Travel Guide Gortyne

In its own way, this site is the equivalent of Knossos for a more recent period of Cretan history. Probably founded in Minoan times, it was a subject of Phaestos, its neighbour, in Dorian times and became an important commercial centre (in the 8th century BC) with a port overlooking the Libyan Sea, Levin (now Lentas). It developed in such a way that it took possession of Phaestos in the 3rd century BC. (as well as Matala, which was its port) before the Romans (in 69 BC) made it the capital of Crete and Cyrenaica (which also administered parts of Egypt and North Africa). Gortyne was then at its peak. Saint Paul sent one of his apostles, Saint Titus, to convert the Cretans, and it was here in Gortyn that Christianity made its entrance. During the Saracen invasion in the 9th century, the city was abandoned. There are still ruins scattered over a large area (about 1 km2), which you can easily visit on foot from Agia Deka, for example.