The Mystery of the Oldest Throne in Europe at the Palace of Knossos

The Minoan palace astatine Knossos successful Crete is location to the oldest throne successful Europe. Credit: Gary Bembridge/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

The magnificent throne country successful the 15th period BC palace of Knossos successful Crete astatine the halfway of Minoan civilization is believed to beryllium the oldest specified country successful Europe.

The Minoan civilization flourished for astir 2 1000 years.

The magnificent Knossos analyzable had ample palace buildings, extended store installations, and a luxurious rock-cut cave and tholos tombs. As a large halfway of commercialized and the economy, Knossos maintained ties with the bulk of cities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The palace was a large labyrinthine analyzable of 20,000 meters (65,616 feet) successful length, a ceremonial, religious, and governmental halfway that reflected large wealth, power, and highly precocious architecture.

It was based astir a cardinal courtyard with much than a 1000 interlinked, maze-like halls and chambers.

Photo: Olaf Tausch/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

Minoan palace of Knossos location to the oldest throne successful Europe

The throne country was unearthed successful 1900 by British archaeologist Arthur Evans during the archetypal signifier of his excavations successful Knossos.

It was recovered successful the halfway of the palatial analyzable and westbound of the cardinal court. The enclosure contains an alabaster spot connected the northbound wall, identified by Evans arsenic a “throne,” portion 2 Griffins resting connected each broadside are gazing astatine it, seemingly paying obeisance to the fig who sits there.

The griffins are mythical creatures that harvester a lion and an eagle—two beasts that regularisation the onshore and the world and symbolize divinity and kingship. However, these 2 are antithetic due to the fact that though they are beautifully elaborated with collars and thing similar a crown, they bash not person wings.

Griffin fresco successful the throne room. Credit: Cavorite /Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0

According to Evans’ estimates, a full of 30 radical could beryllium accommodated some successful the throne country and its anteroom.

Initially, Evans identified the chromatic throne arsenic the spot of the mythical king of Crete, Minos, evidently applying cognition from Greek mythology. Other archaeologists suggest that the throne country was a sanctuary of a pistillate divinity and that a priestess who sat determination was the idiosyncratic who represented her connected earth.

Photo: Jebulon /Wikimedia commons/ Public domain

According to astir archaeologists, the throne itself whitethorn person really had much spiritual than governmental significance, functioning successful the re-enactment of epiphany rituals involving a High Priestess, arsenic suggested by the iconography of griffins, palms, and altars successful the wall-paintings. More recently, it has been suggested that the country was lone utilized astatine dawn astatine definite times of the twelvemonth for circumstantial ceremonies.

Various archaeologists assertion that the country and its furnishings astir apt day to the clip of the Mycenaean takeover circa aft 1,450 BC erstwhile governmental conditions successful Crete were wholly different, arsenic indicated by the concurrent quality of elite tombs, idiosyncratic burials, and the beingness of the Mycenaean Greek “Linear B” script.

At that time, the palace astatine Knossos seems to person been modified successful a insignificant mode successful bid to see features specified arsenic the throne room. The stylized paintings of heraldically opposed griffins were particularly fashionable successful later-era Mycenaean partition coating but uncommon anterior to this successful Crete.

For instance, akin partition decoration was besides recovered successful the throne country of the Mycenaean palace of Pylos successful the Peloponnese.