The old city of Gortys or Gortyn is situated just outside Agii Deka on the Messara plane. It has been inhabited since 3200 BC, originally by the Minoans, and later the Dorians built temples for Athena and for Apollo here in the 7th century BC. There is even evidence of human habitation in Gortyn going back all the way to the Neolithic period (7000 BC). Gortyn was often at war with Knossos and Festos / Phaestos and after a victory over Festos in the 3d century BC Gortyn had two harbours for a short period of time (Levin and Matala). Hannibal fled to Gortyn and stayed there for a while after he was defeated by the Romans.

The remains of the city are spread over a very large area, which is much larger than the fenced area where you can look around. The acropolis and a lot of buildings in the area have yet to be excavated. Along the road to Agii Deka lie other ancient buildings such as the Temple of the Egyptian Gods In the nearby village of Agii Deka itself there are a lot of ornaments and stones from ancient times incorporated in the houses. It is assumed that the village is built on top of the former cemetery of Gortyn.

Under Roman rule Gortyn became the capital not only of Crete, but of the Roman province of Cyrenaica, that included Egypt and parts of northern Africa. It contains many buildings amongst which the impressive Titus church (6th century, unfortunately it was in a scaffolding when we visited in 2014), a theatre - the Odeon, a stadium, several sanctuaries, and the "laws of Gortyn" that date from the 5th century AD (the first written laws in Europe, that dealt with criminal law, family law, inheritance and other issues) that are placed in a wall. From the beginning of the Roman invasion the the town of Gortyn had chosen the side of the new rulers and this is why the town was spared and made capital of Crete. In the 9th century the town of Gortyn was destroyed by the Arabs.