Las ( and ἡ Λᾶς), or Laas (Λάας), or La (Λᾶ), was one of the most ancient towns of Lakedaimonia (eventually called the Mani Peninsula), located on the western coast of the Laconian Gulf. It is the only town on the coast mentioned in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax between Taenarus and Gythium. The Periplus speaks of its port; but, according to Pausanias, the town itself was 10 stadia distant from the sea, and 40 stadia from Gythium. In the time of Pausanias (2nd century) the town lay in a hollow between the three mountains, Asia, Ilium, and Cnacadium; but the old town stood on the summit of Mt. Asia. The name of Las signified the rock on which it originally stood. It is mentioned by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

in the

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships (, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each conting ...

in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', and is said to have been destroyed by the

Dioscuri Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda (mythology), Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal ...

, who hence derived the surname of Lapersae. There was also a mountain in Laconia called Lapersa.

History

In ancient times Las was a

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n possession and in 218 BC the citizens of the city fought and routed a part of

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

's army. Las became part of the Union of Free Laconians in 195 BC when it separated from Sparta. The Spartans however recaptured the city in 189 BC. The Spartan citadel was then taken over by the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

and Las gained its independence again. When the Romans took over most of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 146 BC, Las and the other Free Spartan cities (League of the Free Lacedaimonians) continued to be recognized as free cities. In Roman times, Las had a bath and a gymnasium. In the later period it was a place of no importance.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

speaks of it as "vicus maritimus", and Pausanias mentions the ruins of the city on Mt. Asia. Before the walls he saw a statue of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, and a trophy erected over the

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ians who were a part of

's army when he invaded Laconia; and among the ruins he noticed a statue of Athena Asia. The modern town was near a fountain called Galaco (Γαλακώ), from the milky colour of its water, and near it was a gymnasium, in which stood an ancient statue of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

. Besides the ruins of the old town on Mt. Asia, there were also buildings on the two other mountains mentioned above: on Mt. Ilium stood a temple of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, and on the summit a temple of

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

; and on Mt. Cnacadium a temple of Apollo Carneius. Las is spoken of by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

and

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

under the name of Asine; and hence it has been supposed that some of the fugitives from Asine in

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

may have settled at Las, and given their name to the town. The site is not mentioned in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times until after the Frankish conquest of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, when Mani was given to John of Nully, who built a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

at Las sometime after 1218. This castle became known a
Passavant or Passavas
in Greek, a name probably related to the motto or war-cry ''Passe-Avant'', "move forward", or to one of the similar toponyms in northeastern France. Nully's Barony of Passavant comprised four knight's fiefs, but virtually nothing is known about it. It was apparently short-lived, with the castle itself falling to the Byzantines during their first offensives in the Peloponnese in ca. 1263. The castle was in use once again during the second Byzantine domination. The castle of Passavas was occupied by the Ottomans for a short time when they took over the majority of the Peloponnese, in a failed attempt to keep control over the Maniots who refused to accept Ottoman rule. In 1601, a Spanish fleet led by

Alonso de Contreras Alonso de Contreras (Madrid, Spain, 6 January 1582 - 1641) was a Spanish sailor (captain of frigate), soldier (captain of infantry and then of cavalry), privateer, adventurer and writer, best known as the author of his autobiography; one of the v ...

that was raiding in the area surprised the Ottoman

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and sacked the city. It was regarrisoned in 1669, by the Ottoman general Kuesy Ali Pasha. The castle was captured again in 1684 by the Venetians and the Maniots. The Venetians carried off the cannons and destroyed the city so it would not be used again. When the leader of the Maniots was executed by the Ottomans, his mother led the men of Skoutari who dressed up as priests on

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

and were allowed entry to the castle. When they got in they took out their hidden weapons and not many of the 700 families inhabiting the castle escaped. The castle was abandoned after that and has not been inhabited since.

Situation

Las stood upon the hill of Passavas (), which is now crowned by the ruins of a fortress of the middle ages, among which, however,

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, who visited the site in the 19th century, noticed, at the southern end of the eastern wall, a piece of Hellenic wall, about 50 paces in length, and two-thirds of the height of the modern wall. It is formed of polygonal blocks of stone, some four feet long and three broad. The fountain Galaco is the stream Turkóvrysa, which rises between the hill of Passavas and the village of Kárvela, the latter being one mile and a half (2.5 km) west of Passavas.

, ''Morea'', vol. i. p. 254, ''et seq.'', p. 276, ''et seq.''; ''Peloponnesiaca'', p. 150

Castle

The present castle on the site dates after the 13th century, perhaps even after the Middle Ages. It is of a quadrilateral shape, some 180 m long and 90 m wide. The castle originally featured large round towers on the northwestern, southeastern, and southwestern corners, but only the northwestern one survives. A square tower was located on the northeastern corner, the highest point of the castle; two other square towers were located in the middle of the northern and eastern walls. The wall surrounding the castle was not very tall—the '' chemin de ronde'' is barely 2 m higher than the castle's interior—and its north-eastern side is particularly feeble, as it was protected by its location on the top of the rocky hill. The entrance was probably in the south. Unidentified structures were built adjoining the walls on the interior, while during the later Ottoman occupation a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

was built in the centre.

Notes

References

*
Livy. "Rome and the Mediterranean"

Peter Green. Alexander to Actium: Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age
{{Coord, 36.7279, N, 22.5047, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/30995.html Populated places in ancient Laconia Former populated places in Greece Buildings and structures in Peloponnese (region) Places in the Iliad