EASTERN CRETE

made new laws, minted coins with the
effigies of Artemis and Hermes and imposed
a new social order on the population of the
area.
Lato was born as a fortified city
stretching across six terraces with a double
acropolis, a vast agora and a prytaneion,
which functioned as administrative centre
and banqueting hall for the guests of
honour who dined here sitting on the stone
benches of the hestiatorion. A monumental
stairway marks the entrance to the
prytaneion, while another, not far from a
large temple (perhaps dedicated to Apollo)
has been identified as the "theatre space".
The city flourished up until the Hellenistic
period and the ancient writers affirm that
this was the birthplace of Niarchos, valorous
general and friend of Alexander the Great.
A careful observation of the structure and
the materials that form the buildings, the
roads and the doors is worthwhile: the
ancient system of construction has been
handed down through the centuries, and
some of the same architectural details can
still be seen in the old stone-built country
houses dotted among the mountains
around Kritsa.
With its strong
walls and
monumental
buildings, Lato
is the bestpreserved
of the
Cretan cities of
the Doric/ Classical
period
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