25 May 2023
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A major new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, titled Labyrinth Knossos, Myth and Reality, will be the first UK exhibition to focus on Knossos
It includes over 100 objects that have never left Crete and Greece before, alongside discoveries from the Ashmolean’s Sir Arthur Evans Archive. Among the items on display will be a silver coin, depicting the labyrinth, which was minted at Knossos on the island of Crete in 300–270BC.
The palace of Knossos was the centre of a Bronze Age civilisation of people now called the Minoans, named after the legendary King Minos. According to legend, an elaborate labyrinth was built there to hold a ferocious Minotaur. Knossos was first discovered over 100 years ago, with archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans leading excavations at the site in the early-20th century. He would later reimagine and partially restore the palace. Many of his excavation plans, artworks and records will be on display in the exhibition, alongside objects from the site.
Visitors are encouraged to book timed tickets for the exhibition, which is open until 30 July.
