Throne Room in Knossos

The Anteroom to the Throne Room

In the Anteroom to the Throne Room in Knossos Palace you can see a wooden throne on a low podium against the north wall, with alabaster benches along the opposite wall. A row of loaf-shaped alabaster vessels was found in this room.

The Throne Room

A double door leads from the Anteroom to the Throne Room, which dates from the Creto-mycenaean period. Against the north wall is the alabaster throne, with benches on each side and a porphyrite basin on the floor in front of it, in the centre of the room.

On the south wall is a Creto-mycenaean fresco depicting griffins, mythical beasts with an eagle’s head and lion’s body, which symbolised royal and divine power.

The Throne Room was a sacred area. In the south part, forming the inner sanctum and light-well, is a lustral basin used for ritual cleansing. The door behind this area leads to windowless secondary rooms housing figures of divinities and ritual vessels.

It is believed that the main Throne Room was used as a council hall and law court for King Minos and the priesthood. The President’s seat at the International Court of The Hague is a wooden copy of the Knossos alabaster throne.

Map of Knossos Palace

Throne Room = No 07