Gortyna (), is a former municipality in Arcadia,

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Megalopoli Megalopoli () is a town in the southwestern part of the regional unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis ( literally ''large/great city''). When it was founded in 371 BCE, it was the first large urba ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 116.205 km². Its seat was in the village

Karytaina Karytaina or Karitaina () is a village and a community in Arcadia, Greece. Karytaina is situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Alpheios, near its confluence with the Lousios. The village dates back to the Middle Ages, but its history ...

. The name of the municipality was taken from the ancient city of Gortys.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Gortyna is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): * Atsicholos *

(Karytaina, Kalyvakia, Karvounari) *

Katsimpalis Katsimpalis () is a village in the municipal unit of Gortyna, southwest Arcadia, Greece. It is situated on a hillside above the right bank of the river Alfeios. It is 2 km southwest of Zoni, 3 km east of Kyparissia, 6 km southeast ...

* Kotili (Kotili, Palatos, Strongylo) * Kourounios *

Kyparissia Kyparissia () is a town and a former municipality in northwestern Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trifylia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

* Mavria * Sarakini (Sarakini, Kryonero, Palaiokastro) * Vlachorraptis * Zoni

Population

Ancient Gortys

The ancient city Gortys was located in the valley of the river

Lousios The Lousios (; ), also known in antiquity as Gortynius or Gortynios (), is a river and a gorge in western Arcadia that stretches from Karytaina north to Dimitsana in Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in South ...

. It reputedly was founded by Gortys, son of Stymphalus, a legendary king of Arcadia. When

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

was founded in the 4th century BC, many inhabitants moved to the new city, but Gortys was still inhabited in the 2nd century AD, a village belonging to Megalopolis then. Ancient Gortys was known for its Temple of

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

. The ruins of Gortys have been excavated between 1940 and 1956. They are located near the road from Atsicholos to Elliniko. The remains of several fortifications, temples and baths have been found.

Geography

The territory of the municipal unit Gortyna is very mountainous: the

Mainalo Mainalo (, ; ) is the tallest mountain in the Menalon highlands of the Peloponnese, and is located in Arcadia. The mountain's highest point, known as both ''Profitis Ilias'' and ''Ostrakina'', at a height of , is the highest point in Arcadia. ...

lies to the northeast, and the Lykaion to the southwest. The rivers Lousios and

Alfeios The Alpheios (, , Latin Alpheus), sometimes spelled Alfeiós, is the main stream of the Alpheios Valley drainage system, a dendritic type, originating on the north slopes of Mount Taygetus, located in the center of the Peloponnesus of Greece, a ...

flow through it and have created deep gorges. The plain of Megalopoli lies to the southeast. Gortyna borders on

Elis Elis also known as Ellis or Ilia (, ''Eleia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it ...

to the west, and

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

to the southwest. Gortyna is about 12 km northwest of Megalopoli, 12 km south of

Dimitsana Dimitsana () is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

, 30 km west of Tripoli, 50 km north of

Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

and 60 km southeast of Pyrgos.

References

External links