Agia Triada in CreteKOSTIS S. CHRISTAKIS

Agia Triada is situated at the western end of

the Mesara Plain, 4 km west of PHAISTOS.

The site, settled late in the Neolithic period,

became prosperous in Prepalatial times

(3650–2000 BCE). Two tholos tombs, northwest

of the settlement, were used for collective

burial in that period. The town expanded

further in the Old Palace period (1900–

1630). Early in the New Palace period

(ca. 1650–1640), the “Villa,” a monumental

complex, was built in the center of the town.

The palatial architecture of the Villa and the

rich finds show that it was the seat of an eminent

ruling group. The “Villa” was originally consid-

ered the seaside palace of the lords of Phaistos.

Recent studies, though, have demonstrated that

the Villa and not the palace of Phaistos was the

seat of power (La Rosa 2002). Stone vases,

bronze figurines, finely decorated pottery,

assemblages of storage containers, and nine-

teen copper ingots are the most significant

finds of the complex. The sealings and LINEAR

A tablets recording agricultural products and

personnel are evidence for the extensive con-

trol that the central authority exercised in the

fertile lands of the Mesara.

The densely built town is divided by a long

wall running east to west along the slope of

the hill. A significant town building is the

“Bastion,” a complex that may have been used

for storage and workshop activities. Other

important town buildings were the House of

the Cauldron, with rich contents and an impor-

tant group of Linear A tablets, the “House

of the Oven,” the “House of the Clay Balls,”

and the “House of the Figs.” These buildings

were probably closely tied to the “Villa”. The

remains of the town are much scarcer north of

the long wall. It seems that the town was not

destroyed simultaneously during Late Minoan

IB (1525–1450); the “Villa” and many other

buildings were destroyed earlier than other

complexes (Puglisi 2003).

Extensive rebuilding took place in the

succeeding period, especially after the destruc-

tion of KNOSSOS in ca. 1340–1330. The town

underwent a monumental reconstruction and

many complexes had a layout unique in Crete,

sometimes inspired by Mycenaean architec-

ture. Buildings erected in this period are the

“Megaron,” built over the ruins of the “Villa,”

the large Stoa with eight shops and the court

in front of it, and the Shrine with a frescoed

floor with octopus and dolphins. The famous

sarcophagus of Agia Triada, a limestone

coffin painted with funerary rituals, is dated to

this period (ca. 1390–1370). The town gradually

declined until its final abandonment in

Protogeometric times (tenth–ninth centuries).

A village and a shrine dedicated to Zeus

Velchanos were built over the ruins of the

Minoan town in Hellenistic times. Both village

and shrine were destroyed by Gortynians in the

second century BCE. Roman farms and work-

shops were built on the site, while, centuries

later in the Venetian period (fourteenth–

seventeenth centuries), a church dedicated to

Agios Georgios and tombs were built on the

southwest part of the site.

SEE ALSO: Gortyn; Phaistos.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

La Rosa, V. (1992) “Ayia Triada.” In J. W. Myres,

E. E. Myers, and G. Cadogan, eds., The aerial

atlas of Crete : 70–7. Berkeley.

La Rosa, V. (2002) “Pour une revision preliminaire

du second palais de Phaistos.” In J Driessen,

I. Schoep, and R. Laffineur, eds., Monuments

of Minos: rethinking the Minoan palaces: 71–97.

Liege.

Puglisi, D. (2003). “Hagia Triada nel periodo

Tardo Minoico I.” Creta Antica 4: 145–98.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,

and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 184–185.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah02006

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