Lappa ( grc, Λάππα), or Lampa (Λάμπα), or Lampae or Lampai (Λάμπαι), or Lampe (Λάμπη), was an inland town of

ancient Crete The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The palace-based Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe. After the Minoan civilization was devastat ...

, with a district extending from sea to sea, and possessing the port

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. Although the several forms of this city's name occur in ancient authors, yet on coins and in inscriptions the word Lappa is alone found.

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

shows plainly that the two names denote the same place, when he says that

Xenion ''Xenion ignitum'' is a species of ground beetle in the family Carabidae. It is the sole species of the monotypic genus ''Xenion''. Subspecies These two subspecies belong to the species ''Xenion ignitum'': * ''Xenion ignitum ignitum'' (Kraatz, 1 ...

, in his ''Cretica'', wrote the word Lappa, and not Lampa. The same author says that it was founded by

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...

, and was called after one Lampos, a Tarrhaean; the interpretation of which seems to be that it was 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 ...

. When

Lyctus Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: or ), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada. Lyctus in mythology According to Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

had been destroyed by the Cnossians, its citizens found refuge with the people of Lappa. After the submission of

Cydonia Cydonia may refer to: Music * ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb * "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica'' Places and jurisdictions * Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at modern ...

, Cnossus, Lyctus, and

Eleutherna Eleutherna ( grc-gre, Ἐλεύθερνα), also called Apollonia ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλωνία), was an ancient city-state in Crete, Greece, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno in Rethymno regional unit. Archaeologists excavated the si ...

, to the arms of

Metellus The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC.'' ...

, the Romans advanced against Lappa, which was taken by storm, and appears to have been almost entirely destroyed.

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 Pri ...

, in consideration of the aid rendered to him by the Lappaeans in his struggle with

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

bestowed on them their freedom, and also restored their city. When Christianity was established, Lappa became an episcopal see; the name of its bishop is recorded as present at the

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 Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

of 431, and 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, Bith ...

of 451, as well as on many other subsequent occasions. Lappa was 32 M.P. from

and 9 M.P. from Cisamus, the port of Aptera; distances which agree very well with

Argyroupoli Argyroupoli ( el, Αργυρούπολη) is a suburb in the southern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Elliniko-Argyroupoli municipality, of which it is the seat and ...

, the modern representative of this famous city, where in the 19th century,

Robert Pashley Robert Pashley (4 September 1805 – 29 May 1859) was a 19th-century English traveller, lawyer and economist. Pashley was born in York and he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. Distinguished in mathematics and Classics, in 1830 he was elected ...

found considerable remains of a massive brick edifice, with buttresses wide and of projection; a circular building, diameter, with niches round it wide; a cistern, ; a Roman brick building, and several tombs cut in the rock. One of the inscriptions relating to this city mentions a certain Marcus Aurelius Clesippus, in whose honour the Lappaeans erected a statue. The head of its benefactor Augustus is exhibited on the coins of Lappa: one has the epigraph, ΘΕΩΚΑΙΣΑΝΙ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΩ; others of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

and

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

are found. On the autonomous coins of Lappa feature maritime symbols, which are accounted for by the extension of its territory to both shores, and the possession of the port of Phoenix. The site of Lappa is located near modern

References

{{coord, 35.28902, N, 24.33605, E, display=title, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/23369 Populated places in ancient Crete Former populated places in Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Archaeological sites in Crete