KNOSSOS – LASSITHI
Knossos
The Minoan
palace of Knossos was the seat of King Minos. It is the most important
archaeological site on Crete and about 5 km from the center of Heraklion.
Inhabited from
the 7th millennium BC, it is here where the most important ancient civilization
of crete was created from the Neolithic period. The first palace of Knossos is
estimated to have been built in 1950 BC but destroyed by an earthquake, giving
way for the building of the second one.
Knossos was
built in a very strategic point allowing it to control the hinterland and the
ports of the region . Generally the palace of Knossos was the political ,
religious, administrative , commercial and military center of Minoan Crete .
The basement of the palace was used as cellars or warehouses for various
products marketed at that time. Numerous frescoes have been preserved depicting
scenes from the daily lives of residents then.
The palace of
Knossos was discovered by an archaeologist in the Summer of 1878. Excavations
were completed later by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1900 to
1905 and the British Archaeological Society .
Lassithi
Lassithi is the
easternmost prefecture of Crete. Here one can visit the cave of Zeus or
otherwise known as the Diktaion Cave. It’s one of the most famous caves of
Crete and Greece in general by offering a spectacular sight of stalagmites and
stalactites. The myth says that Zeus was born here and that this cave is famous
since ancient times. Interestingly, in the prefecture of Lassithi one may also
find the Kera Kardiotissas monastery for nuns where during the years of Ottoman
rule also acted as the core of resistance against the Turks. The monument has great historical and
artistic importance .