Phaistos is located 63 kilometres from Heraklion and is considered one of the most Minoan Crete's most famous settlements. In the 20th and 17th centuries BC. Phaistos Palace was the political and economic centre of the island and only around the 15th century was it supplanted in this role by Knossos.
Similar to the Palace of Knossos, the Phaistos Palace has residential, cultic and economic buildings are arranged around a main courtyard. What distinguishes the Phaistos Palace from Knossos is its Phaistos Palace is distinguished from Knossos by its larger theatre and grandiose grand staircase.
The famous Phaistos disc was discovered here - a round disc of burnt clay, 16 cm in diameter. clay disc, 16 cm in diameter, dating from the 17th century BC, with hieroglyphics on both sides. depicts hieroglyphic signs arranged in a spiral. Decipherment of these has not yet been deciphered.
Not far from Festus is Agia Triada, one of the residences of the Cretan kings. Cretan kings. Preserved ruins of the Minoan palace, significant fragments of wall frescoes. frescoes. Carved vases and a sarcophagus depicting the "meal of the dead" were found in the local necropolis. of a "meal of the dead". These objects are preserved in the Archaeological Museum of the city of Heraklion.
