Knossos
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 24 August 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You probably know the Ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, who lives in a labyrinth under Knossos on the island of Crete - was there ever really a labyrinth, or a King Minos? Dan is joined by the University of Oxford's Steve Kershaw to unravel the mysteries of Knossos, trace the rise of the Minoan civilisation during the Bronze Age, its collapse and the controversial excavation and reconstruction by the eccentric archaeologist Arthur Evans in the early 20th century.
This is part of our 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' summer travel series.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore
Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!
To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!
Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.
We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, |
| 0:00.6 | folks, Dan Snow here. |
| 0:01.6 | I am throwing a party to celebrate 10 years of Dan Snow's history hit. |
| 0:06.1 | I'd love for you to be there. |
| 0:07.5 | Join me for a very special live recording of the podcast in London, |
| 0:10.4 | in England on the 12th of September to celebrate the 10 years. |
| 0:14.1 | You can find out more about it and get tickets with the link in the show notes. |
| 0:17.6 | Look forward to seeing you there. |
| 0:41.2 | There is nowhere quite like the island of Crete at the height of summer. |
| 0:47.6 | As you drive along the long, thin island from its ancient capital Heraclian, |
| 0:50.7 | you get rugged mountains rising to the south, |
| 0:59.4 | and the shimmering blue Aegean sea to the north. Its coastline is a shifting ribbon of jagged cliffs and secret coves. When you roll down the window you get that warm, dry air, |
| 1:07.0 | the smell of thyme and sea salt. You see village gardens spilling over with summer colours. |
| 1:12.7 | Pink oleander, bougainville are everywhere, fruit trees laden with figs. |
| 1:18.1 | Olive groves spread for miles along the roads. Vineyards. Fishing boats, Bob lazily in |
| 1:25.2 | it inlets and harbours. If Paradise exists, folks, well for me, |
| 1:29.4 | it probably looks quite like the Georgian dockyard in Portsmouth in England. But for most |
| 1:34.5 | people I can imagine, Paradise must look and feel something like this, like Crete. And on that |
| 1:42.1 | remarkable island history isn't tucked to end museums. |
| 1:45.3 | It is everywhere you look. |
| 1:49.1 | There are Byzantine chapels nestled down cobbled streets. |
| 1:53.2 | There are Venetian fortresses with their gaze always on the horizon. |
... |
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