, first associated the complex with the labyrinth of legend, calling the ruins "labyrinthine." Evans agreed with Stillman. The myth of the Minotaur tells that Theseus , a prince from Athens, whose father

4061-442: Is debatable. Slack rope lifts nothing; moreover, a rope around the neck of the pithos for lifting would only concentrate the weight on the neck, probably shattering it. Multiple lugs, loops and handles indicate that for lifting purposes some sort of harness to distribute the weight must have been used. These rope-like waves of pattern, regardless of the potter's possible intent, have been termed "rope patterns" or "rope decoration", with

Knossos - Misplaced Pages Continue

4192-523: Is generally supposed. Or perhaps in T we see an adaptation of the palace form for commercial purposes. During the Neopalatial era, ordinary houses took on characteristics of palatial architecture including Minoan Halls, lustral basins, and mason's marks. This trend has been referred to as "palatialization". Alternate terms "Knossosification" and "the Versailles effect" have been proposed, though it

4323-680: Is located at the confluence of two streams called the Vlychia and the Kairatos , which would have provided drinking water to the ancient inhabitants. Looming over the right bank of the Vlychia, on the opposite shore from Knossos, is Gypsades Hill, on whose eastern side the Minoans quarried their gypsum. Though it was surrounded by the town of Knossos, this hill was never an acropolis in the Greek sense. It had no steep heights, remained unfortified, and

4454-488: Is not clear that builders were imitating Knossos in particular. Though widely dispersed, palatialized houses were never the norm. Large settlements generally had at least one palatialized residence, but most houses were not palatialized. Pithos Pithos ( / ˈ p ɪ θ ɒ s / , ‹See Tfd› Greek : πίθος , plural: pithoi πίθοι ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English

4585-487: Is suggested that they followed eastern models such as those at Ugarit on the Syrian coast and Mari on the upper Euphrates. The early palaces were destroyed during Middle Minoan II, sometime before c.  1700 , almost certainly by earthquakes to which Crete is prone. By c.  1650 , they had been rebuilt on a grander scale and the period of the second palaces ( c.  1650  – c.  1450 ) marks

4716-454: Is unclear. It appears to have burned at the end of LM IIIA1 (c. 1370 BC) and possibly again at the end of LM IIIA2 (c. 1330 BC). In its final years, possibly during LM IIIB (c. 1330-1200 BC), it was partly restored as a merely utilitarian building. No new frescoes were painted, and collapsed colonnades and pier-and-door partitions were replaced with minimal rubble walls. Corridors were blocked off, elegant rooms were repurposed for storage, and even

4847-461: Is unknown. The term "lustral basin" was coined by Arthur Evans, who found unguent flasks in a lustral basin at Knossos and inferred that it had been used for annointing rituals. Subsequent researchers have interpreted them as forefunners of the classical-era adyton or as the locus of an initiation ritual. An alternate hypothesis regards them as baths, though they lack drains and show no signs of water weathering. Lustral basins were added to

4978-939: The Chremonidean War (267–261 BC), the Ptolemies were not able to unify the warring city states. In the third century BC Knossos expanded its power to dominate almost the entire island, but during the Lyttian War in 220 BC it was checked by a coalition led by the Polyrrhenians and the Macedonian king Philip V . Twenty years later, during the Cretan War (205–200 BC) , the Knossians were once more among Philip's opponents and, through Roman and Rhodian aid, this time they managed to liberate Crete from

5109-614: The Middle Neolithic (5000–4000 BC), housed 500–1000 people in more substantial and presumably more family-private homes. Construction was the same, except the windows and doors were timbered, a fixed, raised hearth occupied the centre of the main room, and pilasters and other raised features (cabinets, beds) occupied the perimeter. Under the palace was the Great House, a 100 m (1,100 sq ft) area stone house divided into five rooms with meter-thick walls suggesting

5240-722: The Mycenaean world as an apotropaic mark : its presence on an object would prevent it from being "killed". Axes were scratched on many of the stones of the palace. It appears in pottery decoration and is a motif of the Shrine of the Double Axes at the palace, as well as of many shrines throughout Crete and the Aegean . And finally, it appears in Linear B on Knossos Tablet Gg702 as da-pu 2 -ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja, which probably represents

5371-511: The Bronze Age palace economy for storing or shipping wine, olive oil, or various types of vegetable products for distribution to the populace served by the palace administration. Consequently, they became known to the modern public as pithoi when western classical archaeologists adopted the term to mean the jars uncovered by excavation of Minoan palaces on Crete and Mycenaean ones on mainland Greece . The term has now been adopted into

Knossos - Misplaced Pages Continue

5502-472: The Bronze Age site is supported by the Roman coins that were scattered over the fields surrounding the pre-excavation site, then a large mound named Kephala Hill , elevation 85 m (279 ft) from current sea level. Many of them were inscribed with Knosion or Knos on the obverse and an image of a Minotaur or Labyrinth on the reverse. The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus ,

5633-476: The Classical era city of Knossos never encroached on the palace, even as it expanded dramatically over the surrounding area. Though the palaces sites seem to have been regarded as sacred, the ruins themselves were often quarried for spolia . Minoan archaeologists generally reserve the term "palace" for five structures. However, many Minoan structures display some hallmarks of palacehood while lacking others. In

5764-400: The English language as a general word for a storage jar from any culture. Along with this universality has come a problem of distinguishing the smaller pithoi from other types of pottery. Many ceramics are not any easily classifiable shape. If they were used for transportation or storage, they are likely to be called pithoi, even though they are not the size of the palace pithoi, and even though

5895-590: The Macedonian influence. With Roman aid, Knossos became once more the first city of Crete, but, in 67 BC, the Roman Senate chose Gortys as the capital of the newly created province Creta et Cyrene . In 36 BC, Knossos became a Roman colony named Colonia Iulia Nobilis . The colony, which was built using Roman-style architecture , was situated within the vicinity of the palace, but only a small part of it has been excavated. The identification of Knossos with

6026-522: The Minoans had forged economic links around the eastern Mediterranean, creating a local culture of elite competition via imported prestige goods. When international trade collapsed during EM III (c. 2200–2100 BC), these goods would have become scarse, increasing the status of those who retained and controlled access to them. The first palaces are generally dated to MM IB (c. 1925–1875 BC). In this era, there were only three known palaces, namely those at Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia. Among them, Phaistos provides

6157-469: The Minotaur, Ariadne gave him a ball of thread which he unwound as he went into the Labyrinth so that he could find his way back by following it. Theseus killed the Minotaur, and then he and Ariadne fled from Crete, escaping her angry father. As it turns out, there probably was an association of the word labyrinth , whatever its etymology, with ancient Crete. The sign of the double axe was used throughout

6288-491: The Mycenaean Greek, Daburinthoio potniai , "to the mistress of the Labyrinth," recording the distribution of one jar of honey. A credible theory uniting all the evidence has yet to be formulated. Knossos appears in other later legends and literature. Herodotus wrote that Minos , the legendary king of Knossos, established a thalassocracy (sea empire). Thucydides accepted the tradition and added that Minos cleared

6419-464: The West Wing in the winter of 1878-1879. The British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941) and his team began long-term evacuations from 1900 to 1913, and from 1922 to 1930. Its size far exceeded his original expectations, as did the discovery of two ancient scripts, which he termed Linear A and Linear B , to distinguish their writing from the pictographs also present. From the layering of

6550-521: The abandonment of peak sanctuaries . Pillar crypts were small dark rooms with one or more square pillars in the center. These pillars were often with the double axe sign, and sometimes accompanied channels or basins which may have been used for libations . They were usually located in lower levels near storage magazines, often directly below a cult room. They are sometimes interpreted as human-made analogues of sacred caves , where worship often centered around stalagmites and stalactites incised with

6681-568: The ancient geographer Strabo the Knossians colonized the city of Brundisium in Italy. In 343 BC, Knossos was allied with Philip II of Macedon . The city employed a Phocian mercenary named Phalaikos against their enemy, the city of Lyttus . The Lyttians appealed to the Spartans who sent their king Archidamus III against the Knossians. In Hellenistic times Knossos came under Egyptian influence, but despite considerable military efforts during

SECTION 50

#1732781030437

6812-477: The area of the later palace, including a segment of a long wall dating to EM III (c. 2200–2100 BC), potentially suggesting development of the site as a whole. At Malia, early remains are substantial enough that some archaeologists have argued that there was full-fledged palace by EM III (c. 2200–2100 BC) and perhaps even a predecessor in EM II (c. 2650–2200 BC). These early developments at palace sites occurred at

6943-618: The area which would later become the central court of the palace, suggesting continuity in ritual activity. In the Early Neolithic (6000–5000 BC), a village of 200–600 persons occupied most of the area of the later palace and the slopes to the north and west. Residents lived in one- or two-room square houses of mud-brick walls set on socles of stone, either field stone or recycled stone artifacts. The inner walls were lined with mud-plaster. The roofs were flat, composed of mud over branches. The residents dug hearths at various locations in

7074-548: The beginning of the Neopalatial era , which is often regarded as the mature phase of the Minoan civilization. The Neopalatial palaces were destroyed as part of a wave of violent destructions which shook the island at the end of LM IB, c. 1470 BC. After that, only Knossos continued in use during the Monopalatial era , during which a Mycenaean elite ruled the island, forming a hybrid "Mycenoan" culture. The Palace at Knossos

7205-479: The centre of the main room. This village had an unusual feature: one house under the West Court contained eight rooms and covered 50 m (540 sq ft). The walls were at right angles and the door was centred. Large stones were used for support under points of greater stress. The fact that distinct sleeping cubicles for individuals was not the custom suggests storage units of some sort. The settlement of

7336-456: The ceramic bathtubs of some periods, the size of a pithos made it a convenient coffin. In Middle Helladic burials in Mycenae and Crete , sometimes the bones of the interred were placed in pithoi. The ancient Iberian culture of El Argar used pithoi for coffins in its B phase (1500–1300 BC). The external shape and materials were approximately the same: a ceramic jar about as high as a man,

7467-527: The classical period. In the EM Period, the walls and pavements were coated with a pale red derived from red ochre. In addition to the background colouring, the walls displayed fresco panel murals , entirely of red. In the subsequent MM Period, with the development of the art, white and black were added, and then blue, green, and yellow. The pigments were derived from natural materials, such as ground hematite . Outdoor panels were painted on fresh stucco with

7598-522: The clearest evidence for this period, since later renovations obscured much of the evidence at the other two sites. They appear to have been influenced by the Near Eastern tradition of monumental temples and palaces, which used ashlar masonry to signal the building's status. However, the Minoans adapted the style to suit their own purposes. The Protopalatial palaces were a major architectural achievement that coincided with major building projects in

7729-411: The considerable weights of the containers, the total weights can be estimated at 150 to 420 kg. Equipment for hauling to the ship and lowering into the hold must have been used. A Middle Bronze Age wreck of a small cargo ship off Sheytan Deresi (Devil's Creek), on the southwestern coast of Turkey, also was carrying pithoi, 3 "strap-handled" and 4 "handleless", of "ovoid-conical" form. The main cargo

7860-401: The court had 2:1 proportions, with the longer side running north-south. This orientation would have maximized sunlight, and oriented important rooms in the west wing's inner facade towards the rising sun. The central courts were typically aligned with the surrounding topography, in particular with nearby sacred mountains. For instance, the palace at Phaistos is aligned with Mount Ida and Knossos

7991-424: The courts, though others have argued that the paving would not have been optimal for the animals or the people, and that the restricted access points would have kept the spectacle too far out of public view. The west court was a spacious public area directly outside a palace's main entrance. Unlike the central court, the west court was located outside the palace's enclosed area, and was thus easily accessible from

SECTION 60

#1732781030437

8122-443: The culmination of longer-term social and architectural trends. These initial palaces were destroyed by earthquakes around 1700 BC but were rebuilt on a grander scale, with new palaces appearing at other sites. Around 1450 BC, a wave of violent destructions destroyed all of the palaces except for Knossos, which was itself destroyed roughly a century later. The term "palace" was introduced by Arthur Evans , who had interpreted Knossos as

8253-594: The cult rooms which were added were put in areas where they would not have been in earlier times. The ruins of the palaces remained visible long after the end of the Minoan era. During the Early Iron Age they became places of open-air worship, as evidenced by deposits of votives . Later on, small shrines were constructed within the ruins, some of which persisted into the Roman era . While private houses may have been constructed at some palace sites such as Phaistos,

8384-421: The deck in the hold. Some sort of hold-fast scaffolding must have been designed to keep the cargo from shifting with disastrous results, except that a disaster did occur. All ancient civilizations had standards of weights and measures, which were used extensively in the distribution of goods. As is true today, the standards were set by law. Enforcement of them was a function of government. Pottery, as containers of

8515-409: The density of water. The pithoi were not the chief cargo, which was 10 tons of copper ingots. The ship carried the load easily, with a draft of 1 m. The pithoi were comparatively light, with an estimated total mass of 2.7 tonnes. Not all contained liquid; a few were the first known packing crates, containing fine pottery. Fragments of lids were also found. Empty weights were obtained for all but two of

8646-466: The double axe. Like lustral basins, pillar crypts also show up in villas. However, they also show up in tombs, suggesting that their ritual use may have had some relation to the dead. As with lustral basins, these rooms fell into disuse during the LM IB period (c. 1625–1470 BC). The palaces are traditionally regarded as the seats of a combined political, economic, and religious authority that presided over

8777-410: The drawing of a profile on the computer screen and the entry of a parameter—Younger used height—which in this case was 1.7 m (5.6 ft). "Vase" computed 996 liters , which is slightly too great, because it was based on external dimensions. At the density of pure water , 1 kg per litre , the contents of a full pithos would weigh about a tonne . Moreover, the pithos selected was not among

8908-440: The earlier bulky masses with a more articulated layout. The interiors were also more spacious and divisions more permeable, with collondes and pier-and-door partitions replacing earlier solid walls. Many of the archetypal palatial features appear to date from this era, including Lustral Basins and fresco painting. They are much more uniform in style than their predecessors, leading scholars to suspect that they were constructed by

9039-597: The early part of the Middle Minoan period, at Knossos and other sites including Malia , Phaestos and Zakro . These palaces, which were to set the pattern of organisation in Crete and Greece through the second millennium, were a sharp break from the Neolithic village system that had prevailed thus far. The building of the palaces implies greater wealth and a concentration of authority, both political and religious. It

9170-747: The end of MM IIB (c. 1700 BC), either by earthquakes or by violence. During the Neopalatial Period, the palaces at Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia were rebuilt and new ones were constructed at Zakros and Galatas. At Knossos, rebuilding began during MM III (c. 1750–1700 BC), soon after the destruction of the earlier palace. However, the major construction projects from this period took place during LM IA (c. 1700–1625 BC), and Phaistos in particular may have been abandoned until then. The Neopalatial palaces were more imposing than their predecessors, and their interiors were more complex. The renovations introduced more internal divisions and corridors, replacing

9301-405: The floor of the surrounding room. They are reached via a descending L-shaped staircase and are open at the top, allowing occupants to be viewed from above. Each palace had at least one lustral basin, with Phaistos having four of them. They are presumed to have been used for rituals, in particular given that at least some were decorated with religious-themed frescoes. However, their exact function

9432-513: The forms might well have fit other types. Reconciliation of pre-classical pottery types with classical types has long been a problem of classical archaeology. Pithos has two irreconcilable derivations, classical and Mycenaean. On the one hand, it was a well-used word of the Iron Age in Greece, dating to as early as the works of Homer . Julius Pokorny and other professional linguists developed

9563-412: The goods distributed, was designed to planned capacities for specific purposes, which is the reason why pottery is so useful in archaeology as indicators of period and why standard types can be detected at all. All Bronze Age records of goods refer intentionally to the type, capacity and contents of ceramic storage and shipping vessels. Ventris and Chadwick devoted much of Documents in Mycenaean Greek to

9694-455: The height of Minoan prosperity. All the palaces had large central courtyards which may have been used for public ceremonies and spectacles. Living quarters, storage rooms and administrative centres were positioned around the court and there were also working quarters for skilled craftsmen. The palace of Knossos was by far the largest, covering three acres with its main building alone and five acres when separate out-buildings are considered. It had

9825-413: The intended use. Pithoi designed for marine transportation were generally not decorated. They must have been stored in a warehouse. Storage pithoi, however, might be viewed in residential and administrative locations. The neck and shoulders were generally decorated, which is consistent with a partially subterranean location. All the large pithoi featured circumferential bands of thicker clay strengthening

9956-457: The joints where sections of the pithos were lowered onto each other and fused together. The raised band concept was expanded over the upper body to a repeating circumferential pattern, incised or stamped at first, then rolled with a seal-like roller around the body of the pithos while it was still fresh clay. Some common themes are spirals, meanders, and waves. Waves in relief give the appearance of slack rope; whether they were intended to be that

10087-407: The large pithoi at Knossos, with smaller mouths relative to the body. The heights are approximately 50% of the heights at Knossos. The dependency of the capacity on height was approximately given by Heron , a 1st-century engineer. He is credited with a number of formulae, all called "Heron's formula." As far as pottery is concerned, he divided pots into spheroid and pithoid, all the larger ones being

10218-407: The large pithoi were sunk into the floor in the storage rooms, as the archaeological evidence indicates they were, their weight and bulk raise a question of how they were brought there. Handling of a full pithos except by extensive apparatus of tracks and cranes, of which there is no evidence, is unlikely. They were perhaps brought in empty, set in place, and then filled from smaller pithoi with some of

10349-470: The largest ashlars used by the Minoans. Because Kommos is thought to have been politically dependent on Phaistos and Hagia Triada , the presence of palatial architecture is a puzzle. In the words of excavator Joseph Shaw: Could a relatively small and architecturally unpretentious town such as Kommos have promoted and maintained such an enormous structure, or have we misunderstood the palaces? Perhaps they were not so rare nor served such large regions as

10480-400: The largest. On similar studies of some other pithoi mentioned by Ventris and Chadwick, he obtained volumes such as 1430.5 liters, 1377.5 liters, 1334.7 liters, and so on, with full weights in excess of two tons. Dry goods would be much less dense, but even half the density, a weight of about a ton, is far beyond any handling operations by individuals, or teams of individuals, who could not obtain

10611-437: The latter type, taking this classification from work done previously and appearing in the writings of Archimedes . The volume of a pithoid, which can be either a pithos or an amphora , is dependent, he asserts, on 11/14 of the product of the height and a number representing a squared average of minimum and maximum diameters. There has been some controversy about what geometric figure this formula represents. The manuscript gives

10742-476: The lower town. In the Protopalatial era, the courts were lined with raised triangular causeways and circular stone-lined pits which excavators dubbed kouloures after a circular Cretan pastry. Kouloures have been variously interpreted as granaries, cisterns , and planters for sacred trees. They were removed when the west courts were expanded in the Neopalatial period. The west courts were adjacent to

10873-399: The mainland. Greek became the administrative language and the material culture shows parallels with Mycenaean styles, for instance in the architecture of tombs and styles of pottery. Around 1350 BC, the palace was destroyed and not rebuilt. The building was ravaged by a fire which triggered the collapse of the upper stories. It is not known whether this final destruction was intentional or

11004-422: The motif in relief; indoor, on fresh, pure plaster, softer than the plaster with additives ordinarily used on walls. The decorative motifs were generally bordered scenes: humans , legendary creatures , animals , rocks, vegetation, and marine life. The earliest imitated pottery motifs. Most have been reconstructed from various numbers of flakes fallen to the floor. Evans had various technicians and artists work on

11135-544: The nature of these rituals is unknown. One hypothesis suggests that the west courts were used for a harvest festival. This view is based largely on the interpretation of kouloures as grain repositories. However, this interpretation has been questioned on the basis that the kouloures lacked the sort of capping or lining that would have been necessary to keep grain dry. The palaces have extensive storage facilities which were used for agricultural commodities as well as tableware. Enormous sets of high quality tableware were stored in

11266-442: The new rulers continued the traditional Knossian use of bulls as a symbol of power. Bulls appear in one third of the surviving frescoes from this period, and in particular at the entrances and in the more ostentatious rooms. In this period, administrative records were kept in Linear B which give a snapshot of palace economics. In contrast to the widely dispersed Linear A, most Linear B inscriptions were found at Knossos, suggesting

11397-486: The numerous bucket-type pottery. The problem of handling large pithoi also raises questions of shipping. However, large pithoi are not found in the few shipwrecks of merchant vessels from the Bronze Age. In a recent study of the lading of the ship wrecked at Uluburun in the Late Bronze Age, Lin hypothesizes a cargo of about 20 tons, including 10 pithoi at 3.5 tons, or 0.35 tons each, if filled with fluid at about

11528-406: The palace and civilization as it was, but were creating a modern artifact based on contemporary art and architecture. The centrepiece of the "Minoan" palace was the so-called Throne Room or Little Throne Room, dated to LM II . This chamber has an alabaster seat which Evans referred to as a " throne " built into the north wall. On three sides of the room are gypsum benches. On the south side of

11659-505: The palace, Evans developed an archaeological concept of the civilization that used it, which he called Minoan, following the pre-existing custom of labelling all objects from the location Minoan. Since their discovery, the ruins have been the centre of excavation, tourism, and occupation as a headquarters by governments warring over the control of the eastern Mediterranean in two world wars. John Davies Evans (no relation to Arthur Evans) undertook further excavations in pits and trenches over

11790-424: The palace, focusing on the Neolithic. The palace at Knossos was continuously renovated and modified throughout its existence. The currently visible palace is an accumulation of features from various periods, alongside modern reconstructions which are often inaccurate. Thus, the palace was never exactly as it appears today. Like other Minoan palaces, Knossos was arranged around a rectangular central court. This court

11921-426: The palaces during the renovations that marked the beginning of the Neopalatial period (MM III, c. 1750–1700 BC). Earlier examples exist from the Protopalatial period, but only became commonplace and only took on their canonical form during the Neopalatial period. They fell out of use and were filled in during the LM IB period (c. 1625–1470 BC), simultaneous with an island-wide change in religious practice that also saw

12052-503: The palaces' control. Unlike the Near Eastern buildings that influenced them, Minoan palaces were not secure fortresses, and were at least partially accessible to residents of the adjacent towns. Similarly, while Near Eastern societies had separate buildings which served as palaces and temples, Minoan architecture does not make any such obvious distinction. Some scholars have questioned whether these functions were truly grouped under one roof, or if we have somehow fundamentally misunderstood

12183-410: The palaces' monumental west facades, which towered over them. Like their Near Eastern antecedents, the west facades were punctuated by recesses which would have enhanced the spectacle of public events, creating what is sometimes referred to as a "window of appearances". The west courts are believed to have been used for public festivals, in contrast to the central courts where events would have included

12314-549: The palaces, often produced elsewhere in Crete. Pottery at Knossos is prolific, heavily-decorated and uniquely-styled by period. In Minoan chronology , the standard relative chronology is largely based on pottery styles and is thus used to assign dates to layers of the palace. The palace had at least three separate water-management systems: one for supply, one for drainage of runoff, and one for drainage of waste water. Aqueducts brought fresh water to Kephala hill from springs at Archanes , about 10 km away. Springs there are

12445-676: The palaces, often produced elsewhere. For instance, Kamares Ware found at Knossos was probably made in Mesara. The first palaces are generally dated to the MM IB period , c. 1925–1875 BC. Their appearance was a sudden culmination of longer social and architectural trends, and marks the beginning of the Protopalatial era . The Protopalatial palaces were destroyed around at the end of MM IIB (c. 1700 BC), seemingly by earthquakes. New palaces were constructed during MM III (c. 1750–1700 BC), marking

12576-494: The palaces. Similarly, they do not appear to have been the seats of kings or centralized authority. Emerging evidence suggests that palaces were primarily consumers rather than producers of many goods associated with them, such as Kamares Ware pottery, though there is limited evidence for on-site production at the palaces. A major exception is loom weights found at Knossos and Phaistos. The palaces' courts are generally regarded as having been used for public rituals, though

12707-404: The paving would not have been optimal for the animals or the people, and that the restricted access points would have kept the spectacle too far out of public view. The 6 acres (24,000 m) of the palace included a theater, a main entrance on each of its four cardinal faces, and extensive storerooms. The palace was built on Kephala Hill , 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the coast. The site

12838-550: The pithoi. Pithos KW 255 could be modelled to obtain an estimated volume of 293 liters at an empty weight of 120.25 kg, the highest of the 8. The lowest empty weight, that of KW 250, was 43 kg. Assuming a direct proportion between capacity and empty weight, the smallest capacity would have been about 105 litre. This approximate data from the wreck suggests that pithoi were in fact shipped, but only those of much smaller capacity. The pithoi of Uluburun, if full of liquid, would still have been too heavy for manual handling. Including

12969-697: The project, some artists, some chemists, and restorers. The symmetry and use of templates made possible a degree of reconstruction beyond what was warranted by only the flakes. For example, if evidence of the use of a certain template existed scantily in one place, the motif could be supplied from the template found somewhere else. Like the contemporary murals in the funerary art of the Egyptians, certain conventions were used that also assisted prediction. For example, male figures are shown with darker or redder skin than female figures. Some archaeological authors have objected that Evans and his restorers were not discovering

13100-435: The residence of a "Priest-King". The term has generally been retained despite subsequent researchers largely rejecting Evans's interpretation. However, alternative terms have been proposed including “court building” and “court-centered building”, which characterize the buildings in terms of their form while remaining neutral as to their function. Numerous other terms from Minoan archaeology carry similar caveats. For instance,

13231-474: The result of a natural disaster such as an earthquake. While parts of the palace may have been used for later ceremonies and the town of Knossos saw a resurgence around 1200 BC, the building and its associated institutions were never restored. After the Bronze Age, the town of Knossos continued to be occupied. By 1000 BC, it had reemerged as one of the most important centres of Crete. The city had two ports, one at Amnisos and another at Heraklion . According to

13362-532: The role of the palaces in Minoan society remains a topic of scholarly debate. Writing and sealing is often taken as evidence for viewing the palaces as regional administration centers. For instance, documents from Knossos suggest that it managed large flocks of sheep in the Protopalatial era, and also appear to record transactions involving figs, olives, cereals, and other produce. Later Linear B documents record agricultural surplusses far beyond local needs for subsistence, including 960,000 liters of grain from

13493-549: The room and the throne is unclear. Minoan palaces Minoan palaces were massive building complexes built on Crete during the Bronze Age . They are often considered emblematic of the Minoan civilization and are modern tourist destinations. Archaeologists generally recognize five structures as palaces, namely those at Knossos , Phaistos , Malia , Galatas , and Zakros . Minoan palaces consisted of multistory wings surrounding an open rectangular central court. They shared

13624-539: The rules of reconstructing Mycenaean Greek from Linear B, qe-to must be a transcription of q ethos or q hethos , from a "base" of *g hedh- . The latter is similar to some Indo-European roots but has no meaningful connection to any. Ventris and Chadwick suggest that either qe-to was not a pithos, but was some smaller vessel, or that pithos is a foreign loan, like aryballos , lekythos , and some others. The Cretan pithos precedes by several hundred years any mentioned in Mycenaean Greek; moreover, many are inscribed with

13755-490: The same proportion between diameter and height; the larger vases were made thinner. If Younger's data can be taken as reflecting general truth, then the vases at Sheytan Deresi should have capacities that are greater than 40.6 liters by a factor of 1.875 , or 4.91, where 1.875 is 90/48. The capacity is thus 4.91 x 40.6 = about 200 liters, or 440 pounds if water is the content. These pithoi also are too large for handling without equipment, and may even have required strengthening of

13886-407: The same proportions, they varied considerably in size. In the Neopalatial era, Knossos was twice as large as Malia and Phaistos, and three times as large as Galatas and Zakros. The palaces also changed dramatically over their lifespans, with many of their most familiar features only appearing in the Neopalatial era. Minoan palaces were organized around a rectangular central court . In each palace,

14017-517: The same team. The Neopalatial palaces were destroyed at the end of LM IB, with the exception of Knossos. At Knossos, the lower town was burned but the palace itself was not. These destructions have been attributed to warfare, either internal uprisings or external attack by Mycenaean Greeks. During the Final Palace Period (LM II-IIIA, c. 1470-1330 BC), Knossos was rebuilt while the other palaces were left in ruins. In this era, Knossos

14148-516: The same time as similar construction at peak sanctuaries and sacred caves . These developments suggest that the palaces were built as part of a broader pattern of earlier traditions being institutionalized, with particular groups within Minoan society asserting control over important spaces and activities that would have taken place there. One proposal by Stuart Manning attributes these social developments to an expansion and subsequent contraction in international trade. During EM II (c. 2650–2200 BC),

14279-503: The sea of pirates, increased the flow of trade and colonised many Aegean islands. Other literature describes Rhadamanthus as the mythological lawgiver of Crete. Cleinias of Crete attributes to him the tradition of Cretan gymnasia and common meals in Book I of Plato's Laws , and describes the logic of the custom as enabling a constant state of war readiness. The site of Knossos was identified by Minos Kalokairinos , who excavated parts of

14410-494: The site. Knossos was settled around 7000 BC during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic , making it the oldest known settlement in Crete. Radiocarbon dating has suggested dates around 7,030-6,780 BCE. The initial settlement was a hamlet of 25–50 people who lived in wattle and daub huts, kept animals, grew crops, and, in the event of tragedy, buried their children under the floor. Remains from this period are concentrated in

14541-409: The source of the Kairatos river, in the valley in which Kephala is located. The aqueduct branched to the palace and to the town. Water was distributed at the palace by gravity feed through terracotta pipes to fountains and spigots. The pipes were tapered at one end to make a pressure fit, with rope for sealing. Unlike Mycenae , no hidden springs have been discovered. Sanitation drainage was through

14672-405: The square of the average of minimum and maximum diameters. Vodolazhskaya points out that if the average of the squares is used instead, the formula applies to a truncated paraboloid of revolution. She proposes that the manuscript was corrupted. According to either version of Heron's formula, if height and diameter change proportionately, a change in height ought to result in a change in volume that

14803-413: The storerooms. This is a convention of display. Apart from the fact that they would seriously have impeded the dimly-lit corridors, there would have been no way to access them except by scaffold. They must have been originally placed in the pits of the storerooms, except possibly for the smaller and more easily accessed ones. There is also a question of stability. Only some were of a stable barrel-shape. If

14934-563: The term "Lustral Basin" is often used to refer to a particular architectural feature even by scholars who do not regard them as having been used for lustration . The defining feature of a Minoan palace is its arrangement of multistory wings around a rectangular central court. Beyond that, the palaces shared a further common architectural vocabulary of room types, ornamentation styles, and shared tendencies in layout. Their floorplans have been described as " labyrinthine ", with corridors often taking circuitous routes even between rooms which shared

15065-459: The throne room there is a feature called a lustral basin , so-called because Evans found remains of unguent flasks inside it and speculated that it had been used as part of an annointing ritual. The room was accessed from an anteroom through double doors. The anteroom was connected to the central court, which was four steps up through four doors. The anteroom had gypsum benches also, with carbonized remains between two of them thought possibly to be

15196-618: The topic of quantifiable measures. They and others were able to define a Mycenaean Greek dry unit of 96 liter and a wet unit of 36 liter. John Younger calculated the number of Mycenaean wet and dry units (96.1 L and 28.8 L, resp.) in the capacities of 300 pots of known dimensions, including several storage pithoi. He attempted to assign the volumes to integer or half-integer multiples of these units. Some pithoi were used for rituals and even for burial. The decor of those pithoi differed significantly from ones used for transportation and storage in warehouses. Decorations would have been used to match

15327-408: The towns around them. However, they were smaller and less complex than their Neopalatial successors. They had a square-within-a-square layout, with fewer internal divisions than later on, and may have lacked later features such as orthostates and ashlar facades. The palaces were also more distinct from one another in this period. The Protopalatial palaces at Knossos and Phaistos were destroyed at

15458-414: The water-collection-management system follow. Due to its placement on the hill, the palace received sea breezes during the summer. It had porticoes and air shafts. The palace also includes the Minoan column, a structure notably different from Greek columns . Unlike the stone columns that are characteristic of Greek architecture, the Minoan column was constructed from the trunk of a cypress tree, which

15589-465: Was abolished in 1831. During the ninth century AD the local population shifted to the new town of Chandax (modern Heraklion ). By the thirteenth century, it was called the Makruteikhos 'Long Wall'. In its modern history , the name Knossos is used only for the archaeological site. It was extensively excavated by Arthur Evans in the early 20th century, and Evans' residence at the site served as

15720-475: Was an ancient Greek king named Aegeus , the basis for the name of the Greek sea (the Aegean Sea), sailed to Crete, where he was forced to fight a terrible creature called the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a half man, half bull, and was kept in the Labyrinth – a building like a maze – by King Minos, the ruler of Crete. The king's daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. Before he entered the Labyrinth to fight

15851-660: Was built of large, unbaked bricks. The roof was flat with a thick layer of clay over brushwood. Internal rooms were brightened by light-wells and columns of wood, many fluted, were used to lend both support and dignity. The chambers and corridors were decorated with frescoes showing scenes from everyday life and scenes of processions. Warfare is conspicuously absent. The fashions of the time may be seen in depictions of women in various poses. They had elaborately dressed hair and wore long dresses with flounced skirts and puffed sleeves. Their bodices were tightly drawn in round their waists and their breasts were exposed. The prosperity of Knossos

15982-695: Was destroyed at an unknown point roughly a century later, marking the end of the Minoan palaces. The palaces were built at sites that had been important communal spaces for a very long time. In particular, communal feasting is attested in the areas of the future Central Courts and West Courts dating back to the Neolithic. During the Early Minoan period, these areas were partly terraced and monumental buildings were constructed around them. These early buildings are poorly understood since much of their remains were obliterated by later construction. However, traces of early construction are found at Knossos throughout

16113-618: Was first excavated by Minos Kalokairinos in 1877. In 1900, Arthur Evans undertook more extensive excavations which unearthed most of the palace as well as many now-famous artifacts including the Bull-Leaping Fresco , the snake goddess figurines , and numerous Linear B tablets. While Evans is often credited for discovering the Minoan Civilization, his work is controversial in particular for his inaccurate and irreversible reconstructions of architectural remains at

16244-438: Was not very high off the surrounding ground. The Royal Road is the last vestige of a Minoan road that connected the port to the palace complex. Today a modern road, Leoforos Knosou, built over or replacing the ancient roadway, serves that function and continues south. The palace had extensive storage magazines which were used for agricultural commodities as well as tableware. Enormous sets of high quality tableware were stored in

16375-598: Was primarily based upon the development of native Cretan resources such as oil, wine, and wool. Another factor was the expansion of trade, evidenced by Minoan pottery found in Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Rhodes, the Cyclades, Sicily, and mainland Greece. There seem to have been strong Minoan connections with Rhodes, Miletus, and Samos. Cretan influence may be seen in the earliest scripts found in Cyprus. The main market for Cretan wares

16506-497: Was proposed to appear as 𐀤𐀵 , qe-to , in the Bronze Age records of Pylos and Mycenae , denoted by Ideogram 203 𐃢 , a small picture very similar to some Knossos pithoi, but which could just as well be matched by smaller pottery. Strangely enough it was not found at Knossos , a major find site of pithoi. It was duly transcribed as WINE JAR in Bennett's system, on the presumption that it would store primarily wine. According to

16637-712: Was ruled by a Mycenaean Greek elite, who adopted a mixture of local Minoan cultural traditions and ones from the mainland. Many of the most famous rooms in the palace took their final form in this era, including the Throne Room and much of the residential quarters in the East Wing. The palace was extensively redecorated with new frescoes that adopted aspects of mainland Mycenaean iconography. These new frescoes abandoned earlier Minoan subjects such as fantastical nature scenes and ecstatic rituals, replacing them with figure-eight shields and processions of tribute-bearers. However,

16768-439: Was the Cyclades where there was a demand for pottery, especially the stone vases. It is not known whether the islands were subject to Crete or just trading partners, but there certainly was strong Cretan influence. Around 1450 BC, the palaces at Malia, Phaestos, and Zakros were destroyed, leaving Knossos as the sole surviving palace on Crete. In this final period, Knossos seems to have been influenced or perhaps ruled by people from

16899-467: Was those and other ceramics. The contents of the pithoi are not known. The handles are two parallel loops on either side of the mouth projecting slightly above it. The vases are now in the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology . The dimensions of most of the pithoi are of the same order of magnitude. One has a height of 0.9 m and a body height of 0.84 m. The shapes are roughly similar to those of

17030-616: Was thought, taking its place with oikos , "house", the origin word for economic , and others. At that time Greek and Latin were believed to have had a common ancestor other than Proto-Indo-European. Contemporaneously with Pokorny's epic dictionary, Linear B was first being deciphered, and various analyses were being put forward that Greek and Latin were not all that similar. There was no need to prove that developments in Latin were necessarily parallel to those in Greek. If bh- became f- in Latin, it would not necessarily do so in Greek. The pithos

17161-429: Was twice as long north-south as it was east-west, an orientation that would have maximized sunlight, and positioned important rooms towards the rising sun. The central court is believed to have been used for rituals and festivals. One of these festivals is believed to be depicted in the Grandstand Fresco . Some scholars have suggested that bull-leaping would have taken place in the courts, though others have argued that

#436563