The ancient city of Gortina

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Gortina, located on the Messara Plain, used to be the main city of Crete . At the time of its heyday in the Dorian era, this policy became one of the most powerful on the island . Part of the city buildings The goths survived the times of Roman and Byzantine rule and now occupy an area of 2000 square meters . meters . Excavations in the territory were started in 1884 on the initiative of the Italian archaeologist F . Halberra and continue to this day . Today Gortina is one of the most rich in the sense of archa logical searches for places not only for Crete, but for Greece in general .

The Code of Laws of Gortina, knocked out on the wall of the Odeon, is more than 2500 years old, and this is one of the oldest written legislative documents in Europe.

Location next to which later rose the city, was inhabited even in the Neolithic Age: vases and stone tools were found in the hills, in the northern part of the territory, and on the plain . It was here that the first residential buildings on the island appeared . Also among the local finds was a rich collection of items of the Minoan civilization . the so-called geometric period (11-8 cc . before . e .) the settlement on the hill gradually grew, and in archaic times (7-6 cc . before . e .) here were built the Odeon and the first agora . The second agora later appeared near the temple of Apollon Pythia .

To the Hellenic period (3-1 cc . before . e .) Gortina gained such strength that she controlled the whole Messara Plain . In the Roman era (1 in . before . e . - 4 . . e . @ there was a third agora, and at the same time in Gortina there was a water pipeline, the remains of which can be seen here to this day . Voe early Christian times and in the early Byzantine period (4-9 cc .) the city was actively upset, and under Emperor Heraklius (7 at .) powerful fortified walls were erected here . Alas, they did not help the policy, in its time equal to zero the neighboring neighboring Festus: in the 9th century it fell under the onslaught of the Saracens, was almost completely destroyed and since then remained in desolation .

Although the most interesting objects of the Gortina are located more or less next to each other, the common excavation area is very large. In order to thinkfully bypass and explore it entirely, it will take at least a day. Not all archaeological sites are open to public visits

One of the most famous Gortyn buildings, the basilica of St. . Titus apostle, became the first Christian church in Crete - it is over 1200 years old . Over the centuries the church was rebuilt and modified to the present day, he reached the half-ruined, but quite recognizable form . Odeon Gortiny (1 in .) is also well preserved: here you can see the stone rows of the seats of the amphitheater and even the striped floor of the scene of black and gray marble . In a separate room in the territory the old city contains Roman statues: there are not many remains of sculptures, and you can look at them only through the grill .

But the most unique and interesting historical evidence that Gortina is famous for is fragments of stone columns and walls with carved on them records, some of which could be deciphered . In particular, on the wall of the Roman Odeon, composed of sandstone, you can still see beautifully distinguishable inscriptions in the ancient Dorian language - this is the code of laws of Gortiny . Inscriptions about 2500 years, although the code itself , what is it in lays, was developed much earlier . This is one of the oldest surviving written sources of legislation in the whole of Europe .

There is almost nowhere to hide from the scorching sun in a hot season at the excavation site in Gortyn: take a headdress.

Basilica of St. Titus, Ancient city of Gortina

Ancient city of Gortina

Statue of the philosopher, Ancient city of Gortina

Fragments of ancient cloison , Ancient city of Gortina