Knossos in Crete: Where is the city of Atlantis?

On the island of Crete just south of its capital Heraklion, there is an archaeological sensation known as Knossos. Knossos comprises of a series of ancient buildings excavated early in the last century by Sir Arthur Evans, of which the Palace of Knossos is the biggest.

Knossos lies on an extremely unstable seismic fault line and every now and again the buildings would be destroyed and would have to be rebuilt. Each time the buildings were rebuilt they were significantly improved, becoming grander and more flamboyant as the centuries passed. There is strong evidence to suggest that Neolithic man had also lived at Knossos with his animals since 6000 BC or even earlier.

Santorini

110 kilometres to the north of Knossos lies the island of Santorini, or Thera as it is sometimes referred to. Being an active volcano, there is a huge caldera at Santorini, which is likely to have been caused by a volcanic eruption. For the thousands of visitors the island of Santorini attracts each year, provides the perfect place to contemplate over the incredibility of nature’s creations.

The last great eruption that occurred on Santorini has been carbon dated to 1600 BC when the Minoans were trying to build the palace, hence the palace taking some four centuries to construct!

Atlantis

Where is the city of Atlantis? Possibly Knossos. The huge wall of water generated after this mammoth explosion occurred hit the coast of Minoan in Crete at a mighty height and velocity. Plato wrote about an advanced civilization called Atlantis, which was destroyed when the Santorini volcano erupted.

Plato’s thoughts have been followed by many other writers who also suggest that Minoan Crete was, in fact, Plato’s Atlantis, which was wiped out when Santorini blew up.

Museum

If you do get the chance to visit Knossos be sure to follow your visit up with a trip to the Heraklion Archaeological museum where all of the sites finds are on display.

The fascinatingly diverse Greek nation has many great archaeological marvels and none more so that Knossos in Crete, a fabled city of Atlantis.

Why not take a look at Vintage Travel’s luxury villas in Crete?