Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – AD 17/18) was commonly known as Ovid to the majority of the English-speaking world. He was one of the more famous Roman poets, best known for his three major collections of poetry: the Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria. The Metamorphoses is probably his greatest known work.
By 7 AD, he had almost finished the Metamorphoses. The Metamorphoses is an epic poem comprised of 15 books that explore Greek and Roman mythology. It tells of the transformations of human beings into new forms.
Ovid embarked on a voyage just before its publication, visiting some of the places where the heroic events had taken place, possibly for inspiration but more likely to check the validity of his stories.
It was around this time that he met Ast on Crete.
In 8 AD, Ovid was banished to Tomis, on the Black Sea, by the Emperor Augustus.
According to Ovid, he was banished for carmen et error (a poem and a mistake). No one knows for certain why Ovid was exiled. Many scholars have offered explanations but not one of them guessed at the truth. None of them are credible.
The truth is this: Ovid attempted to publish the true story of the Minotaur. Augustus, long a fan of heroic adventures, especially those of Theseus, refused to believe. When Ovid insisted it was the truth, Augustus exiled him and destroyed one of the two copies in existence.
This recount is based on the remaining copy that was recovered from Ovid’s tomb in Tomis.
Knossos and the Labyrinth
Scholars have long agreed that Knossos, Crete, is the site of the labyrinth. Arthur Evans conducted a series of excavations on the palace revealing the true extent of the site. It contained over thirteen hundred rooms, giving rise to the belief that the palace itself was part of the labyrinth. Ruins of the palace still contain many depictions of men leaping over the horns of a bull.
It is unknown whether the labyrinth was actually underneath the palace because of erosion and other natural processes.
According to archaeological evidence, Knossos was abandoned in the late Bronze Age (1380 – 1100 BC) due to damage caused by both a massive earthquake and a fire. It was never occupied again.
Most believe that the earthquake was a natural disaster. You know better.