Listed 10 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "ARGYROUPOLI Village LAPPEI" .
ARGYROUPOLI (Village) LAPPEI
Argiroupolis, 27km from Rethimnon on the exit at 21km of the old road
from Rethimnon to Chania, is located on a hill with an enjoyable view of the valley
below. Its past is evident everywhere in the buildings of the town. The village
has natural springs and lush vegetation which makes for a very pleasant stroll
through its streets.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains image.
In the place that in the present days stands Argiroupolis was the ancient city of Lapa. As myths say, king Agamemnon, the hero of the Trojan war, created Lapa. Lapa was one of the most important cities of western Crete during Roman times. It controlled the area around it from the north to the south coast. It had two harbours, one on the north coast of Crete and another on the south. It is said that its harbour was Finix on the south coast of Crete in present-day Loutro. In the Greek wars they were allies of Knossos but when Knossos destroyed Lyttos the people of Lapa accepted the Lyttoans in their city. Lapa was also important during Byzantine times till it was destroyed by the Arabs in 828 A.D.
Today' s Argyroupolis is built on the ruins of the ancient city Lappa,
for the creation of which there are many versions the most dominant of which is
the one that supports that Lappa was founded by Lappas of Tarra (Tarra was a city
at the south coasts of western Crete, at the position of Agia Roumeli), and later
took part at the campaign of Greeks against Troy.
In 1050 B.C. it was conquered by the Doreans and then developed into
a separate country, which included the areas of Rethymno and Sfakia and part of
the areas of Agios Vasileios and Apokoronas, and had two harbors: Hydramia at
the northern and Phoinikas at the southern coasts of Crete. In 333 B.C. it took
part at the campaign of Alexander the Great against Persians.
During the war between Knossos and Lyttos (221-220 B.C.), that resulted
in the destruction of the latter, Lappa allied at first with Knossos and then
with Littos and after the destruction accepted the refugees Lytteans.
Lappa remained independent until 67 B.C., when it was conquered by
the Roman General Cointus Caecilius Metelus, known as the Cretan, after two years
of siege. Later, in 31 BC, during the conflict between Marcus Antonius with Octabianus,
Lappa allied with Octabianus, who, after becoming an emperor, rebuilt the city,
which went through a new era of glory and he gave Lappa special privileges, like
the right to have its own currency. During this period many buildings and an aqueduct
with 600 cubic meters capacity were made. Today the remains of these buildings
still exist.
During the post-christian period, Christianity was spread and the
persecutions started. While Gaius Messius Cuintus Traianus Decius was an emperor
at Rome, in 250 A.D., the five virgins from Lappa, Maria, Martha, Thecla, Mariamni
and Enatha, were executed.
In 350 AD a diocese, that belonged to the Church of Rome, was founded
in Lappa by the Apostle Titus, while in 600 AD the Church of Crete was subdued
to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bishops of Lappa took part in many Ecumenical
Synods.
Lappa remained a city until the end of the first Byzantine period,
in 823 A.D., when the Sarakins conquered Crete and totally destroyed it.
In 980 A.D. the diocese was refounded at the village Episkopi (=diocese),
the capital of today's Municipality of Lappeans.
In 961 A.D., after the recovery of Crete by Nikiforos Fokas, Lappa
was given as a feud to the Hortatsis family until 1182, when it was, most likely,
given to the Byzantine family of Argyrostefanitis or Argyropoulos.
In 1211 Lappa entered the period of Venetocracy with the rest of Crete
and was inhabited by feudal lords, whose characteristics were the emblems and
coats of arms at the top of the gates. During this period the dominant name is
Polis instead of Lappa. At that period mineral deposits of silver were discovered
at the area, to which the name Argyroupolis might be attributed. Others attribute
the name Argyroupolis to the name of the Argyropoulos family.
In 1299 the Venetians gave the city to Alexios Callergis, with the
homonymous peace treaty.
The most important events from the modern history of Crete, that took
place at the area of Argyroupolis are the following:
- In 1867 the General assembly of the Cretans was transformed here.
- During September 1867, the leaders of the Cretan Revolution met here and decided
the continuation of the Revolution.
- At the 3rd of February 1878 the union of Crete with the rest of Greece was voted
in Argyroupolis.
LAPPA (Ancient city) LAPPEI
Argiroupolis is the site of the ancient city of Lapa. According to
the myths, Lapa was created by Agamemnon, the hero of the Trojan war. The older
coins of the city show the goddess Vritomartis Artemis, who was a Cretan goddess
influenced by the Minoan religion. In the Greek wars they were allies of Knossos
but when Knossos destroyed Lyttos the people of Lapa accepted the Lyttoans in
their city and their homes. Lapa was one of the most important cities of western
Crete during Roman times. It controlled the area around it from the north to the
south coast. It had two harbours, one on the north coast of Crete and another
on the south. It is said that its harbour was Finix on the south coast of Crete
in present-day Loutro. The coins of Lapa at this time had a representation of
Poseidon on them. Lapa was also important during Byzantine times but it was destroyed
by the Arabs in 828 A.D. Today many buildings and churches have been constructed
using stones and other building materials from the ancient cities and the more
recent Venetian buildings.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
Lappa, Lampa (Lappa, Ptol. iii. 17. § 10; Lampa, Lampai, Hierocl.; Lampe, Steph.
B.: Eth. Lappaios, Lampaios), an inland town of Crete, with a district extending
from sea to sea (Scylax, p. 18), and possessing the port Phoenix. (Strab. x. p.
475.) Although the two 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
shows plainly that the two names denote the same place, when he says that Xenion,
in his Cretica, wrote the word Lappa, and not Lampa. The same author (s. v. Lampe)
says that it was founded by Agamemnon, and was called after one Lampos, a Tarrhaean;
the interpretation of which seems to be that it was a colony of Tarrha.
When Lyctus had been destroyed by the Cnossians, its citizens found
refuge with the people of Lappa (Polyb. iv. 53). After the submission of Cydonia.
Cnossus, Lyctus, and Eleutherna, to the arms of Metellus, the Romans advanced
against Lappa, which was taken by storm, and appears to have been almost entirely
destroyed. (Dion Cass. xxxvi. 1.) Augustus, in consideration of the aid rendered
to him by the Lappaeans in his struggle with M. Antonius [p. 125] bestowed on
them their freedom, and also restored their city. (Dion Cass. li. 2.) When Christianity
was established, Lappa became an episcopal see; the name of its bishop is recorded
as present at the Synod of Ephesus, A.D. 431, and the Council of Chalcedon, A.D.
451, as well as on many other subsequent occasions. (Cornelius, Creta Sacra, vol.
i. pp. 251, 252.)
Lappa was 32 M.P. from Eleutherna and 9 M. P. from Cisamus, the port
of Aptera (Peut. Tab.); distances which agree very well with Polis, the modern
representative of this famous city, where Mr. Pashley (Travels, vol. i. p. 83)
found considerable remains of a massive brick edifice, with buttresses 15 feet
wide and of 9 feet projection ; a circular building, 60 feet diameter, with niches
round it 11 feet wide; a cistern, 76 ft. by 20 ft.; a Roman brick building, and
several tombs cut in the rock. (Comp. Mus. Class. Antiq. vol. ii. p. 293.) One
of the inscriptions relating to this city mentions a certain Marcus Aurelius Clesippus,
in whose honour the Lappaeans erected a statue. (Gruter, p. 1091; Chishull, Antiq.
Asiat. p. 122; Mabillon, Mus. Ital. p. 33; Bockh, Corp. Inscr. Gr. vol. ii. p.
428.)
The head of its benefactor Augustus is exhibited on the coins of Lappa:
one has the epigraph, THEOKAISANI SEBASTO; others of Domitian and Commodus are
found. (Hardouin, Num. Antiq. pp. 93, 94; Mionnet, vol. ii. p. 286; Supplem. vol.
iv. p. 326 ; Rasche, vol. ii. pl. ii. p. 1493.) On the autonomous coins of Lappa,
from which Spanheim supposed the city to have possessed the right of asylum, like
the Grecian cities enumerated in Tacitus, see Eckhel, vol. ii. p. 315. The maritime
symbols on the coins of Lappa are accounted for by the extension of its territory
to both shores, and the possession of the port of Phoenix.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
During recent years the Supervising Central Committee of Classical and Prehistoric Antiquities has carried out excavations in the modern village of Argyroupoli, where parts of the ancient city of Lappa, considered to date back from the Geometric up until the Roman period, have been discovered in various places. However, most of the findings probably date back to the Hellenistic and early Roman period, a fact that proves that this area had flourished continuously during these particular periods of time. Furthermore, in philological testimonies the city of Lappa is describe as one of the most important cities of West Crete, which flourished during the Roman period.
In 68 BC Metello destroyed it. However, after 31 BC, a new, even more magnificent city was built, which boasted not only hot water springs but also its own currency. Recently, a large cemetery dating back to the Roman period has been discovered at the place of "Pente Parthenes". A large number of artefacts discovered during excavations, including two marble statues and a bronze statuette, which were found prior to the systematic search, are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Rethymno.
A titular see in Crete,
suffragan of Gortyna, was
probably a colony of Tarrha.
It was taken by storm and almost entirely destroyed by the Romans. Augustus restored
it and in consideration of the aid rendered him in his struggle with M. Antonius,
he bestowed on the citizens their freedom, and with it the right of coinage. It
has been identified with the modern small village of Polis.
It was re-established by the Greeks about the end of the nineteenth
century.
S. Petrides, ed.
Transcribed by: Joseph E. O'Connor
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
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