LABYRINTH: KNOSSOS, MYTH & REALITY EXHIBITION

PAST EXHIBITION

A major exhibition, 10 Feb – 30 Jul 2023

According to legend, an elaborate labyrinth was built at Knossos on the island of Crete to hold a ferocious Minotaur. Discover the palace of Knossos, and the search for the labyrinth, in this major exhibition in Oxford.

The palace of Knossos, discovered and excavated over 100 years ago, was the centre of a Bronze Age civilisation of people we now call the Minoans, named after the legendary King Minos. 

This will be the first UK exhibition to focus on Knossos. It will include over 100 objects which have never left Crete and Greece before, alongside discoveries from the Ashmolean's Sir Arthur Evans Archive and an exclusive experience of Knossos Palace from the acclaimed video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans led excavations at Knossos in the early 20th century, and would later re-imagine and partially restore the palace. His archive at the Ashmolean has been central to our understanding of the site of Knossos, and many of his excavation plans, artworks and records will be on display alongside objects from the site.

A RESTORATION (2016), an 18-minute, two-screen digital video and sound installation by Turner Prize winning artist Elizabeth Price, is shown in the third gallery.

★ ★ ★ ★

"Thrilling"

The Times

"The amazing Ashmolean has done it again"

Stephen Fry
 

WATCH THE TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JVNvrPdyiG8?rel=0

SOME OF THE OBJECTS ON DISPLAY

Click on each image to view the full object

Marble sculpture of the mythical minotaur, with a bull's head a human torso
Silver coin depicting the Cretan Labyrinth
Drawing of the Cretan Labyrinth amongst a hilly landscape
Black amphora vase with a decoration, in orange, of Theseus slaying the Minotaur
Watercolour copy of a fresco painting at the palace of Knossos, of three ladies against a blue background
Bronze dagger with an inlaid decoration of a winged griffin
Black and white photograph of Sir Arthur Evans holding a rhyton from the Hall of the Double Axes of the Palace of Minos at Knossos dated 1901
Ancient gold ring stamped with figures and animals
Replica of bull's head rhyton from Knossos
A map of the island of Crete, made in the 15th century, coloured in browns and greens
Ceramic vessel in the shape of a cockerel, facing to the left
Still frame from an exclusive visualised experience of Knossos Palace from the acclaimed video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Ceramic figurine of a goddess with upraised arms
Still frame from Elizabeth Price's A RESTORATION (2016)
Ancient ivory figurine of a puppy
Mark Wallinger's Labyrinth #232 Green Park artwork showing a black and white drawn labyrinth
A white 3D model of Knossos Palace on display in the Labyrinth exhibition

EXHIBITION VISITING FAQs

 

Full-Price adult

Ticket prices

£15.30
£17.00 with Gift Aid

 

FREE Entry (but booking is strongly recommended) for
  • Members & Patrons
  • Under 12s
  • Carers (see 'Disabled visitors & carers' section, below)
  • University of Oxford students
  • ASH passholders
  • OU GLAM staff & Ashmolean volunteers
  • Museum colleagues (OU Ruskin School, ICOM, UK Museums Association, NMDC members)

Proof of eligibility must be presented with your ticket when you visit.

 

Concession rate tickets available for
  • Senior citizens
  • University of Oxford staff & alumni

Proof of eligibility must be presented with your ticket when you visit.

 

Half-Price tickets available for
  • Blue Light cardholders
  • Children aged 12–17 years
  • Students and those under 25
  • Those who are unemployed
  • Art Fund members

Proof of eligibility must be presented with your ticket when you visit.

 

Disabled visitors & carers

Disabled visitors should book a regular exhibition ticket at full or concession price, depending on eligibility.

Accompanying carers can access the exhibition for free with a ticket-holding disabled visitor, but should please book one of our free 'Carer' tickets for the same time slot.

 

BECOME A MEMBER
FOR UNLIMITED FREE ENTRY

Membership gives you unlimited access to exhibitions, as well as members-only previews, exclusive discounts in our our shop, restaurant and café, and much more.

 

 

No, but booking is strongly recommended to guarantee entry.

 

 

The Labyrinth exhibition shop is open every day 10am–5pm until 30 Jul 2023, when the exhibition closes.

If you have a late afternoon ticket, and you wish to stay in the exhibition until 5pm, then we recommend visiting the shop before you enter the exhibition. The shop, and the whole Museum, will close at 5pm.

 

 

Yes, an audio guide is available.

The guide is £3 with a full price ticket, and £2 for Members and Free tickets. The audio guide can be pre-booked with your ticket, or purchased on arrival at the Museum.

Please note, If you're visually impaired, the audio guide is free and available on an accessible device. There is no need to pre-book this, it can be requested at the Exhibition ticket desk on the day of your visit.

 

 

 

 

Yes. Access to the exhibition is via lift and the entire exhibition is wheelchair accessible. Handheld labels are available.

There is also a level access route from the pavement outside the Museum to the front door. You can read more about Museum access at this link Ashmolean Access Guide

Disabled visitors should book a regular exhibition ticket at full or concession price, depending on eligibility (when tickets are made available later this year). Accompanying carers can access the exhibition for free with a ticket-holding disabled visitor, but will need to book a free, timed Carer ticket.

There is an audio guide available and this is free for visually-impaired visitors, with a bespoke accessible device. Ask for this on arrival at the Exhibition ticket desk.

Please note that A RESTORATION (2016), an 18-minute, two-screen digital video and sound installation by Turner Prize winning artist Elizabeth Price, is shown in the third gallery. The video contains flashing lights and the sound from the installation is audible in the exhibition space.

 

 

Yes, we will facilitate group visits to the exhibition. 

Please contact the Box office on onlinetickets@ashmus.ox.ac.uk at least 3 weeks in advance of your preferred visit date to check availability and make the arrangements.

 

 

There are video and sound installations within the exhibition.

The exhibition offers two immersive experiences inspired by Knossos.

A RESTORATION (2016), an 18-minute, two-screen digital video and sound installation by Turner Prize winning artist Elizabeth Price, is shown in the third gallery. The video contains flashing lights and the sound from the installation is audible from outside the installation, in the exhibition space.

In the second gallery, a unique virtual tour of the Knossos Palace is presented – as reimagined in the 5th century BCE, during the time of the Peloponnesian War – thanks to the digital recreation of the site in the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey video game.

 

 

Yes, we will facilitate school group visits to the exhibition.

Please contact the Box office on onlinetickets@ashmus.ox.ac.uk at least 3 weeks in advance of your preferred visit date to check availability and make the arrangements.

 

For any media enquiries about our exhibitions, please refer to our Press information page

NOT A MEMBER?

Members enjoy priority booking, unlimited exhibition entry, and exclusive Members-only preview days, PLUS Members-only events, our Members' Magazine posted to you twice a year, and exclusive shop, café and restaurant discounts.

JOIN TODAY

Part of our Myth and Reality Season

EXHIBITION SUPPORTERS

The Al Thani Collection Foundation and His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani

The Patrons of the Ashmolean Museum 

The Emmett Family

A. G. Leventis Foundation

Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation

The Luscinus Trust

Michael and Sue Pragnell

The Hellenic Foundation

The John S Fafalios Foundation

In collaboration with: Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage; National Archaeological Museum, Athens; Heraklion Archaeological Museum; Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion

PRESS

To contact the Press Office please click here