BEST LACONIA COASTS

ARTICLES

After the Roman domination was established (146 BC), Sparta secured several privileges for itself and reached significant economic bloom. In the early years of Christianity the Lakonian cities rose to become major centers of the Roman empire. The Romans who are known for their high regard of Sparta¢s regime built important structures there. Old rituals were revived, new games were in­stituted and several Spartans acquired the right to Roman citizenship. The descriptions we have from Pausanias the geographer, who travelled through the region in 155 AD provide us with a clear picture of that period. In 267 AD the barbarians Heruli managed to get as far as the Lakonian peninsula and ravaged Spar­ta. However the region was quick to heal its wounds and to continue with its economic prosperity. The catastrophic earthquake in 375 AD had an impact on the entire area and many of the coastal towns of the Lakonic bay submerged. However it was the raid by the Visigoths under Alaric in 396 AD that wiped off Sparta. In the years that followed the better part of the Spartan population assembled in fortified locations, walls were built around the city, whose name had now changed into Lacedaemonia.