Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Cnossus

CNOSSUS, or Gnossus, the most important city of Crete, on the left bank of the Cseratus, a small stream which falls into the sea on the north side of the island. The city was situated at a distance of about 3 miles from the coast, and, according to the old traditions, was founded by Minos, the mythical king of Crete. The locality was associated with a number of the most interesting legends of Grecian mythology, particularly with those which related to Jupiter, who was said to have been born, to have been married, and to have been buried in the vicinity. Cnossus is also assigned as the site of the fabled labyrinth in which the Minotaur was confined, and a physical basis for the legend may perhaps have been found in the caverns and excavations of the district. As the city was originally peopled by Dorians, the manners, customs, and political institutions of its inhabitants were all Dcrian. Along with Gortyna and Cydonia, it held for many years the supremacy over the whole of Crete ; and it always took a prominent part in the civil wars which from time to time desolated the island. When the rest of Crete fell under the Roman dominion, Cnossus shared the same fate, and became a Roman colony. ^Enesidemus, the sceptic philosopher, and Chersiphron, the architect of the temple of Diana at Ephesus, were natives of Cnobsus.