fter the destruction of the palaces and the collapse of the Minoan culture, Crete was conquered by the Dorians, who sailed across from mainland Greece. The Doric cities of Crete had the same system of government as Sparta, that is, they a senate consisting of the nobility of the city. The towns were protected by walls and each had its own acropolis.
The cities could be kept united under the leadership of Knossos, but only when this was necessary for the purposes of repelling some new invader.

		Quite a number of traces of these Doric cities have survived down to the present day: at Prinia, some 40 km from Herakleio, traces have been found on a low hill of one of the most important Archaic sanctuaries of the 7th century B.C. Gortyn, approximately 45 km from Herakleio , was from time to time the most important and powerful city in Crete. Traces of all the periods in the history of the island have been found here. Of particular interest are the inscriptions giving the Laws of Gortyn, which include legislation in family law and the law of inheritance.

		uring the Classical period (500-323 B.C.), Crete did not play a particularly important part in the political and cultural spheres. This situation did not change during the Hellenic and Roman periods which followed. When Crete became a Roman province, the living conditions of the islanders began slowly to improve. The population increased and densely-populated towns grew up in the plains and along the coasts. It is worth to be noticed that during the Roman period, Gortyn became the island's capital.

Photos and text taken from "Crete - today and yesterday" and "Crete - A tour of all the towns and villages" (Toubis Editions)

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