Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Grand Stairway ascends to the floor above the queen's domain, and the
King's
Quarters
; the staircase opens into a grandiose reception chamber known as the
Hall of the
Royal Guard
, its walls decorated in repeated shield patterns. Immediately off here is the
Hall of the Double Axes
(or the King's Room); believed to have been the ruler's personal
chamber, its name comes from the double-axe symbol carved into every block of masonry.
The Throne Room
At the top of the Grand Stairway you emerge onto the broad
Central Court
; on the far
side, in the northwestern corner, is the entrance to another of Knossos's most
atmospheric survivals, the
Throne Room
. Here, a worn stone throne - with its hollowed
shaping for the posterior - sits against the wall of a surprisingly small chamber; along
the walls around it are ranged stone benches, suggesting a king ruling in council, and
behind there's a reconstructed fresco of two griffins.
The rest of the palace
Try not to miss the giant
pithoi
in the northeast quadrant of the site, an area known as
the palace workshops; other must-see areas and features include the storage chambers
(which you see from behind the Throne Room), the reproduced frescoes in the
reconstructed room above it, the fresco of the Priest-King looking down on the south
side of the central court, and the relief of a charging bull on its north side. Just outside
the North Entrance is the
theatral area
(another Evans designation), an open space a
little like a stepped amphitheatre, which may have been used for ritual performances or
dances. From here the
Royal Road
, claimed as the oldest road in Europe, sets out.
Circling back around the outside of the palace, you can get an idea of its scale by
looking up at it; on the south side are a couple of small reconstructed Minoan houses
which are worth exploring.
7
Inland from Iráklion
Heading south from Knossos, the zone around
Arhánes
and
Péza
is one of Crete's
major wine-producing areas (see box, p.462). Nearby are some more Minoan sites at
Anemospiliá
and
Vathýpetro
, plus a few diverting villages.
The main inland route
southwest from Iráklion climbs through the mountains before winding down to
Áyii
Dhéka
and the Messará plain. Here on the Messará, all within a 40km range of each
other, lie the three major archeological sites of
Phaestos
,
Ayía Triádha
and
Gortys
. Once
you get this far south you're within a short drive of the coastal resorts of
Mátala
and
(accessed via a mountain road)
Léndas.
GETTING AROUND
INLAND FROM IRÁKLION
By bus
Iráklion (Bus station A)
to: Arhánes (Mon-Fri
hourly 6am-9pm, Sat hourly 7am-7pm, Sun 8am, 11am,
2pm, 5pm); Houdhétsi (Mon-Thur 6 daily 7am-3pm, Fri 7
daily 7am-8.15pm, Sat 4 daily 9.30am-3pm, Sun 7.30am
only); Mátala - some change at Mires (4 daily
7.30am-3.30pm; 2hr 30min); Léndas (Mon-Fri; 12.30pm;
2hr).
Iráklion (Bus station B)
to: Phaestos (8 daily
7.30am-4.30pm; 1hr 30min).
By car
When heading south from the Messará plain, the
Asteroussia hills, which divide the plain from the coast, are
surprisingly precipitous and the roads in these parts are
slow going.
Myrtiá
MYRTIÁ
is an attractive village, 15km south of Iráklion, and home to the small
Kazantzakis Museum
(March-Oct daily 9am-5pm; Nov-Feb Sun only 10am-3pm;
€3), dedicated to the famous writer and philosopher, Nikos Kazantzakis (see p.450).
The museum, a cluster of buildings in the village square, displays manuscripts, notes
and first editions of the writer's works, as well as photographs and personal effects
- expect to see plenty of models, costumes and other material from theatre productions
of his works in Greece and abroad.
