Knossos Labyrinth Square Necklace

For more than two thousand years, the name Knossos has been inseparable from one of the ancient world’s most enduring stories: the Labyrinth.

According to Greek myth, King Minos ordered the craftsman Daedalus to construct an elaborate maze at Knossos to contain the Minotaur. Ariadne later gave Theseus a thread with which to retrace his path through the maze after confronting the creature. The legend became so closely associated with Knossos that the labyrinth itself eventually became a visual symbol of the city.

Ancient Knossian coinage preserves this connection remarkably clearly. From the Classical period onwards, coins minted at Knossos repeatedly depict different versions of the labyrinth — square, circular and cross-like — alongside figures associated with the myths of Crete. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum describes the labyrinth as effectively functioning as a symbol of the city on its coinage and official seals.

One striking silver stater, struck around 350–325 BC, carries the head of a woman generally identified as Hera on the obverse. On its reverse is a precisely arranged square labyrinth, accompanied by the inscription ΚΝΩΣΙΩΝ — “of the Knossians” — together with an arrowhead and thunderbolt.

Centuries later, the mythical Labyrinth became entwined with the archaeological rediscovery of Knossos itself. The Ashmolean Museum’s 2023 exhibition Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth & Reality explored the relationship between the legendary maze, the Palace of Knossos and the archaeological work that transformed modern understanding of Bronze Age Crete.

Created exclusively for that exhibition, the Knossos Labyrinth Necklace reimagines the labyrinth found on ancient Knossian coinage — transforming an emblem of myth, place and archaeology into a piece designed to be worn today.