Unearthing Knossos: a Study of the Architecture of Cretan Civilization.
Unearthing Knossos:
A Study of the Architecture of Cretan Civilization.
“The things in which we take perennial delight are the feast, the lyre, the dance, clean linen in plenty, a hot bath, and our beds.”
The Odyssey
As a culture with little written history, one of the only tangible records of the Minoans are the ruins on the island of Crete. Through an interpretive study of the ruins, it is feasible to make solid conjectures about the nature of economy, religion, government and private life of ancient Crete. The ruins of the Minoan palaces, specifically Knossos, imply a defined social structure that indicates a love of entertainment and art, as well as structured social interaction. When examining architectural ruins to discern cultural fact, there are many factors that must be considered, including floor plans, decoration, size of rooms, geographic placement of the structure, and materials used. As Susan Kent writes, “the direct influence of culture on space on architecture means that we need to be concerned with a group’s bygone culture in order to understand architecture.”1 When this is understood, it becomes obvious that the architecture of the palaces of Knossos did not dictate the lives of Minoans, bur rather, the lives of the Minoans directly dictated what the architecture was. Therefore, essential information about the lives and culture of the citizens of Crete can be gleaned from the architectural choices they made. Many floor plans of the palace of Knossos have been reconstructed from the ruins, and when viewed, they provide a wealth of information. As can clearly be seen in Figure Three, Knossos was an intricate web of rooms, all surrounding a large central space, called the Central Court. The large size of the space indicates that it may have been used for ceremony or entertainment, as it could hold a large-scale activity or big groups of people. This idea is reinforced by its centralized location. This area has become a
A Study of the Architecture of Cretan Civilization.
“The things in which we take perennial delight are the feast, the lyre, the dance, clean linen in plenty, a hot bath, and our beds.”
The Odyssey
As a culture with little written history, one of the only tangible records of the Minoans are the ruins on the island of Crete. Through an interpretive study of the ruins, it is feasible to make solid conjectures about the nature of economy, religion, government and private life of ancient Crete. The ruins of the Minoan palaces, specifically Knossos, imply a defined social structure that indicates a love of entertainment and art, as well as structured social interaction. When examining architectural ruins to discern cultural fact, there are many factors that must be considered, including floor plans, decoration, size of rooms, geographic placement of the structure, and materials used. As Susan Kent writes, “the direct influence of culture on space on architecture means that we need to be concerned with a group’s bygone culture in order to understand architecture.”1 When this is understood, it becomes obvious that the architecture of the palaces of Knossos did not dictate the lives of Minoans, bur rather, the lives of the Minoans directly dictated what the architecture was. Therefore, essential information about the lives and culture of the citizens of Crete can be gleaned from the architectural choices they made. Many floor plans of the palace of Knossos have been reconstructed from the ruins, and when viewed, they provide a wealth of information. As can clearly be seen in Figure Three, Knossos was an intricate web of rooms, all surrounding a large central space, called the Central Court. The large size of the space indicates that it may have been used for ceremony or entertainment, as it could hold a large-scale activity or big groups of people. This idea is reinforced by its centralized location. This area has become a
Bibliography: Raymond O. Faulkner, "The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts", 1969. Oxford University hardcover reprint Clarendon Press (January 1969) 330 pages. Pyramid Text -Utterance 437 The Origin and Iconography of the Late Minoan Painted Larnax L. Vance Watrous Hesperia, Vol. 60, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1991), pp. 285-307. Bronze Age Representations of Aegean Bull-Leaping John G. Younger American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 80, No. 2. (Spring, 1976), pp. 129