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Gortyn
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Gortyn or Gortyna is an archaeological site on the Mediterranean island of Crete, 45 km away from the modern capital Heraklion. Gortyn, the Roman capital of Crete, was first inhabited around 3200 BC, and was a flourishing Minoan town between 1600-1100 BC.
e is evidence of human occupation as far back as the Neolithic (7000 BC).
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Gortyn or Gortyna is an archaeological site on the Mediterranean island of Crete, 45 km away from the modern capital Heraklion. Gortyn, the Roman capital of Crete, was first inhabited around 3200 BC, and was a flourishing Minoan town between 1600-1100 BC.
History of Gortyn
There is evidence of human occupation as far back as the Neolithic (7000 BC). Many artifacts have been found from the Minoan period, as well as some from the Dorian (circa 1100 BC). The city of Gortyn surpassed the prominence of Phaistos during the first millennium BC, Phaistos having been the most significant city on Crete during Minoan times. Gortyn continued to rise under Roman rule, and became the largest city and the capital of Crete and Northern Africa. The city was destroyed in AD 828 by invading Arabs. One of the first Christian temples was built here and the remains of an important Christian cathedral of Crete can still be seen today. This cathedral, is dedicated to St. Titus the first Bishop of Crete, was erected in the 6th century AD.
Monuments in Gortyn
The heart of Roman Gortyn, is the Praetorium, the seat of the Roman Governor of Crete. Praetorium was built in the 1st century AD, but it was altered significantly over the next eight centuries. In the same area are the ruins of the Roman baths, as well as the temple of Apollo and the temple of the Egyptian deities. Parts of the Roman settlement, such as the theater (2nd century AD), have been unearthed during excavations. The theater has two entrances and a half-circular orchestra, the outline of which may still be seen today. Behind the Roman Theater are what has been called the "Queen of the Inscriptions". These inscriptions are the laws of the city of Gortyn, they are inscribed in the Dorian dialect on large stone slabs and are still plainly visible.
The law code of Gortyn
Among archaeologists, ancient historians, and classicists Gortyn is known today primarily because of the 1884 discovery of the Gortyn Code which is both the oldest and most complete known example of a code of ancient Greek law. The code was discovered on the site of a structure built by the Roman emperor Trajan, the Odeon, which for the second time, reused stones from an inscription-bearing wall that also had been incorporated into the foundation of an earlier, Hellenistic structure. Although portions of the inscriptions have been placed in museums such as the Louvre in Paris, a modern structure at the site of the mostly ruined Odeon now houses many of the stones bearing the famous law code.
The myth of Europa and Zeus
Classical Greek mythology has it that Gortyn was the site of one of Zeus' many affairs. This myth features the princess Europa, whose name has been applied to the continent, Europe. Disguised as a bull, Zeus abducted Europa from Lebanon and they had an affair under a plane tree (platanos), a tree that may be seen today in Gortys. Following this affair three children were born, who became the kings of the three Minoan Palaces in Crete. The identification of Europa in this myth gives weight to the claim that the civilization of the European continent was born on the island of Crete.
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