Knossos

Knossos used to be the most important center of Minoan Civilization. It was named after the great King Minoas. Some researchers believe that Minoas was not a person per se but a title for governors in the ancient Cretan language. This, however, has not been confirmed, since that ancient language remains largely unknown to us, while the legendary "Phaistos Disk" has not been translated yet (Phaistos was the second most important center of Minoan Civilization).

It is believed that the Minoan Civilization had already been developed to a very high degree by 3.500 B.C., while it sustained its development until 12 century B.C.. They say that the first robot was designed in Crete (Talos). The truth is that the influence of Minoan Civilization was very important, as the arts and architecture of later civilizations, Mycenae and Thira (Santorini), confirm.

Many legends were born in Knossos, such as the one of Minatauros, the monster with the human body and the bull head, which was killed by Theseus in Knossos' labyrinth.

The city of Knossos, which was never uninhabited since the Neolithic Era, was built in area of Kefala, 5 km southeast of Heraklion's location today. Although only a small part of it has been rescued, one will see many achievements of that period, such as the finished water networks and the heating and cooling pipelines.

The findings from the palace (pots, vessels, figurines, the board archive of Linear B script, and the original wall paintings as well) are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.