Five kilometres south of Heraklion, on a low hill above the Kairatos stream, lie the ruins that gave Europe its oldest legend of a labyrinth. Knossos was the greatest centre of Minoan Crete, a sprawling palace complex of courtyards, storerooms, staircases and shrines that flourished in the second millennium BC. Its confusing plan, with hundreds of interlocking rooms on several levels, may well have inspired the Greek myth of King Minos, the craftsman Daedalus and the Minotaur imprisoned in the maze, waiting for Theseus.
The site was excavated from 1900 by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who spent a fortune on it and then did something modern archaeologists still argue about: he partly rebuilt it. The bright red columns tapering downward, the painted walls, the restored upper storeys are Evans's interpretation in reinforced concrete. Some visitors find them kitsch, others find they make the place readable. Either way, the frescoes you see on site are replicas; the originals, including the famous bull-leaping scene and the elegant figures known as the Ladies in Blue, are in the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, which is essential to understand what you are looking at.
Go early. By late morning in summer the site is packed with tour groups, and the Cretan sun bounces off the stone with real violence. The first hour after opening, or the last before closing, is far more pleasant, and the pine trees around the entrance offer some shade.
The riding on Crete is wonderful, and the roads south of Knossos are a good introduction. A short ride leads to Archanes, a well-kept village among vineyards at the foot of Mount Giouchtas, the mountain whose profile is said to resemble the face of sleeping Zeus. From there, roads wind through the wine country of Peza, with tight bends, olive groves and village tavernas. The surface can be polished and slippery in places, especially after the first autumn rain, and goats are a frequent hazard. Further south, the road climbs over the island's spine towards the Messara plain and the Minoan palace of Phaistos.
Heraklion has fuel, garages and every kind of service; it can be chaotic to ride through, with heavy traffic and aggressive scooters. In the villages, stop for a Greek coffee, a plate of dakos, the Cretan barley rusk topped with tomato and cheese, and a glass of cold water before the next climb.