Gortyna (Ancient Gortyn)

Gortyna, also spelled Gortyn or Gortys, is one of the most important and longest-lived ancient cities of Crete, spread across the Messara Plain near the village of Agioi Deka, between Heraklion and the south coast. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it rose to become a powerful Greek city-state and later, under Rome, the capital of the combined province of Crete and Cyrenaica. At its peak in the Roman era the city was vast and prosperous, one of the major urban centres of the eastern Mediterranean. The site's most celebrated treasure is the Gortyn Law Code, a long inscription carved in stone in the 5th century BC and regarded as the oldest substantial body of written law in Europe. Its lines, written in an archaic Cretan dialect that runs alternately left to right and right to left, set out rules on property, marriage, inheritance, adoption and the rights of different social classes, offering an extraordinary window into the workings of an ancient Greek society with its sharp distinctions between free citizens and slaves. The stone blocks bearing the code were reused in the wall of the city's Roman odeon, where they can still be seen. Gortyna also holds a key place in Christian history. According to tradition Saint Titus, a companion of the Apostle Paul, became the first bishop of Crete and based his church here. The ruined Basilica of Agios Titos, a grand stone church built in the 6th to early 7th century, still stands as one of the most impressive early Christian monuments on the island; the city's role as capital and religious centre ended after Arab raids in the 9th century. The sprawling archaeological area contains far more, much of it Roman: the odeon, the remains of the Praetorium that served as the governor's residence, temples, baths, an amphitheatre and scattered columns and statuary spread among olive groves and an ancient plane tree linked to local myth. The site is divided into a fenced central enclosure and a wider scatter of monuments across the surrounding fields, so exploring it fully can take a couple of hours or more. Gortyna lies on the main road across the Messara and is most easily reached by car, frequently combined with visits to Phaistos, Agia Triada and the beach at Matala. There is an admission charge for the main enclosure, while other ruins can be glimpsed from the roadside. With its mix of law, myth, Roman grandeur and early Christianity, it rewards travellers interested in history who enjoy atmospheric, less-crowded sites among the Cretan countryside.