Phalasarna was mentioned by the ancient historians and geographers Scylax, Strabo, Polybius, Livy, Pliny, Dionysius Kalliphontis, and the anonymous geographer known as Stadiasmus. The ancient geographers took note of the artificial closed port carved out of a lagoon and ringed with fortification walls and towers. Phalasarna was a maritime power; the harbor was the reason for the city's existence, the source of its wealth, and led to its recognition. A city-state with its own laws and minting its own coins, Phalasarna provided military advisers and thousands of mercenaries for a war under the Macedonian king Perseus against the Romans (Livy).