View allAll Photos Tagged Crete.
Crete, Heraklion, Archaeological Museum, found at Lyttos on Crete. perhaps depiction of philosopher, 2nd century AD
Much of the famous Greek Law Code has survived in a very legible state, inscribed on the blocks. The Roman Odeon was built around them and they are now conserved in a special building on the site. The laws mainly concern civil matters, family and property, slaves, mortgages, trial procedures etc. Frequently fines were payable to the state, and self defence was forbidden. Dating to about 500-450 BC, they are written in the Doric dialect, and the letters proceed alternatively from left to right and then right to left in successive lines (try 'All Sizes'). They are a most important source of pre-Hellenistic Greek law.