cheme
of the palace at Knossos, as at present existing, must be placed
somewhere in the following period, Middle Minoan III.

This first palace of Phaestos had been destroyed, like the early
palace at Knossos, but not at the same time, for it apparently lasted
till the beginning of the Late Minoan period, while at Knossos the
catastrophe of the first palace took place at the end of Middle
Minoan II. From this fact it has been suggested that the first
destruction of Knossos was the result of civil war, in which the
lords of Phaestos overthrew their northern brethren of the greater
palace, but the evidence seems somewhat scanty to bear such an
inference.

After the catastrophe at Phaestos, a thick layer of lime mixed with
clay and pebbles was thrown over the remains of the ruined structure
as a preparation for the rebuilding of the palace, and thus the
relics of the earlier building, which are now unveiled in close
connection with the later work, though on a rather lower level,
were completely covered up before the second palace rose upon the
site. The Theatral Area at Phaestos to some extent resembles that
of Knossos, but is simpler, lacking the tier of steps at right
angles to the main tier, and lacking also the Bastion, or Royal
Box, which at Knossos occupies the angle of the junction of the
two tiers. It consists of a paved court, ending, on the west side,
in a flight of ten steps, more than 60 feet in length, behind which
stands a wall of large limestone blocks. As at Knossos, a flagged
pathway ran across the area, obliquely, however, in this case.
Beneath the structure of the second palace were discovered some
of the chambers of the earlier building, with a number of very
fine Kamares vases (Plate XXVI.).

But the chief glory of the palace at Phaestos is the great flight
of steps, 45 feet in width, which formed its state entrance, the
broadest and most splendid staircase that ever a royal palace had
(Plate XXVI.). 'No architect,' says Mosso, 'has ever made such a
flight of steps out of Crete.' At the head of the entrance staircase
stood a columned portico, behind which was the great reception-hall
of the palace. The halls and courts of Phaestos are comparable for
spaciousness even with the finest of those at Knossos, and, indeed,
the Megaron, so called (wrongly), of Phaestos is a more spacious
apartment than the Hall of the Double Axes at the sister palace,
the area of the Phaestos chamber being over 3,000 squa