Lasaea or Lasaia () was a city on the south coast of

ancient Crete The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe. During the Iron Age, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-i ...

, near the roadstead of the "Fair Havens" where

apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

landed. This place is not mentioned by any other writer, under this name but is probably the same as the Lisia of the

Peutinger Table ' (Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tables James Strong and John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. NY: Haper and Brothers ...

, 16 M.P. to the east of

Gortyna Gortyna (; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of Byzantium it was or ...

. Some manuscripts have Lasea; others, Alassa. The Vulgate reads Thalassa, which

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza (; or ''de Besze''; 24 June 1519 – 13 October 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a disciple of John Calvin and lived most ...

contended was the true name. According to the ''

Stadiasmus Maris Magni The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' or ''Stadiasmus sive Periplus Maris Magni'' () is an ancient Roman periplus or guidebook detailing the ports sailors encounter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The ''stadiasmus'' provides distances, sailing ...

'', which calls the place Halas (Άλας), it had a harbour and was located 50 stadia from Leben and 80 stadia from Matala.''

'' §§ 322-323. The site of Lasaea is located near modern

Kaloi Limenes Kaloi Limenes or Kali Limenes ( ) is a village and port in the Heraklion regional unit, southern Crete, in Greece, located 70km (43.5 miles) south-west of the city of Heraklion. It has 17 inhabitants (2021). It is known as a major bunkering spot ...

(meaning 'Fair Havens'), opposite Trafos island.

References

Cretan city-states Christianity in Roman Crete Populated places in ancient Crete Former populated places in Greece New Testament cities {{AncientCrete-geo-stub