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Prince of the Lilies

Public artwork·HeraklionMentioned by Atlas Obscura
Prince of the Lilies
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
“The Prince of the Lilies, or the Lily Prince or Priest-King Fresco, is a celebrated Minoan painting excavated in pieces from the palace of Knossos, capital of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on the Greek island of Crete. The mostly reconstructed original is now in the Heraklion Archaeological…”
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Atlas ObscuraSep 3

The Prince of the Lilies Fresco in Heraklion, Greece

The Prince of the Lilies is one of the signature images of Minoan Crete, reproduced on postcards, book covers, and museum posters worldwide: a slender, muscular figure wearing a crown of lilies and peacock feathers, striding forward through a garden, one hand on his chest. It's usually presented as a king, sometimes a priest-king, ruling from Knossos around 1500 BCE. The problem is that almost…

Fresco reconstructed from fragments, possibly not a single figure.

4 things in this story
  • KnossosAttractionPalace site where the fresco was excavated.
  • Prince of the LiliesPublic artworkFresco reconstructed from fragments, possibly not a single figure.
  • Arthur EvansPlaceExcavated fresco fragments in the early 1900s.
  • Émile GilliéronPlaceRestorer who controversially reconstructed the fresco.
Read the full piece at Atlas Obscura →
More sights in HeraklionCrete×2Knossos×2Knossos Palace
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