Visiting Heraklion Archaeological Museum – 15 Top Highlights

The Phaistos Disc is perhaps the most famous exhibit in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.  It’s also one of the most mysterious, having perplexed historians since its discovery at the Palace of Phaistos (in southern Crete) in 1908.

The small clay disc is inscribed on both sides with a series of 241 tiny symbols. Nobody knows what it all means: some of the sequences of symbols are repeated, suggesting that it is an inscription of a chant, with the repeated part like a chorus in a song. But this is only a hypothesis – we’re not really any closer to deciphering it than we were when it was unearthed in 1908.

The Disc is in room 4 on the ground floor of the Museum.

The ‘Draughtboard’ is one of the most striking exhibits in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. It’s a beautifully preserved board that would have been set into a larger base, most likely made of wood, but this has not survived.

Other examples have been found in the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East, but this board game – from the Palace of Knossos – is by far the most elaborate. It’s also inlaid with luxury, expensive materials including ivory, crystals and gold leaf.

Four small ivory pieces were found close to the board, and it’s possible that these may have been part of the game. We don’t know how the game was played, but given the costly materials used, it’s likely that it was played by someone very high in the Knossos Palace pecking order.

A larnax is an ancient type of sarcophagus, a chest used to hold the body or cremated ashes of the deceased. The collection of larnakes in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum is possibly the finest in the world. I rate it among the best things to see in the Museum.

They are made from terracotta, but resemble wood in appearance. They are decorated beautifully with simple patterns, variously showing plants, flowers, patterns and one that seems to depict snails. An amazing sight, in the same room (11-12) as the more celebrated Agia Triada Sarcophagus (see below).

The image above depicts one of two formidable Minoan ‘snake goddesses’ at the Museum.

These underworld goddesses – or possibly priestesses – were discovered at Knossos, along with many other religious artefacts.

The cat resting on the head of this figure represents her dominion over animals and wildlife. The snakes she is holding – one in each hand – symbolize the underworld.

The bull is a frequent subject in Minoan art, as is the apparent sport of bull leaping. The wider of these two images shows a red figure performing an athletic leap over the bull’s back. It has been depicted numerous times in Minoan art, so was probably the thrill-seeker’s adrenaline hit of the time.  The fresco is believed to date from the 15^th century BC.

The bull was a symbol of strength – and also fertility and virility – in Minoan culture. When looking at this fresco, I couldn’t help wondering about these Cretans putting themselves in danger in such close proximity to such an animal. I wondered if this was a distant forerunner of activities like bullfighting, which would become popular in parts of the western Mediterranean a thousand miles to the west.

This unique sarcophagus from around the 14^th century BC is believed to have held the body of a prince or other senior figure. It dates from around the time of the Mycenaean conquest of Crete. The town of Agia Triada was located in southern Crete, a few miles from the famous Phaistos archaeological site.

The stunning frescoes show funeral rites, which possibly may contain Minoan and Mycenaean elements. The frescoes show a bull being sacrificed, and music being played during the funeral.

The carved stone bull’s head vessel is one of the most iconic exhibits at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The head brings to mind the Minotaur, the legendary half-man half-bull figure that dwelt in the Labyrinth at Knossos. The bull was also a symbol of fertility in Minoan culture.

Like the lion head rhyton (see below) the bull’s head is a vessel that would most likely have been used in rituals, perhaps in making offerings to the gods. Liquid would have been poured through an aperture in the back of the bull’s head, and then would have flowed out through its mouth.

This superb floor mosaic was discovered at the site of a house in Hersonissos, the popular beach resort 32 km east of Heraklion.

It dates from the second century AD, and would have adorned the house of someone of considerable wealth. There are four different depictions of pairs of birds, each framed by a circle and octagon and surrounded by a patterned motif. It can be found in Room 20 (XX) on the upper floor of the Museum.

There is also an impressive hoard of silver coins from Hersonissos in the Museum.

The iconic Dolphin Fresco is one of the most iconic and most frequently imitated works of Minoan art. It was found in the vicinity of the Queen’s Megaron within the Knossos Palace complex. We don’t know whether it was used on a wall or on a floor.

The fresco also shows other, smaller fish in the seawater. It is on display in Room 13, along with numerous other Minoan frescoes.

This extraordinary limestone sculpture was discovered at the Palace of Knossos. It is likely that it was a vessel used in rituals.

Liquid would be poured through the hole at the back of the head, and then flow out through the nostrils. Precious stones would also have been used to decorate the head.

Visiting Heraklion Archaeological Museum – The Roman Period

The Romans conquered the island of Crete in 66 BC, along with the Cyrenaica region to the south, in what is now Libya. They were combined into the administrative province of Crete and Cyrenaica.

They made Gortyn – 30 miles south of Heraklion near the southern coast of the island – the provincial capital. And this is where some of the main Roman finds on Crete were uncovered.

These two Roman-era figures are accompanied by the three-headed dog Cerberus, the guardian of the gateway to the Underworld.

Hades was the brother of Zeus, chief among Greek gods, and god of the Underworld, with which he shares his name. According to traditional myths he fell in love with Persephone (daughter of Demeter, goddess of nature).  He abducted her and made her live with him in the Underworld.

There was often crossover or blurring of identities between Egyptian gods and Greek gods, particularly during the Classical period (5^th to 1^st centuries BC). There are many similarities between Isis, the Egyptian goddess of fertility. Serapis (also sometimes spelt Sarapis) is believed to be a combination of three Egyptian gods. 

These statues were discovered at the Palace in Gortyn, the capital of Crete under the Romans.

This is one of the most poignant memorials in the Museum, what is believed to be a tombstone of a young mother.

The carved relief depicts a young boy reaching up towards his seated mother.

Heraklion Archaeology Museum is easy to reach. It’s at the eastern edge of the Old Town, on the northeastern edge of Plateias Eleftherias, or Freedom Square.

If you’re approaching from the main Heraklion bus station,  it’s a 5-6 minute mainly uphill walk up Leof Ikarou – turn right as you exit the station, then take a short-cut through the park past the small craft stalls to save 20 metres or so.

Alternatively, you can catch bus 2 (which runs to Knossos) up the hill – it stops just across the street from the Museum.

Some of the open-top bus tours of Heraklion depart from 100 metres away from the Museum, on the edge of the square.

The Museum is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm daily during the May to October summer season, except Tuesdays, when it is open from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm.

During the November to April winter season it is open from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm Mondays and Wednesdays to Sundays. On Tuesdays it is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Check the Museum’s opening hours page before you visit for information on any possible temporary closures of exhibitions.

You can opt to visit the Archaeological Museum on a combination ticket with the Knossos Palace site.  I would strongly urge you to visit both. Even if you only have one day in Heraklion, or just a few hours.

During the summer season (April to October) an adult ticket costs €12, with reduced (seniors, under-25s) €6. During the winter season, entry to the Museum only costs a bargain €6.

The combination ticket with Knossos costs €20.  If you buy the ticket, you make a saving of €7 compared to buying individual tickets for each.

I think visiting the Archaeological Museum and Knossos is essential. I don’t think you can fully appreciate either without having visited both. But if you only have a few hours in Heraklion,  and don’t have time for both, then I suggest opting for  visiting Heraklion Archaeological Museum ahead of Knossos.

I spent over four hours at the Museum. As I studied Ancient Greece at university I was always likely to spend longer there than most!

However, even if you only have a passing interest in ancient history, you could easily spend two to three hours visiting Heraklion Archaeological Museum. It’s one of the most captivating collections in Greece, and for that matter, the ancient Mediterranean world.

David Angel is a British photographer, writer and historian. He is a European travel expert with over 30 years’ experience exploring Europe. He has a degree in History from Manchester University, and his work is regularly featured in global media including the BBC, Condé Nast Traveler, The Guardian, The Times, and The Sunday Times.  David is fluent in French and Welsh, and can also converse in Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech and Polish.

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