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Archaeology
Knossos Minoan Palace
 Knossos, the famous Minoan Palace lies 5 kilometres southeast of Heraklion, in the valley of the river Kairatos. The river rises in Archanes, runs through Knossos and reaches the sea at Katsabas, the Minoan harbour of Knossos.
In Minoan times the river flowed 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.
Constant habitation for 9,000 years has brought about great changes to the natural environment, so it is hard to imagine what the Minoan landscape was like.
Knossos, the 1st and 2nd Palace
 The first settlement in the Knossos area was established circa 7000 BC, during the Neolithic Period. 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.
Knossos was the seat of the legendary King Minos and the main centre of power in Crete.
This first Palace 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 civilisation, due to its construction, use of luxury materials, architectural plan, advanced building techniques and impressive size.
Knossos, the first excavation by Minos Kalokairinos
The first large-scale excavation was undertaken in 1878 by the wealthy art-lover Minos Kalokairinos, while Crete was still under Turkish occupation. Kalokairinos excavated part of the West Magazines and brought many large pithoi (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 with concrete, a technique condemned by modern archaeologists as arbitrary and damaging to the Minoan structure. Excavations continue and a conservation programme is underway to halt the deterioration of the Palace.
Gortys or Gortyn or Gortyna
Gortys, also known as Gortyn or Gortyna is one of the most important cities in Crete with an unbroken history of 6,000 years and 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 us to Phaistos and Matala. Gortys is about 1 km past the village of Agii Deka, at the side of the main road.
The name Gortys or Gortyna
According to one tradition, Gortys was named after its founder Gortys, the son of Radamanthys, king of Phaistos and brother of Minos.
Another story is that it was founded by Gortys from 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 researchers and archaeologists as early as the period of Turkish occupation in the late 19th century, when Minoan civilisation was still a matter of conjecture and myth.
In 1884 the discovery and preservation of the Great Inscription by Iosif Hatzidakis, Stefanos Xanthoudides and Italian Federico Halbherr 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, and lasted until 1940.
Excavations in the wider area of Gortys brought important buildings and finds to light, although a large part of the Roman city still remains unexplored today. The most important finds are displayed in Heraklion Archaeological Museum, while some will be housed in the Mesara Archaeological Museum once this is built in a few years time.
History of Gortys
The area has been inhabited since the end of the Neolithic period. Habitation continued in Minoan times, a fact proven by the Minoan country villa found in the Kannia area near Mitropolis village, not far from Gortys.
From the middle of the 1st millennium BC, Gortys replaced Phaistos as the chief power in the Mesara, centred around the fortified acropolis with the temple of Athena Poliouchos (Protector of the City).
After the Roman conquest of Crete in 67 BC, Gortys, which was well disposed towards Rome, became capital of Crete, replacing Knossos. 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.
Gortys reached the peak of its power 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 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 an earthquake which almost destroyed it. After the Andalusian Arabs conquered Crete in 828 AD, the capital was transferred to Chandax, modern-day Heraklion.
Gortys archaeological site
Usually a visit to Gortys is limited to the archaeological site open to the public: the church of St Titus, the Odeon and the famous Plane Tree. But how representative is the picture the visitor gains of the grandeur of this city, once the capital of Crete?
The city of Gortys extended across a wide area, but unfortunately only a small part of it has been excavated. What the uninformed (and guided) visitor sees is only the tip of the iceberg.
Stand at the entrance to the archaeological site and look across the road. You will see some blue signs which are usually ignored, but those curious enough to follow them will be amazed at what they see.
 In the next few pages we will take you on a virtual tour of the whole archaeological site of Gortys. We will visit the church of St Titus, the Odeon, the room of the Law Code of Gortys and of course the plane tree of Zeus and Europa.
When we finish our tour of this area, well cross the road to Phaistos and walk along the road to Mitropolis. A little further on we will admire the largest Early Christian church in Crete, whose splendour is still evident in spite of its ruined state.
Then, following the path through the olive trees, we will reach the heart of Roman Gortys, the Praetorium, the seat of the Roman Governor of Crete. The Praetorium is huge and obviously luxurious building. Unfortunately none of these areas is open to the public, but youll be impressed even gazing at them through the wire fencing and enjoy every moment of your visit.
We continue straight on and admire the evergreen plane tree of Gortys, said to have shaded the wedding celebrations of Zeus and Europa.
Fortezza, the Venetian fortress in Rethymnon
The Fortezza (in this case pronounced "Fortedza" rather than "Fortetsa") is the Venetian fortress of Rethymnon, almost in the centre of the old town. The giant Fortezza, with its hidden centuries of history, is visible from every corner of the town and offers panoramic views of Rethymnon and the coast to the west.
ccording to one theory, the hill on which the Fortezza is built was once, in a time lost in the mists of history, an island joined to Crete by a narrow strip of land. Over the centuries the channel silted up and the hill became part of the Cretan mainland.
The hill of Paleokastro ("Old Castle") was probably the site of the acropolis of ancient Rithymna with its Temple of Apollo and Sanctuary of Artemis, although this has not been proven to date. In the 3rd century AD, in the Roman period, there is a reference to a temple of Artemis Roccaea on the hill. In those times Rethymnon was an independent city with its own coinage but not a particularly powerful one.
During the Second Byzantine Period (10th-13th c. AD), a small walled settlement was established east of Paleokastro hill, the Castrum Rethemi or Castel Vecchio or Antico Castello ("Old Castle") as the Venetians later called it.
In the early 13th century the Genoese pirate Enrico Pescatore, an enemy of the Venetians who claimed Crete for himself, seems to have repaired the Byzantine fortifications surrounding the buildings of the small town near the harbour. The Castrum Rethemi was preserved after the Venetian occupation of the island in the 13th century, but unfortunately nothing remains today of the fortifications with their square towers and two gates.
The Venetians, as a marine power, intended to use Rethymnon as a shelter and intermediate base between Heraklion and Chania by building a harbour, even a small one. This led to Rethymnon becoming a city whose expansion necessitated the construction of new fortifications.
The events that followed in Crete from the first half of the 16th century onwards - the Turkish threat and the development of artillery after the invention and widespread use of gunpowder - led Venice to embark on the organisation of Crete's military defences and demonstrated the need for the Fortezza in Rethymnon. It was decided to build walls according to the plans of the Veronese architect Michele Sanmicheli. The foundation stone was laid on 8 April 1540 but the walls were only eventually completed just before 1570.
The walls of Rethymnon were only token defences, which were unfortunately not strong enough to withstand the attack of the corsair Ulu Ali Reis. He was an Italian who had been captured by Barbarossa's men and later become a Muslim, who rose to become Pasha of Algiers and fought many battles against the Christians in the Mediterranean. In 1571 Ulu Ali attacked Rethymnon with 40 galleys. The Venetians had abandoned the city, leaving behind only a skeleton guard of 100 men who were unable to resist for long. Ulu Ali easily scaled the defences and razed the city to the ground.
This destruction demonstrated the need for more effective fortifications. The local authorities, both Venetian and Cretan, the people of Rethymnon and the Venetian Senate, decided to build a fortress which could shelter all the houses in Rethymnon. The hill of Paleokastro was chosen as the most suitable site and work began on the Fortezza, one of the largest and most complete fortification works built in Crete under Venetian rule.
The Fortezza was built according to the bastion fortification system, with bastions joined by straight sections of thick curtain wall, inclined outwards to make enemy missiles bounce off without damaging the fortress. The original plans of the military engineer Sforza Pallavicini were used, with some necessary modifications, improvements and extensions to complete the fortress.
The foundation stone of the Fortezza was laid by the Venetian Rector (as the Governor was called) Alvise Lando on 13 September 1573. Work on the walls and the public buildings within them was completed by 1580.
During the years it was being built, 107,142 Cretans took part in compulsory labour and 40,205 pack animals were requisitioned to work on the Fortezza, under the direction of master builder Giannis Skordilis.
The role of the Fortezza in Venetian Rethymnon
As soon as the Fortezza was completed it became obvious that there was hardly any space left for private homes, so the fortress was declared a public area, only to be used as a last resort by the inhabitants in the event of a siege.
It is reported that, even though the Rethymniots themselves had requested the construction of the Fortezza, once it was finished they refused to abandon the razed town with its weak walls and gain the security of the Fortezza.
One explanation for this strange refusal is that the inhabitants of Rethymnon had already started to rebuild their houses in 1571 using material from the old walls. When the Fortezza was eventually completed nine years later, they were reluctant to start all over again.
It seems, however, that this is only part of the truth; contrary to their assertions, the Venetians had not built the fortress for the protection of the inhabitants. There are many reasons supporting this view:
It was logical for the Venetian conquerors to look after their own people first and the Cretans second.
No building inside the Fortezza appears from its construction to have been intended for the subject Cretans. For example, the only church within the Fortezza, that of San Niccol, was Catholic and therefore meant for the Venetians themselves rather than the Orthodox Rethymniots.
Based on the well-known census of Castrofylax, in 1582 the town of Rethymnon had a population of 5,202. It was objectively impossible for the available space in the Fortezza to house them all along with the garrison and administrative staff.
In effect, the Fortezza was never a particularly secure fortress. Even in 1602, a report by the Venetian Benetto Moro mentions various flaws, such as the lack of a ditch (the outer burgh, the area just outside the walls of the Fortezza, was a residential zone) or buttresses (the walls were low, without sufficient support), making the fortress easy to scale with ladders.
At the same time, the contours of the hill, the small size of the fortress, financial difficulties and constant modifications of the original plans led to the application of general rules governing the construction of bastioned fortresses. Combined with the fact that the small, unfortified harbour of Rethymnon did not suit the Venetian galleys, the following conclusion may be drawn: the Fortezza of Rethymnon was not used for the defence of the island but simply to cover the needs of the Venetian garrison and administration, while in case of danger - in other words the Turkish invasion - the inhabitants used it as a refuge.
The Fortezza during the Turkish Occupation
Rethymnon fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1646. The layout of the Fortezza does not appear to have changed significantly during the Turkish occupation, although there is insufficient information on the subject.
Fairly early on, the Turns converted the Venetian cathedral of San Niccol into the Mosque of Sultan Ibrahim Han. More houses were also built, mainly on the south and east sides of the fortress, for the Turkish garrison and administration.
The Fortezza in the 20th century
At the turn of the 20th century almost the whole of the interior of the Fortezza was full of residential buildings. Immediately after the Second World War, however, the inhabitants of the Fortezza began to move out to other parts of Rethymnon.
This extension of the town led to the almost complete disappearance of the landward walls and the small ditch surrounding them. Inside the Fortezza itself, all the ruined buildings - mostly houses - were demolished, destroying any remaining traces of the Turkish period.
The constant and varied use of the Fortezza over the centuries altered its original form both internally and externally. It took about twenty years to repair the damage to the fortress and remove the brothels of Rethymnon established there. It is worth noting that for a long time the Fortezza even housed the local prison.
Today the outer fortifications of the Fortezza are preserved intact and some buildings are still being restored, allowing visitors to gain a good impression of life in the Fortezza in Venetian times.
Malia Minoan Palace
o the east of the modern resort is the Minoan Palace of Malia. This is the third-largest Minoan palace in Crete, built in a wonderful setting near the sea, on the road linking eastern and central Crete.
This palace - the seat, according to myth, of Minos' brother Sarpedon - was first constructed circa 1900 BC. The already large settlement, some parts of which are preserved around the palace, thus became a palace-city. This first palace was destroyed circa 1700 BC and rebuilt circa 1650 BC, on the same site and with the same layout. Finally the new palace was destroyed circa 1450 BC and not reoccupied. During the Mycenean period a small building, probably a sanctuary, was constructed in the ruins.
At Malia we can actually walk around the actual palace, just as it was uncovered by archaeological excavations. Most of the ruins visible today belong to the Neopalatial complex - the second palace - whose rooms are set around three courts: the Central Court, the North Court and the Tower Court. The majestic size, complex plan and multiple details of the palace make it a fascinating place to visit.
Life here was much the same as in the other palaces. Let's try to imagine Minoan daily life, the ceremonies and festivities held in the great court.
Minoan Sites of the Goddess in Eastern Crete
any of the great Minoan centres of Crete are well known and much visited by Goddess lovers. The so-called 'Palaces' (or to be more accurate, Temple sites) of Knossos, Phaistos and Malia are popular and on many visitor trails, and even lesser-known post-Palatial shrines like Gournia and Ayia Triada have received much more attention in recent years.
However, as we were to discover when we stayed in remote south-eastern Crete recently, there are many other fascinating smaller Minoan sites, hardly known or visited at all, where you can get a wonderful sense of the Goddess-celebrating people who lived and worshipped there and connect deeply with their spirit.
We stayed for a few weeks in the harbour area of Makrigialos, which made a good centre for visiting this remote area of eastern Crete. Travelling west from Makrigialos, after 42km you come to the unspoilt village of Myrtos. At Nea Myrtos, about 2km east of the village before you get there, there are two remote Minoan sites on two hilltops, overlooking the sea.
The first easterly one, Phournou Koryphi is the more difficult of access; the second one Pirgos just before Myrtos itself, is easier to find. It is signposted off the main road, and there is a lay-by for parking. Whitewashed stones mark a path that climbs the steep hillside, but the views at the top alone make it worthwhile. It is very close to the sea, and there is a wonderful panorama on one side of the whole coastline, and on the other of the mountain ranges.
We arrived in the heat of the day, but fortunately there was a cool breeze to make it tolerable. The site was an early Minoan I I settlement (2500-2000 BCE) which was destroyed by fire, but then rebuilt in the Middle Minoan and Late Minoan I periods (about 1900-1600 BCE). It then consisted of an elegant house with two or possibly three storeys the remains of the lower one being visible today.
With the aid of a site plan from the Blue Guide to Crete we tried to make sense of the layout, which included a paved courtyard, a raised walk, a verandah, various rooms and a household shrine. Amongst the finds from this were clay sealings, 4 clay tubular stands for offerings, and a conch shell of pink faience, doubtless a treasured offering to the Goddess on Her altar.
There were some very beautiful features in the visible remains, including a paving of purple limestone stones. Outside the house were the remains of a two-storey communial tomb, and the whole place had the feel of a settled and peace-loving people, at one with the Goddess in their hilltop sanctuary by the sea and overlooked by the mountains.
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