Ancient Lappa was built near the current town of Argyroupolis, located 27km south of Rethymno. The area is now famous for its springs with waterfalls, its old mills and the lush green landscape. Lappa, wichs name was changed later while the Turkish occupation to Argyroupolis (Argo= Silver) is one of the towns said to have been founded by king Agamemnon in Crete. In Lappa fled the citizens of Lyttos after the massacre of Lyttos by Knossos. In 193 BC Lappa became ally with Teos and in 183BC with Pergamon.

The city flourished till 68AD, when the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus destroyed it. It recovered as a Roman town with special privileges at the end of Roman Era. It s glory is mirrored in the magnificent monuments that have been found and the coins minted. In the area, Roman baths and basilicas with mosaics have been identified, inscriptions and statues of Zeus and Aphrodite.