water Article Roman Aqueducts in Crete, Greece: Learning from the Past Andreas N. Angelakis 1,2 , Yannis Christodoulakos 3 and Vasileios A. Tzanakakis 4, *   Citation: Angelakis, A.N.; Christodoulakos, Y.; Tzanakakis, V.A. Roman Aqueducts in Crete, Greece: Learning from the Past. Water 2021, 13, 1069. https://doi.org/10.3390/ w13081069 Academic Editor: Alistair Borthwick Received: 9 March 2021 Accepted: 8 April 2021 Published: 13 April 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Hellenic Agricultural Organization “Demeter” (HAO-”Demeter”), Institute of Subtropical Plants, Olive Tree and Viticulture, 71300 Heraklion, Greece; angelak@edeya.gr 2 Union of Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprises, 41222 Larissa, Greece 3 Architect, Honorary Director of the Archaeological Work and Studies, Department of the Ephorate of Antiquities of CHQ, 73300 Chania, Greece; yannischristodoulakos@gmail.com 4 Department of Agriculture, School of Agricultural Science, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71300 Heraklion, Greece * Correspondence: vtzanakakis@hmu.gr Abstract: The Romans were well aware of the strategic importance of Crete and tried, by any means possible, its final conquest. The island was under Roman rule over four centuries (ca 67 BC–330 AD). Under Roman rule, Crete witnessed a growth of its population and prosperity and an increase in its connectivity with other parts of the Empire. In addition, Gortys, Chersonisos, Elyros, Lyttos, Kissamos and other cities flourished under their rule. At that prosperous time, several luxurious infrastructures, such as hydraulic works, were developed. In this paper, we wish to examine the principles and the technical characteristics of major aqueducts built at that time. They constructed impressive hydro-works, such as aqueducts, by using the knowledge gained from earlier Greek civilizations in Minoan and Classical and Hellenistic times. However, they mainly increased the scale of applied technologies to support the increased population water demand. Water is a common need of humankind and several ancient civilizations developed simple but practical techniques, such as the aqueduct, especially during Roman times. We can gain from their experience and knowledge to develop a sustainable water supply, presently and in the future, both in developed and developing countries. Keywords: ancient civilizations; aqueducts; Chersonisos; Elyros; Falassarna; Fountana; Gavdos; Gortys; Kissamos; Syia; Lyttos; Minoa 1. Prolegomena Gortys is considered as one of the most important Roman cities in Crete (Figure 1). Epigraphic evidence demonstrates that Gortys was just as receptive to Roman influence as the poleis of Lyttos, Hierapytna and Knossos [1]. The four powerful cities of Knossos, Lyttos, Cydonia and Gortys returned to civil war as a method of exerting full authority. The Romans intervened with ambassadors in 184, 180 and 174 BC, but the island remained embroiled in war. Marcus Antonius Creticus attacked Crete in 71 BC and was repelled. However, in 66 BC, after three years (69–66 BC) of attempts by the Rome Consul Quintus, Caecilius Metellus, the island was completely conquered. Initially, the island was annexed to Cyrene and became a Roman province, until 298 AD, when it was separated and became an autonomous province [2]. Metellus earned the agnomen “Creticus” as an honor for his conquest and subjugation of Crete [3]. The so-called Law Code of Gortys from the mid-5th century BC includes 12 columns and more than 600 lines of text of 10 by 1.5 m [4]. The inscription was reused and incorpo- rated into the Roman Odeon built under the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD). The Law code contains stipulations on judicial procedure, rape and adultery, marriage, property and inheritance rights. Other laws from 4th century Gortyn (among them the so-called Second Law Code of Gortyn) regulates restrictions for water extraction from the river Litheos to fields and households and leading water to the land of neighbors [5,6]. Moreover, two Water 2021, 13, 1069. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081069 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water