Lakonia, Las
Caracalla. 198-217 CE
Struck circa 202-205 CE
Æ Assarion 21mm, 4.53 g, 6h
Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind /
Terminal figure (of Las?), cloaked and holding an uncertain curved object, before a balustrade under a curved arch supported by two columns
BCD Peloponnesos 990; BMC –; NCP –
For much of its history, Las was a possession of Sparta. However, from 195-189 BCE, it achieved independence. It then was granted free status by the Romans in 146 BCE. The city, which was on Mt Asia, was visited by Pausanias. He described the city and its temples in some detail.
The city sat on the hill of Kassavas, where a fortress now stands. In mythology, the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux destroyed Las, but clearly it was rebuilt.