Priansus or Priansos ( grc, Πρίανσος), also Pransus or Pransos (Πράνσος), was a town and ''

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 ...

'' (city-state) in

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 ...

. It is mentioned in a list of Cretan cities cited in a decree of

Cnossus Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

of about 259–233 BCE, as well as in the list of Cretan cities that signed an alliance with

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Σωτήρ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I a ...

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

in 183 BCE. An honorary decree of Priansus dated to 170–140 BCE that includes the dispatch of two ambassadors of

Teos Teos ( grc, Τέως) or Teo was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus. It was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus, Ionians and Boeotians, but the date of its foundation is unknown. Teos was ...

in which one of them is specially praised for singing poems from the mythic Cretan cycle. Priansus minted coins dated from approximately 330–270 BCE bearing the inscription «ΠΡΙΑΝΣΙΕΩΝ» or «ΠΡΙ». The site of Priansus is located near modern Kastellos.

References

Populated places in ancient Crete Former populated places in Greece Cretan city-states {{AncientCrete-geo-stub