Gortyna Archaeological Site Crete

The ancient city of Gortyna was one of the city-states of Crete and we find it in the southern part in the municipality of Agioi Deka about 22 kilometers from the beautiful town of Matala in the Messarà region. Not far away is Mount Ida, a mountain considered sacred as, according to legend, the god Zeus grew up.

An important archaeological site also mentioned by Homer as one of the most flourishing and fortified cities on the island.

There are several attributions on the founders of Gortyna, some say that it was founded by the inhabitants of the city of Tegea in the Peloponnese, others to the Achaeans when they were expelled from the city of Amicle in Laconia. From the excavations conducted by Federico Halbherr an Italian archaeologist of 1884 it has been shown that Gortyna was already inhabited in the Minoan and Neolithic periods. Its name, also reported in the Iliad and in the Odyssey, suggests its presence in the geometric period of the 7th century BC. In the third century BC it was a powerful polis that also took over the mythical Festus and therefore conquered control of the port of Matala. In 221 BC a civil war broke out where on one side the inhabitants who wanted to ally with Knossos took sides, on the other those who preferred an alliance with Lyttos. In 68 BC the Romans conquered the island, thus making Gortyna the capital of Crete and prospering further. The very democratic and tolerant Romans left the Cretans the faculty to worship their gods such as Diktynna and Britomarti as well as the revered Isis and Serapis. Large amphitheaters, the Odeon, two baths and the temples of Apollo and Isis were built.

Abandoned in the 8th century, with the arrival of the Saracens in 864 AD the title of capital was taken away by moving the capital to Chandax, the current Heraklion.

Thanks to the expedition of the School of Italian Archeology in Athens, finds have come to light of the 400-hectare settlement dating back to 1050 BC. On the site it is possible to visit the surrounding walls of the Acropolis and the foundations, tombs of the geometric age, the Agora, the theater of the 2nd century AD with two entrances and a semicircular orchestra, the temple of Apollo Pizio, the Baths, the Sanctuary of Demeter and behind the Roman Theater the famous Laws of the city of Gortyna.

Two words should be spent in this regard as it is one of the most important codes of ancient Greece. Carved on the large inscription in twelve columns, it was originally above a circular wall in a building where citizens met for assemblies. The writing starts from right to left in the first line and in the opposite direction in the second, alternating until the end. There were a total of 640 lines of which 605 are still preserved. In the Doric dialect, they spoke of civil, criminal and commercial law. Many progressives for the period also dealt with family rights where it was clear that women, despite having to marry the man decided by their father, had patrimonial rights, could inherit and administer it independently.

The code was discovered on the Odeon wanted by the emperor Trajan. To date some parts of the code are in the Louvre in Paris, and a copy returned by the Italian Museum of Taranto to the city of Athens, the rest on the site.

And again the large block of the Praetorium, the altar dedicated to Theos Hypsistos, three and a half meters high, well preserved, a God without a name to whom everyone from pagans to Jews to Christians could turn.

According to Greek mythology, the Phoenician princess Europe was kidnapped from her country of Lebanon by a bull and forced to have a relationship under a plane tree still visible today in Gortyna from which Minos, Rhadamnthys and Sarperdone were born, the kings of the Minoan palaces of Crete. An imposing statue of Europa sitting on the back of a bull was discovered in the amphitheater. In our time the statue is kept in the British Museum.

Also according to the legend, Menelaus returning from the Trojan war lost many of his ships right on the coasts in front of Gortyna when the sea exploded in a terrible storm, throwing the boats against a coral reef, saving the crews.

If you have your own vehicle just head towards the center of the island, keep Matala as a reference. From Matala it is about twenty kilometers inland.

If you are not independent you can ask in the various agencies that organize excursions based on where you are staying.If you are in Herklion or its surroundings, consult this site which offers a beautiful day trip with one night's stay and also includes the Phaistos Palace. http://www.travel-crete.gr/

After the site, if you want you can head towards the coast overlooking the Libyan Sea where delightful beaches and hidden coves will make you end the day in style.

A very important site but not as well known and noble as others but that will surely make you cover how immense this island is. To be noted among the things to see in Crete.