Gortyn

Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (Greek: Γόρτυν, Γόρτυς, or Γόρτυνα) is a municipality and an archaeological site on the Mediterranean island of Crete, 45 km away from the modern capital Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn, the Roman capital of Crete, was first inhabited around 3200 BC, and was a flourishing Minoan town between 1600-1100 BC. It is located in the valley of Messara in the south of the Psiloritis mountain, in the current position of the settlements of Metropolis and Agioi Deka, and near the Libyan Sea. The municipality Gortyna was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units: There is evidence of human...