#gortyn

Gortyn

Gortyn is located on the Mesara plain of central Crete and was an important settlement throughout antiquity from the Minoan to Hellenistic periods. In Roman times the city went on to gain even more importance as the capital of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrene. The site today is particularly noted for the Gortyn Law Code, a lengthy wall inscription created in the 5th century BCE which is the earliest such example in Europe.

Perhaps the most famous inscription written in the Cretan alphabet is the Law Code of Gortyn of the early 5th century BC, a section of which is shown above. This gives a good illustration of some of the Cretan alphabet’s features, which include some unexpected letter shapes (an iota shaped like a Roman S, a pi shaped like a Roman C, the use of san M where other alphabets used sigma Σ, etc).

If you want to try learning the Cretan alphabet, you can use our ‘Write your name in the Cretan alphabet’ sheet (download a pdf HERE). You can also compare with the ‘standard’ version of the Greek alphabet, the sort you find in text books today that was the result of a late 5th century BC writing reform in Athens.

Gortina

Gortina se encuentra en la llanura de Mesara en el centro de Creta y fue un asentamiento importante durante toda la Antigüedad desde la época minoica hasta el período Helenístico. En la época romana, la ciudad adquirió aún más importancia como capital de la provincia romana de Creta y Cirene. Hoy en día este sitio destaca especialmente por el código legal de Gortina, una larga inscripción mural creada en el siglo V a.C. que constituye el primer ejemplo europeo de este tipo.

Crète Antique

La Crète est une île de Méditerranée orientale qui, à l'âge du bronze, produisit l'influente civilisation minoenne avec son architecture et son art distinctifs. Membre important du monde grec à l'époque archaïque, la Crète perdit un peu en importance pendant la période classique, mais elle fut de nouveau un centre culturel majeur à l'époque romaine, alors qu'elle était une province de l'empire romain et centre du christianisme primitif. L'île compte aujourd'hui de nombreux sites archéologiques remarquables, dont Knossos, Phaistos et Gortyn, tous avec des vestiges architecturaux significatifs comme preuve convaincante de l'histoire longue et variée de la Crète.

Writing as the plough turns.

Very interesting article about Boustrophedon writing

by David L O’Hara.

This relates to research I am doing into the relationship between dance steps and the metrical foot in poetic scansion, with regard to the movement of the chorus in strophe and anti-strophe. More will be revealed when my book on the subject THE STEP IS THE FOOT is published by Grey Suit Editions later this year.