The site has been inhabited since the Final Neolithic period (c. 3600-3000 BCE), but its greatest period of influence was from the 20th to 15th century BCE, during which time it, along with Knossos, was one of the most important centers of the Minoan civilization. The palace of Phaistos was once the second largest palace in Crete, with Knossos being the largest. It was built on the most spectacular setting of all the palaces, high on a hill, overlooking the entire fertile Messara plain, with Mr. Ida, Crete’s tallest mountain (8,058 feet) in the distance.