Las (Greece)

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Passavas or Las is situated on the Mani Peninsula. In ancient times Las was a Spartan possession and in 218 BC the citizens of the city fought and routed and group of Philip V of Macedon'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. Sparta was then taken over by the Achaean League and Las gained its independence again. When the Romans took over Greece in 146 BC, Las and the other Free Laconian city continued to have semi-independence. In Roman times, Las had a bath and a gymnasium.

It is not heard of in Byzantine times until the Frankish conquest of the Peloponnese when Mani was given to Baron Jean de Neuilly he built a castle at Las which after then became known as Passavas most probably after the family motto which was: Pas Avant. Even though the barony was small it was important because it held the unruly Maniots at bay. When the prince of Achaea, Prince William II Villehardouin was defeated and captured at the Battle of Pelagonia as well as Baron Jean de Neuilly II the barony passed to his daughter Margaret. She was forced to give up her castle and he barony as part of Villeharouin's ransom.

The castle was once again during the second Byzantine domination but when the Ottomans came into the Peloponnese they occupied the castle so they could keep an eye on the Maniots who refused to accept Ottoman rule. In 1601, a Spanish fleet led by Alonso de Contreras that was raiding in the area surprised the Ottoman garrison and sacked the city. It was regarrisoned in 1669, by the Ottoman general Kuesy Ali Pasha. The castle captured again in 1684 by the Venetians and the Maniots. The Venetians carried off the cannons and destroyed the city was it would be used again. When the leader of the Maniots was treacherously executed by the Ottomans, his mother led the men of Skoutari who dressed up as priests on Easter Sunday 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 then and has never been inhabited since.

References

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