Earliest Eteocretan inscription from Praisos

Praesus or Praisos (), also Prasus or Prasos (Πρᾶσος), was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

city in

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 ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

reports that it belonged to the

Eteocretes Eteocretan ( from , lit. "true Cretans", itself composed from ἐτεός ''eteós'' "true" and Κρής ''Krḗs'' "Cretan") is the pre-Greek language attested in a few Greek alphabet, alphabetic inscriptions of ancient Crete. In eastern Crete, ...

, and contained the temple of the Dictaean Zeus, for

Mount Dicte Dikti or Dicte () (also Lasithiotika Ori; "Lasithian Mountains"; anciently, Aigaion oros () or ) is a mountain range on the east of the island of Crete in the regional unit of Lasithi. On the west it extends to the regional unit of Heraklion. Ac ...

was in the territory of Praesus. Strabo reports Praesus as lying between the promontories Samonium and

Chersonesus Chersonesus, contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson (), was an Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea, ancient Greek Greek colonization, colony founded approximately 2,500 years ago in the southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula. Settlers from He ...

, at a distance of 60 stadia from the sea, and close to

. However, Strabo confuses Praesus with

Priansus Priansus or Priansos (), also Pransus or Pransos (Πράνσος), was a town and ''polis'' (city-state) in ancient Crete. History It is mentioned in a list of Cretan cities cited in a decree of Knossos of about 259–233 BCE, as well as ...

, when he says it bordered upon the territory of Leben, and was distant 70 stadia from the sea, and 180 from

Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (, , or , ) is a municipality, and an archaeological site, on the Mediterranean island of Crete away from the island's capital, Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn was the Roman c ...

. The site was populated in

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times, and remnants of

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

and Mycenaean settlements have also been found. The inhabitants of Praesus believed that the

Kouretes According to Greek mythology, the Korybantes or Corybantes (also Corybants) (; ) were the armed and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele with drumming and dancing. They are also called the ''Kurbantes'' in Phrygia. Etymology ...

were children of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

and

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

. The city was razed by the inhabitants of

Hierapytna Hierapytna ( or Ἱερὰ Πύτνα), also Hierapydna (Ἱεράπυδνα), Hierapydnes (Ἱερά Πύδνης), or Hiera, was a town of ancient Crete. Strabo says that it stood in the narrowest part of the island, opposite Minoa (Crete), Mino ...

in 140 BCE, in a war that pitted Gortyn and Hierapytna against

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

and its allies. Praesus was mentioned by

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

in ''On Love'': Leucocomas, the beloved of Euxinthetus, gives his lover the task of bringing his dog back from Praesus to Gortyn. The territory of Praesus extended across the island to either sea. It is said to have been the only place in Crete, with the exception of Polichna, that did not take part in the expedition against Camicus in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in order to avenge the death of

Minos Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...

. Agathocles the Babylonian, related that the Praesii were accustomed to sacrifice swine before marriage. The site of Praesus is located north of the modern village of Nea Praisos (formerly Vaveli), which is located in the east of the island on the peninsula of

Sitia Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...

. The remains of the city are distributed over three hills and include a partially preserved wall.

References

Populated places in ancient Crete Former populated places in Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Crete {{AncientCrete-geo-stub