Forty-seven papers on the functions of the palace, the most characteristic phenomenon of the Minoan Bronze Age civilization in Crete, read at an international conference in Athens; the papers are followed by transcripts of the discussions of the symposium.

A comprehensive account of the Palaces, control networks and spatial dynamics of Neopalatial Crete, the floruit of the Minoan civilization.

Foreword ; Monuments of Minos: Rethinking the Minoan Palaces ; Introduction ; List of abbreviations ; Jan DRIESSEN, 'The King Must Die.' Some Observations on the Use of Minoan Court Compounds ; Ilse SCHOEP, The State of the Minoan Palaces or the Minoan Palace-State? ; Colin F. MACDONALD, The Neopalatial Palaces of Knossos ; Giorgos RETHEMIOTAKIS, Evidence on Social and Economic Changes at Galatas and Pediada in the New-Palace Period ; Vincenzo LA ROSA, Pour une revision preliminaire du second palais de Phaistos ; Joseph SHAW, The Minoan Palatial Establishment at Kommos. An Anatomy of its History, Function, and Interconnections ; Olivier PELON, Contribution du palais de Malia a l'etude et a l'interpretation des "palais" minoens ; Jeffrey S. SOLES, A Central Court at Gournia ; Metaxia TSIPOPOULOU, Petras, Siteia: The Palace, the Town, the Hinterland and the Protopalatial Background ; Lefteris PLATON, The Political and Cultural Influence of the Zakros Palace on Nearby Sites and in a Wider Context ; Maria ANDREADAKI-VLASAKI, Are We Approaching the Minoan Palace of Khania? ; Clairy PALYVOU, Central Courts: The Supremacy of the Void ; Yannis HAMILAKIS, Too Many Chiefs?: Factional Competition in Neopalatial Crete ; Peter M. WARREN, Political Structure in Neopalatial Crete ; Philip P. BETANCOURT, Who was in charge of the Palaces? ; J. Alexander MACGILLIVRAY, Memories of a Minotaur ; Peter M. DAY and Maria RELAKI, Past Factions and Present Fictions: Palaces in the Study of Minoan Crete ; Klaas VANSTEENHUYSE, Minoan Courts and Ritual Competition.

"The Cretan archaeological landscape is adorned with the ruins of several major prehistoric palaces. The Minoans began building palaces around 1900 BC to act as cultural, religious, administrative, and commercial centers for their increasingly expanding society. The Minoan palaces provided a forum for gathering and celebrations, while at the same time they offered storage for the crops, and workshops for the artists. They were built over time to occupy low hills at strategic places around the island in a manner so complex that they resembled labyrinths to outside visitors. The Minoan palaces were technologically advanced with expanded drainage systems, irrigation, aqueducts, and deep wells that provided fresh water to the inhabitants. The multi-storied palace buildings were laced with impressive interior and exterior staircases, light wells, massive columns, storage magazines, and gathering outdoor places -- the precursor to ancient theaters. The construction method consisted of rough stones and ceramic bricks connected by mortar in the interior walls, while the corners of the buildings were fashioned by sharply defined large rectangular blocks. None of the Minoan palaces unearthed to date was surrounded by defensive walls, a testament to the Minoan supremacy at sea. The Minoan palaces are Knossos, Malia, Phaistos, and Zakros."--Http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/minoan-archi.html.

"These twenty papers, presented at an international conference in Athens, deal with various aspects of the so-called villas in Neopalatial Crete and their possible predecessors or equivalents in the preceding, Protopalatial period. They are followed by transcripts of the discussions of the symposium. Among the problems treated are: the origin of the "villa system", the definition of the "villa", the architectural analysis of buildings and building complexes, the magico-religious background of the "Villa", the role of religious painting, the origin of the Cretan andreion, and a study of ceramic exchange between towns and outlying settlements in Neopalatial eastern Crete. Special discussions concern the functional analysis of the architecture, administration and bureaucracy, with special reference to seals, sealings and Linear A tablets and political geography." --