Phaistos (Festos): MRA-GRC-Pha003

Type Sample Item

Geographic Location

Historical note about the site/monument: Settled from at least the 4^th millennium BCE, Phaistos rose to prominence between 3000 and 1600 BCE and was a seat of the Minoan palace culture, and was even praised by Homer in the Iliad. Holding a prominent position on the southern coast of Crete, the palace at Phaistos was constructed in around 1900 BCE during the Protopalatial period. The sprawling structure extended in three levels onto a terraced hill. It was ruined by an earthquake in 1700 BCE but subsequently rebuilt on the same site. Although the palace’s scope and style are a testament to the affluence of the rulers at Phaistos, its precise function is still unclear. The final blow to Phaistos palace culture came in about 1450 BCE, when the building was destroyed and no attempt to restore it was undertaken. Even without its palace, Phaistos only waned in importance in 150 BCE, when it was conquered by its neighbors from Gortyn. Among the most famous archaeological finds from Phaistos is the enigmatic Phaistos Disk, a fired clay artifact stamped with spiraling symbols.

Further reading:
La Rosa, V. (2010). Phaistos. In The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean.

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