The Hall of the Double Axes is a spacious double room, possibly where the ruler both slept and carried out court duties. It takes its name from the double axe marks (labrys) on its light well, a sacred symbol to the Minoans and the origin of the word 'labyrinth'.
Hall of the Double Axes
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Nearby attractions
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Next to the queen's bedroom, but barely visible through glass, the ruler's wife's 'bathroom' may have had a clay bathtub and a primitive type of water…
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Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans believed that this pretty space in the residential eastern wing, with its painted pillars and playful dolphin fresco on the…
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Remnants of a drainage channel and underground clay pipes show that the Minoans had developed a sophisticated water-supply and sewage system.
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At the heart of the palace, the Central Court was hemmed in by high walls during Minoan times. Rooms facing the western side of the courtyard had official…
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Covered storerooms in the east wing hold giant clay jars decorated with ornamental relief that once held oil, wine and other staples. They were…
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Behind an antechamber, this beautifully proportioned room is separated by a pillar from a sunken basin that may have been used for purification rituals…
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Replicas of the ancient site's most famous artworks are displayed here.