Gortyn

Gortyn became the capital of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica and grew into a city of perhaps a hundred thousand, whose remains now lie scattered through olive groves on both sides of the modern road. The centrepiece is the Great Inscription, the law code of Gortyn, carved around 450 BC into blocks that were later reused in a Roman odeon: twelve columns of text running boustrophedon, alternating direction line by line like a plough, some six hundred lines covering family law, property, inheritance, adoption and the status of slaves. It is the longest and most complete Greek legal inscription known. Also inside the enclosure is the sixth-century basilica of Agios Titos, one of the best-preserved early Christian churches on Crete, and an ancient plane tree said never to lose its leaves.

History

Human occupation at Gortyn goes back to the Neolithic, 7000 BC, with many finds from the Minoan period, 2600-1100 BC, and some from the Early Iron Age, and the city was at its most prosperous in the Hellenistic era, when it was the most powerful city of Crete and dominated the Messara valley. In the Lyttian War of 220 BC the city split, the elders siding with their old ally Knossos and the young with Lyttos, until the Knossians, with Aetolian help, occupied its citadel at the elders' invitation (Wikipedia, Gortyn).

What's there

• The law code - six hundred lines of fifth-century BC legal text on a wall.
• The odeon - the Roman building into which the inscription was reused.
• Agios Titos basilica - a sixth-century church standing to considerable height.
• The scattered city - temples, theatre and baths among the olive groves.

When to go

Spring and autumn; the Messara plain is one of the hottest places in Greece in summer. The fenced area is compact, and the outlying ruins need a car and some walking.

What to expect

Most of the ancient city lies outside the ticketed enclosure, unsigned and among private olive groves, so a lot goes unseen. The inscription is protected under a shelter and can be hard to photograph. Signage is thin.

Nearby

Phaistos lies fifteen kilometres west; Zaros and the Psiloritis foothills are north.