Crete
placeCrete was the largest Greek island and the seat of the Minoan civilisation, home to King Minos, the labyrinth, and the bull-cult that produced some of mythology's most famous stories.
The Myth
Zeus himself was born and hidden in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete, nursed by the goat Amaltheia while the Kouretes clashed their shields to mask his cries from Kronos. Crete later became the kingdom of Minos, who ruled from Knossos. Poseidon sent a white bull from the sea; when Minos refused to sacrifice it, Poseidon caused his wife Pasiphaë to desire it, producing the Minotaur. Daedalus built the labyrinth to contain the beast and later escaped the island on wings of wax and feathers. When archaeologists excavated Knossos in 1900, they found a palace of over 1,000 rooms.
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Fun Fact
The Minoan palace at Knossos had indoor plumbing, multi-storey buildings, and frescoes — a civilisation so advanced it seemed mythical to later Greeks.