The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is one of the most famous cultural monuments in Europe. It is dedicated to the era of the Minoans and their art, which existed many millennia ago. The museum is located on the largest Greek island of Crete in the city of Heraklion.
A bit about the culture of the Minoans
The era of these inhabitants begins at the turn of 3-2 millennia BC. It is believed that the people are named after the legendary king of the island of Crete - Minos. It is interesting that the Minoans lived in this small territory in huge palaces, interconnected and occupying almost the entire territory of the city. A model of such a structure is presented in the archaeological museum.
Being extremely religious, the inhabitants of the island painted the walls of these palaces with images of various creatures whom they deified. Mostly these are bulls - personifications of destructive power, and the Great Goddess - a woman who carried the symbolism of femininity and beauty.
In addition, the walls do not find scenes of wars, battles. Since the sea was of great importance in the life of the Minoans, it was to its far depths and horizons that they turned their eyes. Ancient artists depicted on the walls of palaces of fish, octopuses, dolphins, various corals and algae.
Unfortunately, subsequently these interesting buildings were not preserved, as they collapsed due to volcanic eruptions and attacks of Greek tribes. Despite this, the treasures were not exported from Greece and remained in the city. After many, many years, the excavations carried out there "yielded great results." Many things that were found were sent to the famous archaeological museum of Heraklion (Crete).
History of the Museum
The monument of art originates in 1883. But while such a museum did not exist yet. There was only a collection of artifacts obtained by the Greek archaeologist Hadzidakis, which was later sent to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, becoming its basis.
The building itself appeared only in 1904. It was small in size and did not last long - it collapsed due to constant earthquakes on the island. Only after 1935, local residents began to restore the former power of the archaeological monument on their own . Work on the restoration of the building took place on the site of the church of St. Francis destroyed by an earthquake.
The Second World War did not spare Heraklion, but the exhibits that were presented at the museum, fortunately, were not affected. Therefore, in 1952, a cultural monument, which gathered a lot of artifacts, again began to receive visitors.
After a few years, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum was expanded by adding another wing to it.
There was a period already in our time (2006), when the institution was closed for repairs and restoration. Only in 2012, already in an updated version, the building, which stores many archaeological finds, became accessible again for tourists.
Museum structure
The architectural monument has two floors, divided into halls. There are 20 such rooms in the museum. They store items collected from all over Crete. On the ground floor there are 13 halls, exhibits in which are distributed in accordance with certain eras. The second floor contains part of the genuine frescoes of the Knossos Palace (the oldest archaeological site of the Minoan civilization).
The first hall is a room of the Neolithic, Stone Age. This truly amazing building - its space is occupied by things that have lived for millennia and have survived to this day.
The museum has many rooms with exhibits of the Bronze and Late Bronze Ages (its various eras), right up to the Post-Palace Period (2000-1700 BC).
Heraklion Archaeological Museum: exhibits
One of, if not the most important, then the most mysterious expositions, is the Phaistos disc, which depicts traced ancient letters. They are still not decrypted and are of interest to both tourists and scientists. In addition, the purpose and time of appearance of this exhibit is also unknown. Archaeologists consider it a mystery, which can only be decrypted by other fragments of an architectural monument of the same writing that have not yet been found.
A masterpiece of culture of past centuries is the “Head of a Bull” made of black steatite. The theme with this animal was popular in the time of the Minoans, so the museum contains many clay sculptures, paintings depicting a hunt for a bull, as well as games with it (for example, the fresco “Jump through the bull”).
Another most famous figure is a fresco called "The Prince with Lilies." It was collected from several fragments and, despite the past eras of centuries, the exhibit retained its former colors.
A special place in the museum's exposition is occupied by figurines and works depicting women. Among them is the famous fresco "Parisian", so named by scientists because the girl depicted in the picture would fit more into the culture of Paris with her high hairdo and bright makeup than among the Greek Minoans. Tourists are also interested in exhibits of the “Goddess with Snakes”, “Women in Blue” and other figures depicting representatives of the beautiful half of humanity.
Golden Collection of Greece
The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion is rich in gold products of past centuries. Here is the single largest collection of gold jewelry in Greece. Minoan jewelers worked simply indescribable miracles with this metal, such products cannot be found in any other art monument.
The Golden Bee statuette, unique in the whole Mediterranean, is especially distinguished. It is unique in its shape: two bees that carry honey on the comb.
In the museum, tourists can see miniature brooches in the form of human faces, original gold rings, eyebrow tweezers, needles, pins, mirrors, gold-handed swords and much, much more.
Other interesting exhibits
The museum contains objects that the inhabitants of Greece used as everyday items: clay vessels for perfumes, combs, ivory jewelry and others.
In addition, the monument, which has collected a huge number of archaeological finds, contains a lot of pottery and jugs. Double axes, a symbol of the Minoan civilization, as well as clay sarcophagi are admirable. The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion has a separate room with marble sculptures of various sizes, up to the size of human growth.
Of particular interest is the card hanging on the wall, which shows the coins that were in circulation in various cities of Crete at that time. On it you can see the names of all the settlements that were previously on the island.
Archaeological Museum of Heraklion: Opening Times
The monument of archaeological art is a favorite destination for tourists studying the Minoan culture.
You can see the exhibits at almost any time when you want to visit the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Opening hours of the architectural monument:
- in the summer from 8.00 to 20.00 - from Monday to Saturday, on Sunday - from 8.00 to 15.00;
- in winter: from 11.00 to 17.00 on Mondays, and from 8.00 to 15.00 from Tuesday to Sunday.
The schedule of the museum may change, so it is better to specify it on the spot.
Additional information for visitors
The Heraklion Archaeological Museum has the following address: Xanthoudidou Street 1, Ηράκλειο 712 02, Greece. It is not difficult to get to it, as it is located within walking distance from the city center.
If you still could not find the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, any local resident or tourist who has come to the island more than once can tell you how to get there, since the art monument is a very famous place.
The Minoans Museum of Architecture is a place where everyone feels their involvement in the mysteries of Greek culture of past eras and plunges into the depths of centuries-old history. Each tourist advises visiting this place for those who again arrived to rest on the island of Crete.