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Palace Of Knossos Essay

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Sir Arthur Evans discovered the Palace of Knossos (Fig. 1) when looking for the legendary labyrinth of King Minos on the Island of Crete. According to the myth, King Minos had a complex labyrinth built to house the Minotaur, a monstrous creature his wife gave birth to. The palace’s construction was a maze of rooms with no logical set up and led Evans to think the palace itself was most likely the labyrinth. The myth states, every year seven girls and seven boys of a young age were chosen as tribute to enter the labyrinth.1 The myth of the labyrinth in connection with the Palace of Knossos can be linked to a right of passage or a coming of age ritual in Ancient Greece. The tributes entered, wrestled with their thoughts and finally emerged as adults ready to take their places in society. The Palace of Knossos located on the island of Crete, a few miles from the city of Herakleion covers many acres. Sir Arthur Evans is typically credited with the …show more content…

When looking at the architectural plans of the palace there appears to be no logical order to its arrangement. With no central axis, the rooms seem as if they were placed in random spots making the navigation of the palace confusing. The maze-like design of the complex (Fig. 7) lead Evans to think the palace complex was the labyrinth. When examining the ground floor of the palace, Evans discovered a meander pattern decorating the floor. The pattern only ran in one direction, towards the center of the palace. The center was an open courtyard where the ritual sport of bull leaping most likely took place. The myth states that the battle of Theseus and the Minotaur took place in the center of the Labyrinth, making a connection the central court of Minos’ palace. “The labyrinth, whose linear form is the meander [pattern], represents a difficult passage; it was confusing [and] hard to follow… but eventually lead back to the

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