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Greece Museums
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The Archaeological Museum of Herakleion
19-02-2013 14:33The Archaeological Museum of Herakleion in Crete is one of the largest and most important museums in Greece, and among the most important museums in Europe. It is second only to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and its collections include unique artifacts from the Cretan Neolithic times to the Minoan civilization and the Late Roman period, covering a chronological span of nearly 6 millennia of human history.
The museum is located in the centre of the busy port city of Heraklion in Crete, on Xanthoudidou and Xatzidaki streets. It was built between 1937 and 1940 on a site previously occupied by the Roman Catholic monastery of Saint-Francis, designed by the architect Patroklos Karantinos. The modern building of the museum was awarded a Bauhaus commendation. During the Second World War the museum's antiquities were at great risk, but they were saved thanks to the exertions of Professor Nikolaos Platon.
The Archaeological Museum of Iraklion is rightly considered as the museum of Minoan culture worldwide as the Minoan collection contains unique examples of Minoan art, many of them true masterpieces giving a dazzling insight into the first civilization of the Bronze Age in Europe that flourished at least three thousand years ago. Among the about 15.000 of artifacts there are famous exhibits that were found in the Minoan Palaces of Knossos, Phaestos, Malia, Zakros and the sites of Agia Triada.
The famous Minoan frescoes from the Palace of Knossos are exhibited here, including the Procession fresco, the Griffin Fresco (from the Throne Room), the Dolphin Fresco (from the Queen’s Room) and the Bull-Leaping Fresco, the lovely Prince of the Lilies, the Saffron Gatherer and the priestess that archaeologists have dubbed La Parisienne because of her modern-like and sophisticated style.
Finds from Knossos include figurines of bare-breasted snake goddess and the striking masterpiece of a Bull’s Head made of black stone and horns of gold. Another highlight is an elaborate gaming board decorated with decorated with ivory, crystal, glass, gold and silver leaves, showing that the Minoans had a wealthy class and trade links to other civilizations.
Among the Minoan treasures there is the beautiful golden bee pendant found at Malia, depicting two bees dropping honey into a comb and the exceptional crystal rhyton vase from the palace at Zakros. One of the most famous exhibits is the Phaestos Disk, a 16cm circular clay disc with symbols - hieroglyphics engraved onto both sides. Although the disc has been found at Phaestos in 1903, the symbols on it have not been deciphered yet.
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