I hope to contact the British School archaeologists working at Knossos while I’m staying in Iraklion next week, but in the meantime, I’ve decided to enjoy the iconic site as a tourist. I’ve visited several times over the years, marveling equally at the romance of the finds–deemed the improbable, mythical “Minotaur’s labyrinth” by its most famous excavator Sir Arthur Evans in the early 20th century–and extent of their reconstruction in reinforced concrete. While structured pathways give the site a sterile feel, the layout and architecture are ever impressive. Not only was the complex fitted with running water and flushing toilets, the doors were designed to slide into the walls of each room, opening up spaces and filling them with light, or closing them off to darken them, as needed.

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A replica of the "Prince of the Lilies" fresco (also known as the "Priest-King") adorns the palace's South Entrance, while the original is in the collection of the Iraklion Museum. Although it has become an iconic image associated with Knossos, the fragments from which it was heavily reconstructed supposedly come from three different reliefs. Some believe it originally depicted a woman.

This entry was posted by Eti Bonn-Muller on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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