Knossos, the famous Minoan Palace, is 5 kilometres southeast of Heraklion. In the valley of the river Kairatos, which rises in Archanes, runs through Knossos and reaches the sea at Katsabas, the Minoan harbour of Knossos, the river flowed in Minoan Times all year round and the surrounding hills were covered in oak and cypress trees, where today we see vines and olives. The pine trees inside the archaeological site were planted by Evans. 9,000 years after the first habitation of Knossos, it is pretty hard to imagine what the Minoaon landscape was like exactly.

Knossos, the 1st and 2nd Palace

The first settlement in the Knossos area was established circa 7000 BC, during the Neolithic Period. Knossos was the seat of the legendary King Minos and the main centre of power in Crete. The economic, social and political development of the settlement led to the construction of the majestic Palace of Knossos towards the end of the second millennium BC, and it was destroyed circa 1700 BC.
It was rebuilt and destroyed again by fire, this time definitively, in 1350 BC. The environs of the Palace were transformed into a sacred grove of the goddess Rhea, but never inhabited again.
The Palace of Knossos is the monumental symbol of Minoan civilization, due to its construction, architectural plan, use of luxury materials, impressive size and advanced building techniques.

Knossos, the first excavation by Minos Kalokairinos

The first large-scale excavation was undertaken in 1878 while Crete was still under Turkish occupation by the wealthy art-lover Minos Kalokairinos. Kalokairinos excavated part of the West Magazines and brought many huge storage pots to light.

Knossos, the excavations by Sir Arthur Evans

In March 1900 to 1931, Sir Arthur Evans excavated not only the Palace but the whole surrounding area of Knossos. The Palace complex was excavated in only five years, an extremely short time by today’s standards.
Evans restored the Palace using concrete, a technique condemned by modern archaeologists as arbitrary and damaging to the Minoan structure. Excavations continue till today.

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Gortys, also known as Gortyn or Gortyna, is one of the most important cities in Crete with a history of 6,000 years. It is also one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Greece. It lies in south central Crete in the fertile Mesara plain, the site of the first human habitation of Crete at the end of the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC). Gortys is about 40 minutes drive south of Heraklion, on the same road that will take you to Phaistos and Matala.

The name Gortys or Gortyna

According to one tradition, Gortys was named after its founder Gortys, the son of Radamanthys, king of Phaistos, brother of Minos. Another Myth is that it was founded by Gortys from the city of Tegea in Arcadian Gortynia. A third variation on the same myth has Gortys founded by Queen Gortyna of Crete, mother of King Taurus.

Excavations at Gortys

Gortys was one of the first areas of Crete to attract the attention of archaeologists and researchers in the late 19th century, during the period of Turkish occupation, when Minoan civilization was still considered to be mythical.
In 1884 the discovery by Iosif Hatzidakis, Stefanos Xanthoudides and Italian Federico Halbherr and preservation of the Great Inscription led to excavations in the Gortys area. Excavations were undertaken by the Italian Archaeological Mission in collaboration with the Archaeological Service (after Crete became an autonomous state in 1898). They lasted until 1940.
Excavations in the wider area of Gortys brought to light  important buildings and finds. Still a large part of the Roman city remains unexplored today. The most important finds are displayed in Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

History of Gortys

The area has been inhabited since 5th millennium BC, at the end of the Neolithic period. Habitation continued in Minoan times. It is proven by the Minoan country villa found in the Kannia area, near Mitropolis village, not far from Gortys.
Gortys replaced Phaistos as the chief power in the Mesara, from the middle of the 1st millennium BC, centered around the fortified acropolis with the temple of Athena Poliouchos which was the Protector of the City.
After the Roman conquest of Crete in 67 BC, Gortys became the capital of Crete, replacing Knossos, due to its good relations with Rome. Gortys was declared the capital of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, a position it held until the Arab conquest of Crete in 828 AD. It reached its peak in the 2nd century AD, while its final period of glory was in the early Christian period (until the 7th century AD).
It is believed that Gortys expanded across a wide area and probably had a large population. It may have been built using stone from the nearby Roman quarry in the village of Ambelouzos, known in Crete as the Labyrinth of Mesara.
In 796 AD the city was hit by another earthquake which almost destroyed it. After the Andalusian Arabs conquered Crete, the capital was transferred to Chandax, modern-day Heraklion.

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The Minoan Palace of Phaistos, is located in the Messara Plain in south-central Crete, 55 kilometres south of Heraklion and it is one of the most important archaeological sites in Crete.
The Minoan palace of Phaistos and the area surrounding it was a flourishing city which arose in the fertile plain of the Messara in prehistoric times, from circa 6000 BC to the 1st century BC, as archaeological finds confirm.

Phaistos, history

The history of the Minoan palace of Phaistos is similar to that of the other Minoan palaces of Crete, a turbulent one. The first palace of Phaistos was built in circa 2000 BC. Its founder, according to the myth, was Minos himself and its first king was his brother Radamanthys.
In 1700 BC a strong earthquake destroyed the palace of Phaistos, which was rebuilt almost immediately. But it was no longer the administrative centre of the area, the honor passed to the neighbouring Agia Triada. Phaistos however continued to be the religious and cult centre of south Crete.
In 1450 BC there was another great catastrophe across the whole of Crete. The city of Phaistos recovered from the destruction, minted its own coins and continued to flourish for the next few centuries until the first century BC, when it was destroyed by neighbouring Gortys.

Phaistos excavations

The first excavations in the wider area of Phaistos were undertaken in 1900 by the Italian Archaeological School under Federico Halbherr and Luigi Pernier, The excavations continued after the Second World War under Doro Levi. Most of the buildings visible today belong to the Neopalatial period (1700 – 1450 BC). Unlike Knossos, there have been no efforts at restoration but only conservation.

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