Evidence of human habitation of this area go back to the Neolithic, approximately 7000 B.C.E. Many ruins date to the Minoan period. Gortnya, however, reached one of its most successful periods during the Hellenistic era.

Gortnya appears in the Greek myths. Zeus takes the form of a bull and kidnaps Europa from Lebanon and takes her to Gortyna. They have three children, one of whom is Minos. He takes the kingship for Knossos. One of Minos’s two brothers becomes king in Gortnya, the other in Phaistos, thereby covering the three cities on Crete.

Gortnya also has a labyrinth of caves. Once used as a quarry, the caves have been closed off for many years for safety reasons. Gortnya is most famous now because the oldest law code has been found there. It primarily concerns inheritance laws.