The Minoan Palace of Phaistos in Crete

The ancient Minoan city of Phaestos (Faistos) is located a few kilometres east of Tymbaki. Phaestos was Crete's second most important palace after Knossos. The Palace of Malia, east of Hersonissos in eastern Crete, came in the third place.

The first palace was built around 2000 BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake about 1700 BC. Later it was rebuilt, but it was again destroyed by an earthquake around 1600 BC.

View of the Minoan Palace of Phaistos.

If you are interested in the Minoan culture, you will like Phaestos. The excavation area is large and the setting is stunning. Unlike Knossos, the ruins of Phaestos are not reconstructed. To understand the importance of Phaestos you have to join a guided tour, if you explore the site on your own you will leave from there with more questions than answers.

Open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.

Above Phaistos lies a cafe with beautiful view.

The celebrated Phaestos Disc was found in the Palace of Phaestos in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier. The disc is about 15 cm in diameter and it is made of fired clay. It has been dated to the middle or the end of the second millennium BC. The disc is covered on both sides with a spiral of hieroglyphic characters. Still, no one knows why or where the disc was manufactured.

The disc is one of the most famous archaeological mysteries. The reason why the disc is considered as a mystery is that no one has managed to decipher the signs on the disc. Many have tried to solve the mystery, both amateur and professional archaeologists, but no one has succeeded.

There are those who consider that the disc is a fake, or even a joke. The disc is on display at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

Perhaps you can solve the mystery?

The Minoan settlement of Agia Triada is located about 4 kilometres west of Phaistos.

Learn more about Crete »

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