Phaistos, Phaistos, Greece - SpottingHistory

Phaistos is an Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Phaistos, a municipality in south central Crete. The was the second largest ancient palace in Crete.

Phaistos was inhabited from about 4000 BC. The palace, dating from the Middle Bronze Age (2000 BC), was destroyed by an earthquake during the Late Bronze Age. Knossos along with other Minoan sites was destroyed at that time. The palace was rebuilt toward the end of the Late Bronze Age. Around 1400 BC, the invading Achaeans destroyed Phaistos, as well as Knossos. The palace appears to have been unused thereafter, as evidence of the Mycenaean era have not been found.

The new inhabitance began during the Geometric Age and continued to historical times (8th century BC onwards), up to the 3rd century, when the city was finally destroyed by neighboring Gortyn.

Phaistos had its own currency and had created an alliance with other autonomous Cretan cities, and with the king of Pergamon Eumenes II. Around the end of the 3rd century BC, Phaestos was destroyed by the Gortynians and since then ceased to exist in the history of Crete.

User Reviews

Russian School Pafos (2 years ago)
More aesthetic than the Knossos, but harder to comprehend. Don't forget to visit Matala in order to understand where the ancient servicing harbor was. Ask the officers to show you where the ancient Lake used to be.

Miri (2 years ago)
Nice ruins I visited before already so didn’t go in this time. But even do a nice little walk to see the valleys and olive trees and take a few pictures. Free parking also for wheelchairs. Was there when Timbaki Friday market was on so most of the parking was taken.

Mirko Malisan (2 years ago)
Very interesting place but not that engaging for children. We went in August and by 11am the heat in the sun was intense. One area was closed off where they were still excavating. The on-site gift shop and cafe were nice and there are fantastic views of the surrounding area and mountains.

Venera Roth-Gross (2 years ago)
Unique experience, as it is very remote, on top of a hill and with very few visitors. We enjoyed it to the max! The song of the cicadas makes it even more pleasant. An audioguide to walk you through would be a nice addition, though.

Ben Blaney (2 years ago)
Amazing spot for understanding the breadth of Minoan building abilities. It seems less than Knossos at first, but it's only because architects from the 1900s did not put the effort into rebuilding this one like Knossos. So in that sense, it is much more authentic! Very cool place.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Phaistos

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle