v49_0181 - CRÈTE - CNOSSOS Unité, (MB, Æ 27)

CRETE - KNOSSOS

(3rd - 1st century BC)

Knossos was one of the oldest cities in Crete. Mythical capital of the kingdom of Minos, the city was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century BC. Rediscovered in the 19th century, the city of Minos was excavated by the great numismatist AJ Evans. The city was rebuilt, but never regained the grandeur of Minoan times. The beginning of coinage corresponds to the re-establishment of Democracy at the beginning of the 5th century BC. Knossos had to win over its rivals Gortyn and Lyttos. In 346 BC, the Cnossians seized Lyttos, but had to evacuate it because of Lacedaemonian intervention. After the death of Alexander the Great, Crete fell under the rule of the Lagids.