Lasaea or Lasaia ( grc, Λασαία) 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 palace-based Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe. After the Minoan civilization was devasta ...

, near the roadstead of the "Fair Havens" where apostle Paul 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 referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

, 16 M.P. to the east of

Gortyna Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; 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 o ...

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

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation ...

contended was the true name. According to the ''

Stadiasmus Maris Magni The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' ( grc, Σταδιασμός ήτοι περίπλους της μεγάλης θαλάσσης) is an ancient Roman periplus or guidebook detailing the ports sailors encounter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

'', which calls the place Halas (Άλας), it had a harbour and was located 50

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

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 21 inhabitants (2011). 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