When found,
it proved to be of later date and of more developed form than the
structure at Phaestos; but the general idea was the same. At the
extreme north-west angle of the palace, abutting on the West Court,
there was discovered a paved area about 40 by 30 feet, divided up
the centre by a causeway. On its eastern and southern sides it
was overlooked by two tiers of steps, the eastern tier having at
one time consisted of eighteen rows, while the greatest number on
the south side was six, diminishing to three as the ground sloped
upwards. At the southeastern angle, where the two tiers met, a
bastion of solid masonry projected between them.
[Illustration XIII: RELIEF OF BULL'S HEAD (_p_. 77)
From 'The Palace of Minos,' by Arthur J. Evans, in _The Monthly
Review_.]
This area, for whatever purpose it may have been designed, was
evidently an integral portion of the Later Palace structure, for no
fewer than five causeways converge upon it from different directions;
but it was in no sense a thoroughfare, and the rows of steps around
it do not lead, and can never have led, anywhere. What can have been
the purpose of its existence? Dr. Evans's view, which is generally
accepted, is that it was some sort of a primitive theatre, where
the inhabitants of the palace gathered to witness sports and shows
of some kind, the tiers of steps affording sitting accommodation
for them, while the bastion at the south-east angle may have been
a kind of Royal Box, from which Minoan majesty and its Court circle
surveyed the games.
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