GR_KNOSSOS_2025
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Knossos
It is believed that the first Cretan palaces were built soon after c. 2000 BC, in the early part of the Middle Minoan period, at Knossos and other sites including Malia, Phaestos and Zakro. These palaces, which were to set the pattern of organisation in Crete and Greece through the second millennium, were a sharp break from the Neolithic village system that had prevailed thus far. The building of the palaces implies greater wealth and a concentration of authority, both political and religious. It is suggested that they followed eastern models such as those at Ugarit on the Syrian coast and Mari on the upper Euphrates
Phaistos was first inhabited around 3600 BCE, slightly later than other early sites such as Knossos. During the Early Minoan period, the site's hills were terraced and monumental buildings were constructed on them. Like other large Minoan cities, there was a palace that was built in an area that had been used earlier for communal feasting. The palace was built on a hill in the East and an acropolis was built on a hill in the West. The first palace was built in the Middle Minoan IB period, around 2000 BCE. The initial palace was destroyed and rebuilt three times in a period of about three centuries.[5] The palace history is divided into three construction phases because of its reconstructions. The palace was destroyed around 1400 BCE and not rebuilt. This destruction may have been caused by a large earthquake.
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Picture Characteristics
100 
f/7.1 
0.004 s
184 mm
