Heraklion (or Iraklio) is a pleasant town to walk around in. Its main two features are the Minoan treasures of the Archaeological Museum and the nearby ruins of the Minoan palace, Knossos.
1 The Koules Fortress (Kastro Koules, Castello a Mare) at Heraklion was built around 1530 by the Venetians who then ruled Crete.
2 The Lion of Venice above the gate to the fortress.
3 A forest of masts in the harbor.
4 Arches of the 14th-century arsenal.
5 One of the two high points of a visit to Heraklion is the extraordinary collection of the Archaeological Museum. These beautiful stone pitchers and cups date from around 2000 BCE.
6 We were amazed by the geometric patterns of designs on some of the ceramics.
7 Cycladic statues like ones we saw in the Cyclades a year before (2015).
8 More amazing desings on a pitcher.
9 Panther-shaped handle for a scepter from around 1800 BCE.
10 A Kamares ware cup from around 1800-1700 BCE.
11 This extraordinary design could have come from last year, but it dates from 1800-1700 BCE.
12 Model of the Knossos palace complex.
13 A clay bull's-head rhyton, or libation cup, from 1500-1450 BCE.
14 This board game from the Palace of Knossos dates from 1700-1450 BCE. It is inlaid with ivory, blue glass paste and rock crystal and plated with gold and silver.
15 The Phaestos disk, from the early 17th c. BCE, is written in characters which have not yet been deciperhed. One more linguist is giving it a try.
16 Ivory figurine of a Cretan bull leaper,
17 Fragment of a fresco from Knossos, 1350-1300 BCE, showing the so-called "Captain of the Blacks", because he is running in front of two Blacks. (Who knows, maybe he is running away from them, or racing them?)
18 Bull-leaping fresco from Knossos, 1600-1400 BCE.
19 Beautiful stone cups.
20 A bosomy lady. Or maybe she was not a lady at all.
21 Another stone bull's-head rhyton, or libation cup from Knossos.
22 Yet another bull's-head rhyton.
23 Snake goddesses from around 1600 BCE.
24 Figurines of a goddess from Kannia, near Gortyn, 1350-1250 BCE.
25 Stone tubs.
26 This sarcophagus, from Hagia Triada, 1370-1300 BCE, shows ritual ceremonies for the dead and scenes from a supposed afterlife.
27 Detail of the Hagia Triada sarcophagus.
28 The hall of frescoes.
29 "The cup bearer", part of the Minoan "Procession fresco".
30 Dolphin fresco.
31 What a headdress!
32 This pretty lady with her ringlets is called "la Parisienne".
33 From more recent times, 1st c. CE, Aphrodite with a basin, from Gortyna.
