Ἄσσος Behramkale | |
 Ruins of the Temple ofAthena in Assos | |
  Assos Shown within Marmara Show map of Marmara Assos Assos (Turkey) Show map of Turkey | |
| Location | Ayvacık,Çanakkale Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Troad |
| Coordinates | 39°29′16″N26°20′13″E / 39.48778°N 26.33694°E /39.48778; 26.33694 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Colonists fromMithymna |
| Founded | 10th century BC |
| Associated with | Aristotle |
| Site notes | |
| Website | Assos Archaeological Site |
Assos (/ˈæsɒs/;Ancient Greek:Ἄσσος,Latin:Assus) was anancient Greek city near today'sBehramkale (pronounced[behˈɾamkale]) orBehram for short, which most people still call by its ancient name of Assos. It is located on theAegean coast in theAyvacık district ofÇanakkale province,Turkey. It is on the southern side ofBiga Peninsula (better known by its ancient name of theTroad). Assos sits on the coast of the Adramyttian Gulf (Turkish:Edremit Körfezi[1]) and used to offer the only good harbour along the 80 kilometres (50 mi) of coast which made it very important for shipping in the Troad.[1]
DuringPliny the Elder's lifetime (1st century AD), the city was also known asApollonia (Ἀπολλωνία).[2]
Assos' most famous resident was the Greek philosopherAristotle. Assos is also the birthplace ofCleanthes, who later was to succeedZeno of Citium as head of theStoic school of philosophy. TheActs of the Apostles[3] also refers to visits to the city byLuke the Evangelist andPaul the Apostle.[4]
Today, Assos is a holiday retreat amid ancient ruins. In 2017 it was inscribed on theUNESCOTentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.[5]
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The city was founded from 1000 to 900 BC byAeolian colonists fromLesbos, who are said to have come fromMethymna.[citation needed] The settlers built a Doric Temple toAthena on top of the dominant crag in 530 BC.[6] From this templeHermias of Atarneus, a student ofPlato, ruled Assos, theTroad and Lesbos during the town's greatest period of prosperity. (Strangely, Hermias was actually the slave of the ruler of Atarneus.[7]) Hermias encouraged philosophers to move to the city and one of those who answered the call was Aristotle, who came here in 348 BC and married Hermeias's niece, Pythia. Aristotle founded an Academy in Assos where he became chief amongst a group of philosophers, and together with them, made innovative observations onzoology andbiology.[8] Assos' 'golden period' ended several years later when thePersians arrived and tortured Hermias to death. Aristotle then fled toMacedonia, which was ruled by his friend KingPhilip II of Macedon[8] and where he became tutor to Philip's son,Alexander the Great.[8] A modern statue of Aristotle greets visitors at the entrance to Assos.[9]
The Persians were driven out byAlexander the Great in 334 BC. Not long afterwards Assos became the birthplace ofCleanthes, who later succeededZeno of Citium as head of theStoic school of philosophy inAthens. Between 241 and 133 BC, the city was ruled by the Kings ofPergamon. However, in 133 BC, the Pergamons lost control of the city and it was absorbed into the Roman empire.[1]
According to Christian tradition,St. Paul visited the city during his third missionary journey (53-57 AD) through Asia Minor on his way toMytilene on the island ofLesbos.Acts 20 records that Luke the Evangelist and his companions ('we') "went ahead to the ship and sailed [fromTroas] to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board ... and when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene".[10]
From this period onwards, Assos shrunk to the small village it has remained ever since. From the Middle Ages the only relics are theHüdavendigar Mosque and Bridge dating back to the second half of the 14th century.[11] The mosque is on the hilltop near the ruined temple while the bridge is off the road toAyvacık.
The ruins of ancient Assos continue to be excavated.[6] In 2018, archaeologists discovered an undamagedHellenistic family grave with the name "Aristios" written on its cover. The grave contained the remains of a family of twenty-one. One of the family members was buried, while the remaining twenty were cremated and their ashes placed insideurn-like vases. The lids had been sealed with cement to prevent any foreign substance getting inside the urns.[12] In 2018, archaeologists also discovered manystrigils, some of them iron, but most of them bronze.[13]
Archaeologists also uncovered a 2,200-year-oldHellenistic lion sculpture and a 1,500-year-old stone oven dating to theByzantine period. The sculpture was unearthed from a structure used as an inn at that time, and one of the Byzantine period findings contained a cooking stove with three pots.[14][15][16]
The pillars from the ancient port lay in the harbour for over a millennium. Eventually they were probably sold.
On theacropolis 238 m above sea level stand the remains of the onlyDoric order temple in Asia Minor, which was dedicated to Athena and dates to 530 BC. Six of the original 38columns remain. In the early 1900s sculptures of the Temple of Athena were moved to museums including theLouvre.[1]
The view from the temple extends to nearbyLesbos in the south, toPergamum in the southeast and toMount Ida in the east. To the northwest, two massive Hellenic columns still mark the entrance to the city.[1]
West of the acropolis stands the well preserved 4th century BCcity wall and main gate with 14-meter-high (46 ft) towers. An ancient paved road leads northeast through the gate to the ruins of a large 2nd-century BCgymnasium, a 2nd-century BCagora and abouleuterion. Further south toward the seashore is a 3rd-century BCtheatre built for 5,000 spectators.[9] Also on the hillside are the remains of a cemetery full of broken sarcophagi which were "able to eat flesh", according to Pliny, hence their name.[11]
Lower Assos has a small pebbly beach. Although the narrow road to İskele, the ex-fishing harbour, is steep and with sheer drops, a constant stream of cars and minibuses passes up and down it from dawn to dusk.
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