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"I gazed down upon the city. In such places came together the complexities and the poverties, the elementalities and the richnesses of the worlds. In such places were to be found the rare, precious habitats of culture, the astonishing, moving delights of art and music, the truths of theater and literature, the glories and allegories of architecture, bespeaking the meanings of peoples, man-made symbols like mountain ranges; in them, too, were to be found iron and silver, and gold and steel, the chairs of finance and the thrones of power. I gazed at the shining city. How startling it seemed. Such places were like magnets to man; they call to him like gilded sirens; they lure him inward to their dazzling wonders, bewitching him with their often so meretricious whispered promises; they were symbols of races. In them were fortunes to be sought, and fortunes to be won, and fortunes to be lost; in them there were crowds, and loneliness; in them success trod the same pavements as failure; in their plazas hope jostled with despair, and meaning ate at the same table with meaningless. In such places were perhaps the best and worst that man could do, his past and future, his pain and pleasure, his darkness and light, come together in a single focus." (Mercenaries of Gor, p.256-257)
 

Official Matters

City Flag: Cities will possess their own flag and colors. Unfortunately the books give very little information on the flags of Gor though they do mention a couple city colors. For example, the color of Cos is blue.

City Anthem: Some cities have an official anthem that is sung during official and/or public events. The subject matter of the songs may vary though commonly they may detail special military victories, commemorate important historical figures, or sing the general praises of the city. These songs may be revised if important new events occur.

Gorean Foot: This is a Gorean unit of measurement that is ½ inch longer than an Earth foot. At the Sardar Mountains, there is a metal rod used to standardize the length of the Gorean Foot. Each city possesses their own official metal rod that standardizes the measurement within their city. This rod would have originally been calibrated with the rod at the Sardar. Any Merchant can get his own personal metal rod calibrated against the city's rod.

Weight and Stone: A Weight is a Gorean unit of measurement equal to about 40 Earth pounds. A Weight is comprised of 10 Stones, another Gorean unit of measurement, and each Stone is equal to about 4 Earth pounds. At the Sardar Mountains, there is a metal cylinder used to standardize the measurement of the Stone. Each city possesses their own official cylinder that standardizes the measurement within their city. The cylinder would have originally been calibrated with the one at the Sardar. Any Merchant can get his own personal metal cylinder calibrated against the city's cylinder.

 

Law

"There is a saying on Gor that the laws of a city extend no further than its walls." (Outlaw of Gor, p.50) This is not fully accurate as each city does extend its hegemony over a certain territory outside their city walls. The laws of one city generally do not extend to the jurisdiction of another city. For example, your own city will provide you protection against creditors from another city. Tarn, tharlarion or infantry patrols often monitor the tenuous borders of a city's claimed territory and either question, detain or kill non-citizens trying to enter their lands. Goreans are generally xenophobic and in fact the Gorean word for "stranger" is the same word as the one for "enemy." Context is used to differentiate between the two terms. "Goreans are not unaware that there may exist such things as familiar enemies and friendly strangers." (Savages of Gor, p.242) Trying to enter a city, without specific permission, is often considered a capital crime, punishable by impalement. Guards monitor the various gates into the cities and often question intended visitors. In some cities, a citizens approaching his own city may make a hand gesture, a "sign" of the city. It seems likely that this "sign" is only known to citizens.

There are two primary court systems in the cities of Gor, that of the civil government and that of the Initiate Caste. Each of these court systems possesses their own buildings to handle their legal matters, such as a Cylinder of Justice. The areas of their jurisdiction are sometimes vague though the Initiates claim supreme authority in all matters. The amount of actual involvement of the Initiates in each city will vary depending on the Caste's power in that specific city. They obviously have a stronger hold in some areas than others. For the most part, they will definitely claim jurisdiction in any religious related matter. They will ignore petty matters that they feel are beneath their worry.

In a city, you are most likely to encounter the legal officials of the civil government, be it the forces of the Ubar or Administrator. These legal officials are commonly referred to as magistrates and there are a variety of different types of magistrates. As legal matters appear to fall under the purview of the Scribe Caste, lawyers being a subcaste of the Scribe Caste, it seems likely that most magistrates also belong to the Scribe Caste. Magistrates often wear special robes and fillets, ribbons, to denote their office. They may also carry a wand of their office and some of those wands may carry concealed blades. Some of the different types of magistrates on Gor include aediles, archons, praetors, prefects and prefects. These terms are ancient Greek or Roman terms though their meanings have changed some on Gor. Executioners are another type of magistrate and other types may exist as well. The books do not explicitly describe the duties or differences between most of these magistrate types. Magistrates do appear to be able to act as ex officio witnesses who can certify the legality of certain matters. They also appear able to act as judge and jury in certain matters as well.

Merchant law is the only common law that often extends among many different cities. This permits commerce to exist much more easily on Gor. There are even Merchant magistrates who administer and enforce Merchant law. These magistrates belong to the Merchant Caste and not the Scribe Caste. They wear white robes, trimmed with gold and purple. Merchant law does not cover all aspects of commerce. For example, patents and copyrights only exist on a city level and do not extend to other cities. Thus, many manufacturers, writers, and other creators may keep their materials in code to prevent theft and copying.