Phaestus

ancient city, Crete

Also known as: Phaestos, Phaistos

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Greek:: Phaestos

Related Places:: Greece; Crete

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Phaestus, ancient city on the western end of the southern plain of Crete, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the sea. The site was occupied from the 4th millennium bce, and its importance grew in the Early and Middle Bronze ages (c. 3000–c. 1600 bce). In the latter period, its palace was first built and later remodeled. In the Late Bronze Age, about 1400 bce, it was destroyed in the same earthquake that destroyed Knossos and other sites on Crete. It was reoccupied in the final phase of the Late Bronze Age (13th century bce) and was widely known in Classical and Hellenistic times (c. 6th–1st centuries bce) until neighboring Gortyn eclipsed it under the Roman Empire.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.