Cnossus
Cnossus, located on the northern coast of Crete, is an ancient city known for its significant historical and cultural legacy, particularly during the Bronze Age as the center of Minoan civilization. The most prominent feature of Cnossus is the Minoan Palace, which showcases the architectural and artistic achievements of the era. After the decline of the Minoan civilization, the city was reconstructed by the Greeks and regained importance in the early first millennium BC, becoming the most influential city on the island. Cnossus is frequently referenced in classical literature, including the works of Homer, and was noted for its maritime connections, including ports at Amnisus and Katsamba.
Throughout its history, Cnossus engaged in various military conflicts and alliances, notably with neighboring city-states such as Tylissus and Gortyna. By the fifth century, the city began minting its own coinage, often depicting the mythical Minotaur and labyrinth, reflecting its rich cultural narratives. Despite facing invasions and changes in power, including Roman occupation, Cnossus continued to thrive, serving as a mint and issuing its own currency for a time. Archaeological remnants of classical Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman structures, including temples and a basilica, offer insights into the city's vibrant past and its complex interactions with surrounding cultures.
Cnossus
Knossos
A city of northern Crete, on the west bank of the river Kairatos. After its unparalleled Bronze Age splendors, the city, reconstructed by Greeks slightly to the north of the destroyed Minoan palace, recovered a considerable degree of importance in the early first millennium BC, and remained the most important city of the island; it possessed ports at Amnisus (Karteros, reputedly the harbor of the legendary Minos) and Katsamba and Heraclion (Herakleion, the modern capital of Crete). Cnossus is frequently mentioned by Homer, and was reported by Scymnus to have colonized the Aegean islands of Peparethos and Icos, to which Strabo more questionably adds Brundusium (Brindisi) in south Italy.
In the fifth century Cnossus began to issue coinage depicting the Minotaur and its labyrinth. It made a treaty with its western neighbor Tylissus, but was frequently at war with Lyttus (Xidas), which it seized in 346 and destroyed in 221/19, during an expansionist drive. Its people were also intermittently engaged in strife with Gortyna, which after Cnossus (because of its resistance to Roman occupation) had been destroyed by Quintus Caecilius Metellus, known as Creticus (69/67), took its place as the capital of the island (henceforth united with Cyrenaica as a Roman province). However, Cnossus may have served as a mint for more than one Roman admiral during the civil wars of the later first century BC, and after Octavian (the future Augustus) had established a colony of ex-soldiers there in 36, with the title of Nobilis, continued to issue bronze coinage on its own account for a time.
Traces of classical Greek and Hellenistic temples have survived, and of a Roman basilica, small amphitheater, and houses, including the large `Villa of Dionysus’ named after a floor mosaic depicting the heads of Dionysus and Maenads framed in medallions.