Overview

Gortys (or Gortyn, Gortyna) was an ancient city located on both banks of the Lethaios river, a tributary of the Geropotamos. The remarkable law code of Gortys found here, as well as the 6th century AD Basilica of Agios Titos are just some of the amazing sites you will be able to visit here.

The remains of the ancient city of Gortys are scattered through a mile of olive groves and only the Odeon and the Basilica are fenced sites. The best way to get a good idea of the main site is to follow the path opposite the chapel of the village Agii Deka. Along this way you will discover most of the remnants.

Gortys was founded according to legend either by colonists from Sparta or by King Minos of Knossos. However, it began to grow after the arrival of the Dorians. By the 18th century BC, it had become an important commercial power and, it dominated its former rulers Knossos and Festos in early Classical times. The Gortinians helped the Romans conquer Crete and in reward Rome made Gortys capital of the province Crete and Cyrenaica, including North Africa. It was here that Christianity first reached Crete, when St Paul';s favorite disciple St Titus converted Gortys and became Crete';s first bishop. In 828 AD the Saracens invaded and looted the city. From that moment Gortys was rapidly abandoned.

The ancient city stretches from the edges of Agii Deka to the banks of the Lethaios (now known as the Mitropolitanos) and from the north, all the way to the villages of Mitropolis and Choustouliana in the south. The most interesting sites are; the Praetorium (the Roman governor';s palace), the Nymphaeum, the Temple of Pythian Apollo (the city';s center), the Temple of Isis and Serapis, the Odeion (where archeologists found the famous law code of Gortys) and the St.Titus Basilica.

 

If you wish to continue wandering along the olive groves you will be able to discover ruins of the main aqueduct, that brought water from the village of Gergeri (near the Nymphaeum), as well as traces of an amphitheatre and a stadium. The city';s Acropolis stands on a hill west of the river.