Zarax ()
or Zarex (Ζάρηξ)
was a town on the eastern coast of
ancient Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...
, with a good harbour, situated upon a promontory, which is a projection of
Mount Zarax. Like
Prasiae and some other places on this part of the Laconian coast, it passed into the hands of the
Argives
Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...
in the time of the Macedonian supremacy; and this was apparently the reason why it was destroyed by
Cleonymus of Sparta
Cleonymus () was a member of the Spartan royal family of the Agiad dynasty.
Biography
Cleonymus was the second son of Cleomenes II and a pretender to the Spartan throne. He did not succeed his father (died 309/308 BC), allegedly because he was ...
. From this disaster it never recovered.
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
made it one of the
Eleuthero-Laconian towns; but
Pausanias, who visited in the 2nd century, mentions it as being “...the most ruinous of the towns of the Free Laconians...”, owing to the devastation carried out by Cleonymus. He adds that the only remarkable building in town at the time was a Temple of Apollo, graced by “... a statue holding a lyre”.
[
Its site is located near the modern Ierakas, and can be accessed by following a footpath up from the modern day harbour.]
References
Populated places in ancient Laconia
Former populated places in Greece
{{AncientLaconia-geo-stub