A city on the island of Krete (Crete).
During the Trojan War, Idomeneus, Achaian (Achaean) commander of the Kretans, mustered soldiers from Gortys, Knosos, Lykastos (Lycastus), Lyktos (Lyctus), Miletos (Miletus), Phaistos (Phaestus), and Rhytion (Rhytium).
Latitude North, Longitude East
35.0715, 24.9386
The city of Gortys mentioned in the Iliad was obviously a distinct and important place. Subsequently known as Gortyn, the city is important because the Tablets of Gortyn or Law Code of Gortyn were found there.
The Tablets of Gortyn date from 500 BCE and consist of 12 stela inscribed with 600 lines of Greek in the local Cretan Doric dialect. The text was carved in the boustrophedon style (as the ox turns), where alternate lines are read in opposite directions. The stela were displayed in a public theatre and available for all citizens to see.
The tablets (as pictured above) were a collection of civil laws dealing with:
| References: Homer, Iliad book 2, line 646 Homer, Odyssey book 3, line 294 Strabo, Geography book 10.4.11, 10.4.12, 10.4.13 |