ancient city in N Crete, near modern Iraklion: center of ancient Minoan civilization
See Knossos in American Heritage Dictionary 4
also Cnos·sos or Cnos·sus(nŏsˈəs)
An ancient city of northern Crete near present-day Iráklion. The center of a Bronze Age culture that probably flourished from c. 2000 to 1400 B.C., it is the traditional site of the labyrinth of Daedalus and the palace of King Minos.