Concordia CMLL Study Tour

Amélie Melki

Blog Post June 8

Today we meandered through the new archeological museum of Messara, which hosts artifacts from all sites in the region. We experienced Gorton, including the Basilica of Titus where Cassandre gave an informative presentation, and Phaistos. In Gortyna, Nola gave a presentation about the first law codes dictating human relationships. These law codes were about property, inheritance, divorce, and adultery,  including the right to a trial. These laws struck me because they included women. Women were entitled to their dowry and property in a divorce. Therefore, women were allowed to own property. Either party in a marriage could initiate divorce. If a man divorces a woman then he must pay her alimony. Perhaps most importantly, upon the death of a divorced woman, her possessions, property, and wealth go to her children, not to her husband. I was astonished because these laws are clearly to benefit and protect women, which we know is rare in human history. If a city has laws about inheritance, but does not specify who it goes to what’s to stop a man killing his wife to claim her inheritance? It seems dark, but in these days homicide was seen as a solution to many grievances. There are also laws policing rape. During these trials women were allowed to be witnesses. Again this seems very progressive. However, I have not heard much talk about women’s rights outside of Gortyna, what changed and where did it go wrong?

The Gortyna Code was intelligently designed not just in content, but in location as well. It was carved in the walls of a social hub where political meetings, judicial events, and theatre would take place. When civilians would go to any one of these events they could get a reminder of the laws of their society. These codes speak to the development of society taking a form more familiar to us. Authorities are beginning to enforce morality and the sanctity of institutions in a humane way, with fines rather than rampant murder. 

In other words, we have evidence of people caring more about their relationships and how they fit into those relationships. This goes hand in hand with deciding when to take a small hiatus from those relationships. We see this at Phaistos with privacy being more integrated in infrastructure. We saw many door jams, which were grooves that would house the door when it was opened. This paints the picture of an individual choosing whether his doors be open or closed, or how many. He is deciding how much of the outside world he would like in his own private space. Perhaps he would like a moment alone to chat with a lover or friend, or maybe he wants a break from the rowdy kids. 

We have seen these prehistoric peoples control their environment in many ways, but now they are creating spaces for comfort and privacy. Whenever comfort is being prioritized it is an indicator that the civilization is thriving. It means they can think of how to create comfort in their lives because they do not have any more pressing matters to contend with. When famine, siege, or plague strikes a society comfort goes in the backseat to focus on survival. Where its including everyone with just laws or excluding some people with infrastructure that prioritizes privacy, human society is beginning to take a shape we can recognize in our own lives. That evolution was a wondrous thing to witness with my own eyes.