Lato
Lato ( Greek Λατώ ) was an ancient city in the northeast of the Greek island of Crete . It was named after the goddess Leto , who means "Lato" in the Doric dialect.
Originally there was a Minoan settlement from around 1500 BC at this point . BC Lato was probably established in the 8th century BC. Founded by the Dorians . The remaining ruins date from the 5th century BC. The foundation walls of the residential houses reveal the earlier structure of the city - the remains of a sanctuary, the agora and a cistern have also been preserved . The city minted its own coins. Nearchus , admiral under Alexander the great , probably comes from Lato.
Lato pros Kamara , the port of Lato, was located on the site of today's city of Agios Nikolaos .
Numerous inscriptions come from Lato and Lato pros Kamara, especially from the second century BC. Who allow themselves to get an idea of the organization of these places. It is attested to the office of the Kosmoi , who were usually elected for a year and ruled the city. In Lato several are occupied at the same time, which means that together they controlled the fortunes of the city. It is clear from the inscriptions that these elected men came from only a handful of families who consequently ruled the city.
- Excavation site
Main street stairs
Theater area
Great temple
literature
- Ludwig Bürchner : Latos 1. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XII, 1, Stuttgart 1924, Sp. 974-977.
- Holger Sonnabend : Lato. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 6, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01476-2 , column 1178 f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martha W. Baldwin Bowsky: Portrait of a Polis: Lato Pros Kamara (Crete) in the Late Second Century BC In: Hesperia 58, 1989, pp 331-347 PDF .
Web links
Coordinates: 35 ° 10 ′ 45 ″ N , 25 ° 39 ′ 22 ″ E