Burrows, Ronald M.: The discoveries in Crete and their bearing on the history of ancient civilisation (London, 1907)

THE

DISCOVERIES IN CRETE

CHAPTER I

THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS AND THE SEA POWER
OF MINOS

Since the famous telegram in which Schliemann informed
the King of the Hellenes that he had discovered the tomb
°f Agamemnon, there has been nothing in archaeology
that has made such a vivid impression on the popular
imagination as Mr. Arthur Evans's excavations at Knossos.
The Minotaur ! the Labyrinth !—such words do not
suggest the solemnities of antiquarian research. The
average fairly equipped scholar knows that the French
have explored Delos and Delphi ; but, unless he is
working at archaeology, he does not know what they
have found there. The work of the British School at
Megalopolis and in Melos is familiar only to the more
painstaking members of the Hellenic Society. Knossos
alone appeals to no mere esoteric audience of specialists.
It moves along the broad ways, and carries us back,
behind our learning and education, to the glamour and
romance of our first fairy stories.

Nor is the impression solely due to the nature of the
material; it is largely due to Mr. Evans himself. It
is not only that he has the gift of clear and attractive
writing, or that he tries consciously to interest a wide

I