Arthur Evans, Knossos and the priest-king - S Sherratt

The year 2000 marks the centenary of the start of excavations at the site of Knossos on Crete, the centre of a Bronze Age civilisation which its excavator, Arthur Evans, called 'Minoan' after King Minos of Greek legend. The palace which he uncovered there was originally decorated with frescoed wall paintings, some of them showing figured scenes, which mostly survived only in a fragmentary and incomplete state. One of the most striking fresco images, and one which particularly engaged Evans's imagination, is the controversial figure of the Priest-King, whom Evans regarded as a portrayal of one of the priestly rulers of Knossos. This booklet gives an account of the history of its discovery, its re-creation and the important part it played in Evans's vision of Knossos.