The term dromeus occurs five times in the Great Code of Gortyn. In three of these instances, it appears as a requirement for witnesses in the context of private disputes or simple legal acts, such as the division of property among heirs or the pledging of such property by the heirs themselves. In the first case (col. I, 39–44), the legislator prescribes the procedure to be followed when a slave, adjudged to a third party as the result of a legal case, has sought asylum in a temple. In such an event, the losing party (or someone acting on their behalf) is required, in the presence of two witnesses described as dromeis and eleutheroi, to indicate the slave in the temple where he resides. In the second case (col. III, 17–22), it is stipulated that a widow may remarry, taking with her from the marital home her own property and any goods bestowed upon her by her deceased husband, in the presence of three witnesses who are likewise dromeis and eleutheroi. The third case (col. V, ll. 44–54) prescribes that the division of property among heirs is to take place before three witnesses, again defined as dromeis and eleutheroi.
In the fourth case, the term dromeus qualifies the sons whose consent is required for a widowed father to sell property inherited from their deceased mother. In the fifth and final case (col. VII, ll. 41–47), it refers to the male relative entitled to marry an heiress of marriageable age.
The precise meaning of the term has been the subject of scholarly debate. What appears certain is that it is connected with the noun dromos (“race”), which refers both to the athletic contest itself and to the venue where it took place, namely the gymnasium (Suid. s.v. δρόμοις· τοῖς γυμνασίοις κατὰ Κρῆτας). It thus seems clear that dromeis designated those entitled to take part in races and to train in the city gymnasia. The antonym is apodromos, denoting one who had not yet met the requirements to enjoy the privileges of a dromeus (Guarducci 1950, 150; Willetts 1967, 10–11). The term can therefore be confidently linked to the rigid age-class system characteristic of the military-oriented educational cursus of aristocratic societies such as Crete and Sparta (Tzifopoulos 1998, 164–165, who compares the Cretan system with its Spartan and Athenian counterparts).
What remains unclear is whether dromeus applied exclusively to full citizens or could also be attributed to other categories. Tzifopoulos (1998, 154–155) argues that dromeis were young adults not yet fully integrated into the citizen body, and that the occurrence of the adjective eleutheros in three of the five cases under consideration should lead us to posit the existence of dromeis who were not eleutheroi. These, according to Tzifopoulos, would be identifiable with one of the intermediate groups between slaves and full citizens (so also Gagarin – Perlman 2016, 78, who, however, define the dromeus in question as “a legally competent adult”). By contrast, Maffi (2003, 163–167) contends that the term refers to adults in full possession of their civic rights, and that the expression dromeus eleutheros denotes adult citizens who had not suffered any deminutio resulting in their demotion below the rank of full citizen. In particular, with regard to the witnesses, the requirement that they be dromeis—therefore of full age—would be explained by the fact that the legal cases in question were especially sensitive, and thus called for witnesses whose age would guarantee both reliability and the authority of the act.
A middle position, and perhaps a potentially conclusive one, is that of Guizzi (2018, 102), according to whom the dromeus is an individual who had passed from one age-class to the next, thereby completing the process of acquiring full civic status.
1. Col. I, ll. 39-44 αἰ δέ κα ναεύει ὀ δο̃λος ὀ͂ κα νικαθε̃- 40 ι, καλίον ἀντὶ μαιτύρον δυο̃ν δ- ρομέον ἐλευθέρον ἀποδεικσάτ- ο ἐπὶ το̃ι ναο̃ι ὄπε κα ναεύει ἒ α- ὐτὸς ἒ ἄλος πρὸ τούτο. 2. Col. III, ll. 17-22 αἰ ἀνὲρ ἀποθάνοι τέκνα κατ- αλιπόν, αἴ κα λε̃ι ἀ γυνά, τὰ ϝὰ αὐτᾶς ἔκονσαν ὀπυίεθθα- ι κἄτι κ’ ὀ ἀνὲδ δο͂ι κατὰ τὰ ἐγ- 20 ραμμένα ἀντὶ μαιτύρον τρ- ιο̃ν δρομέον ἐλευθέρον. 3. Col. V, ll. 44-54 [α]ἰ [δ]έ κα κρέματα δατιόμενοι μὲ συνγιγνόσκοντι ἀν- 45 πὶ τὰν δαῖσιν ὀνε̃ν τὰ κρέμ- ατα· κὄς κα πλεῖστον διδ- ο̃ι ἀποδόμενοι τᾶν τιμᾶν δια[λ]ακόντον τὰν ἐπαβο- λὰν ϝέκαστος. δατιομέ- 50 νοιδ δὲ κρέματα μαίτυρα νς παρέμεν δρομέανς ἐλε- υθέρονς τρίινς ἒ πλίανς. 4. Col. VI, ll. 31-36 αἰ δέ κ’ ἀ- ποθάνει μάτερ τέκνα καταλιπό- νσα, τὸν πατέρα καρτερὸν ἔμεν το̃ν ματροίον, ἀποδόθαι δὲ μὲ μεδὲ καταθέμεν, αἴ κα μὲ τὰ τέκ- 35 να ἐπαινέσει δρομέες ἰόντες. 5. Col. VII, ll. 41-47 αἰ δέ κα δρομεὺς ἰὸν ὀ ἐπιβάλλον ἐ- βίονσαν λείονσαν ὀπυίε- θαι μὲ λε̃ι ὀπυίεν, μολὲν τὸς καδεστὰνς τὸς τᾶς πατροι- 45 όκο, ὀ δὲ δικασ̣τὰ̣[ς] δικ[α]κ̣σ̣[ά]- το ὀπυίεν ἐν τοῖς δ[υ]οῖς με- νσί. a. Col. I, ll. 39–44 If a slave takes refuge in a temple, the party who has lost a case concerning that slave shall summon him in the presence of two witnesses, adult and free, and shall point him out in the temple where he has taken refuge, either personally or through another acting on his behalf. b. Col. III, ll. 17–22 If a man dies leaving children, his wife, should she so wish, may remarry, taking with her her own property and that which her husband gave her, in accordance with what is written, in the presence of three witnesses, adult and free. c. Col. V, ll. 44–54 If, in dividing the property, they cannot reach an agreement regarding its apportionment, they shall sell the property. Once it has been sold to the highest bidder, each shall receive the share that is his due. The division of the property shall take place in the presence of three or more witnesses, adult and free. d. Col. VI, ll. 31–36 If a mother dies leaving children, the father shall be the guardian of the property (belonging to the mother), but shall neither sell it nor pledge it as security unless the children, being adult, give their consent. e. Col. VII, ll. 41–47 If an adult citizen who has the right to marry an heiress of marriageable age refuses to do so, though she is willing to marry him, her relatives may bring him to court, and the judge shall order him to marry her within two months.
- M. Gagarin, P. Perlman, The Laws of Ancient Crete c. 650-400 BCE, Oxford 2016
- M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae IV. Tituli gortynii, Roma 1950
- F. Guizzi, Gortina (1000-450 a. C.). Una città cretese e il suo codice, Napoli 2018
- A. Maffi, Studi recenti sul codice di Gortina, Dike 6, 2003, 161-226
- H. van Effenterre, F. Ruzé, Nomima. Recueil d’inscriptions politiques et juridiques de l’archaïsme grec, vol. 2, Roma 1995
- Y. Tzifopoulos, ‘Hemerodromoi’ and Cretan ‘Dromeis’: Athletes or Military Personnel? The Case of the Cretan Philonides, Nikephoros 11, 1998, 131-170
- R. F. Willetts, The Law Code of Gortyn, Berlin 1967