Gortyn (Greek Γορτυς/Gortys, also Γορτύν/Gortun or Γόρτυνα/Gortyna) is a town in the Greek island of Crete, 45 km away from the capital Herakleion. It was a very important city during the age of the Minoan civilization. Among archaeologists, ancient historians, and classicists, Gortyn is primarily known today 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 the Odeon, a structure built by the Roman emperor Trajan, which reused for the second time stones from an inscription-bearing wall that had been incorporated into the foundation of an earlier Hellenistic structure. Today, a modern structure at the site of the mostly ruined Odeon houses the stones bearing the famous law code.

A number of ruin were preserved, where in 1884 were found three fragments of rock which had inscriptions in the Dorian dialects, 12 columns of 621 lines, almost complete, dating from 480 BC-460 BC. It is formed out of seven chapters of law, about thing such as:

• Constestations of the statute (free man or slave)
  
• Sexual crimes
  
• Divorce and widowhood
  
• Inheritance
  
• Adoption
  

Byzantinian Titus-Basilika (Source)

Sculpture from Gortyna

Persons

• Sosinos of Gortyn (a cooper smelter) Individual known from a stele

Gortyna today is a municipality of Herakleion with a population 5292 in 2001

Division of the municipality

• Agioi Deka / Τ.δ. Αγίων Δέκα [ 902 ]
  
  • Agioi Deka / οι Άγιοι Δέκα [ 796 ]
    
  • Vourvoulitis / ο Βουρβουλίτης [ 106 ]
    
• Agios Kyrillos / Τ.δ. Αγίου Κυρίλλου [ 192 ]
  
  • Agios Kyrillos / ο Άγιος Κύριλλος [ 139 ]
    
  • Gerokampos / ο Γερόκαμπος [ 53 ]
    
• Ampelouzos / Τ.δ. Αμπελούζου -- ο Αμπελούζος [ 297 ]
  
• Apesokarion / Τ.δ. Απεσωκαρίου -- το Απεσωκάριον [ 131 ]
  
• Vagionia / Τ.δ. Βαγιονιάς [ 922 ]
  
  • Vagionia / η Βαγιονιά [ 666 ]
    
  • Koumasa / η Κουμάσα [ 65 ]
    
  • Loukia / η Λούκια [ 191 ]
    
• Vasiliki / Τ.δ. Βασιλικής [ 261 ]
  
  • Vasiliki / η Βασιλική [ 198 ]
    
  • Kandila / η Κανδήλα [ 63 ]
    
• Vasilika Anogeia / Τ.δ. Βασιλικών Ανωγείων [ 334 ]
  
  • Vasilika Anogeia / τα Βασιλικά Ανώγεια [ 216 ]
    
  • Flathiakes / οι Φλαθιάκες [ 118 ]
    
• Gagales / Τ.δ. Γκαγκαλών [ 605 ]
  
  • Gagales / οι Γκαγκάλες [ 405 ]
    
  • Valis / ο Βαλής [ 200 ]
    
• Mitropolis / Τ.δ. Μητροπόλεως -- η Μητρόπολις [ 379 ]
  
• Miamou / Τ.δ. Μιαμούς [ 398 ]
  
  • Miamou / η Μιαμού [ 122 ]
    
  • Agia Marina / η Αγία Μαρίνα [ 0 ]
    
  • Dyskos / ο Δυσκός (τ. ο Δυτικός) [ 15 ]
    
  • Krotos / ο Κρότος [ 120 ]
    
  • Lentas / ο Λέντας [ 119 ]
    
  • Papadogiannis / ο Παπαδογιάννης [ 22 ]
    
• Platanos / Τ.δ. Πλατάνου [ 263 ]
  
  • Platanos / ο Πλάτανος [ 243 ]
    
  • Trypita / τα Τρυπητά [ 20 ]
    
• Plora / Τ.δ. Πλώρας -- η Πλώρα [ 271 ]
  
• Choustouliana / Τ.δ. Χουστουλιανών -- τα Χουστουλιανά [ 337 ]

Minoan Crete MAP

Index Law

Municipalities of the Heraklion Prefecture Agia Varvara | Archanes | Arkalochori | Asterousia | Chersonissos | Episkopi | Gazi | Gorgolainis | Gortyna | Gouves | Heraklion | Kasteli | Kofinas | Krousonas | Malia | Moires | Nea Alikarnassos | Nikos Kazantzakis | Paliani | Rouvas | Temenos | Thrapsano | Tylisos | Tympaki | Viannos | Zaros

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