rt in the
civil wars which from time to time desolated the island. When the rest
of Crete fell under the Roman dominion, Cnossus shared the same fate,
and became a Roman colony. Aenesidemus, the sceptic philosopher, and
Chersiphron, the architect of the temple of Diana at Ephesus, were
natives of Cnossus.

_The Site._--As the excavations at Cnossus are discussed at length in
the article CRETE, it must suffice here briefly to enumerate the more
important. The chief building is the Great Palace, the so-called "House
of Minos," the excavation of which by Arthur Evans dates from 1900: a
number of rooms lying round the central paved court, oriented north and
south, have been identified, among them being the throne-room with some
well-preserved wall paintings and a small bathroom attached, in the
north-west quarter a larger bathroom and a shrine, and residential
chambers in the south and east. The latter part of the palace is
composed of a number of private rooms and halls, and is especially
remarkable for its skilful drainage and water-supply systems.

In 1907 excavations on the south side of the palace showed that the plan
was still incomplete, and a southern cryptoporticus, and outside it a
large south-west building, probably an official residence, were
discovered. Of special interest was a huge circular cavity under the
southern porch into which the sub-structures of the palace had been
sunk. This cavity was filled with rubbish, sherds, &c., the latest of
which was found to date as far back as the beginning of the Middle
Minoan age, and the later work of 1908 only proved (by means of a small
shaft sunk through the debris) that the rock floor was 52 ft. below the
surface. The first attempt to reach the floor by a cutting in the
hill-side proved abortive, but the operations of 1910 led to a
successful result. The cavity proved to be a great reservoir approached
by a rock-cut staircase and of Early Minoan date.

In 1904-1905 a paved way running due west from the middle of the palace
was excavated, and found to lead to another building described as the
"Little Palace" largely buried under an olive grove. The first
excavations showed that this building was on the same general plan and
belonged to the same period as the "House of Minos," though somewhat
later in actual date (17th century B.C.). Large halls, which had
subsequently been broken up into smaller apartments, were found, and
among a great number of other artistic r