On the Road Again: A Trajanic Milestone and the Road Connections of Aptera, Crete

by Martha W. Baldwin Bowsky and Vanna Niniou-Kindeli

Hesperia, Volume 75, Issue 3
Page(s): 405-433
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067995
Year: 2006
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ABSTRACT:

A new Latin inscription found south of Aptera documents an Early Trajanic stage in the development of the Roman road network of western Crete. A reconsideration of Aptera and its hinterland provides the topographical context for this milestone, which apparently was found in situ. The text records direct imperial intervention and generosity. The mileage figure suggests the location of Aptera's port, and supports the theory that Cretan milestones indicated the distance to turning points in the road. This road system linked western Crete with the capital at Gortyn, after passing through the territories of Aptera, Lappa, and Eleutherna.