Ausgrabungsstätten

Agia Triada

Phaistos, Heraklion · Free

Route

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

Facilities

Eintritt

About

An elegant Minoan villa near Phaistos.

Agia Triada lies about 3 km west of Phaistos, on a hill overlooking the Messara plain. It was an elegant Minoan villa, perhaps a summer residence of the rulers of Phaistos, with a small town and a harbour nearby at Kommos.

Some of the most beautiful Minoan objects come from here, including the painted stone sarcophagus with scenes of a funeral ritual, the Harvester vase and the Chieftain cup, all now in the Heraklion museum. About 150 tablets in the Minoan script Linear A were also found here, more than at any other site.

The site is quieter than Phaistos, and the views are wonderful. Visit both on the same day.

Phaistos covers the western Messara, the largest plain of Crete, and its coast on the Libyan Sea. Here lie some of the most important Minoan sites, Phaistos and Agia Triada, and the beaches of Matala, Kommos, Kalamaki and the long Messara bay. Inland, towns like Moires and Tymbaki are busy farming centres, while villages such as Zaros, Vori and Kamilari are perfect for a slower pace. The area is warm and sunny, with a long swimming season.

Around Phaistos

Nearest town: Mires, about 10 km by road
Nearest airport: Heraklion airport (HER), about 61 km by road

Heraklion is the heart of Minoan Crete and the island’s busiest region. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the two places almost everyone visits, and they work well together on one day. In the south, the wide Messara plain holds the palace of Phaistos, the Roman ruins of Gortyna and the famous caves above the bay of Matala. More about Heraklion