Argyroupoli ( el, Αργυρούπολη) is a village in the municipality of Lappa, Rethymno regional unit,

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, with a population of 403 (2011 census) and an altitude of 260 m. It was previously known as Lappa or Lampa, Stimboli, and Polis.

Name

It is the site of the ancient city (

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

) of Lappa. In the Middle Ages, it was named ''Stimpoli(s)'' by

reinterpretation Musical phrasing is the method by which a musician shapes a sequence of notes in a passage of music to allow expression, much like when speaking English a phrase may be written identically but may be spoken differently, and is named for the in ...

as a single word ("in the city"), later simply ''Polis''. Until 1669, the name Αργυρούπολις 'Silver City' was used. In the seventeenth century, it was also called facetiously Σαμαρόπολις, Γαϊδαρόπολις 'donkey city', or Γαϊδουρόπολις. From 1868-1878, it was called Stambólköj in Turkish (that is, 'Stambol village'). The name Αργυρούπολις or Αργυρόπολις was revived in 1878. The name of the municipality of Lappa of which it is a part is a revival of the ancient name for the city.

History

Lappa was probably a colony of

Tarrha Tarrha or Tarra ( grc, Τάρρα), also Tarrhus or Tarros (Τάρρος), was a ''polis'' (city-state) in the southwestern part of ancient Crete, near the Samaria Gorge, at the village of Agia Roumeli. It is situated near the sea, on the hill. H ...

. It was taken by storm and almost entirely destroyed by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. The emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

restored it and in consideration of the aid rendered him in his

struggle Struggle may refer to: Film and TV * ''Struggle'' (2003 film), an Austrian film * Struggle (2013 film) * ''Struggle'' (TV series), 2007 Chinese TV series Music * ''Struggle'' (Nonpoint album), 1999 release * Struggle (Woody Guthrie album), 1 ...

with Marcus Antonius, he bestowed on the citizens their freedom, and with it the right of

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * '' COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...

Population

Population of the modern town of Argyroupoli:

Ecclesiastical history

''Lappa'' or ''Lampa'' was an episcopal see, suffragan of

Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna ( el, Γόρτυν, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gorty ...

Le Quien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his p ...

(Oriens Christianus, II, 268) mentions the following bishops: * Petrus, who attended the

First Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperors, Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus deci ...

, 431; * Deneltius, at the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...

, 451; * Prosdocius, in 458; * John, who appealed to Rome against his metropolitan Paul, and attended the Council of Constantinople, 667; * Epiphanius at the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

, 787. The episcopal see is mentioned in the ''

Notitiae episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lat ...

'' as late as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was re-established by the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (di ...

about the end of the nineteenth century; the bishop resides in the monastery of

Preveli Preveli (Greek Πρέβελη) is a location on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete, in the Rethymno regional unit, notable for its monastery. Preveli Monastery The Holy Stavropegiac and Patriarchal Preveli Monastery of St. John th ...

. It is also a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

under the name Lappa''The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church'', ''s.v.'
Lappa
/ref> and previously under the name Lampa.

Notes

External links

{{coord, 35, 17, 8.8, N, 24, 20, 6.4, E, source:dewiki_region:GR, display=title Populated places in Rethymno (regional unit)