The site of ancient Assos is located on the northwest shores of Turkey, about 100 kilometers south of Canakkale and Gallipoli peninsula, facing the Greek island, Lesbos. The lower city stretched from the shore to the slopes of of an extinct volcano which rises around 200 meters above sea-level. It was on this summit that the city’s famous temple of Athena was erected, overlooking the blue waters of the Aegean sea. Today, the village of Behramkale marks the spot of the ancient ruins. Follow highway E-24 from Canakkale to the town of Ayvacik; then continue directly south, on to Behramkale.
History Of Assos
The earliest history of Assos is thought to date back as far as the early Bronze age. It was first founded the Hittite king, Tuthaliyas IV in the 13th century BC, as a strategic defense position against a union of Aegean city-states. The high acropolis hill offers a clear view of the approaches to the city by land and by sea, and it served well as defensive factor to the residents of the city. In the 7th century BC, Aeolians, who came from Methymna, a town on the Lesbos island, colonized the settlement. Before the Aeolians, however, the ancient Hittite stronghold was occupied for some time by the Lelegeans.
Assos never played a very significant political or historic role. It came under Persian rule during 6th century BC., and then in the 5th century BC, it joined the Athenian League. Later, the town was governed by a banker, Eubulus who was later killed by his eunuch slave, Hermias. Hermias subsequently gained the control of the town. He was one of Plato’s students and as a result of this connection, Hermias’ friend Aristotle stayed with him for three years, between 348-345 BC. at Assos. Aristotle established here a school of Philosophy. Alexander the Great passed through the city during his campaigns in 334 BC., freeing it from further tyrannical rule. In 241 BC, Assos was included in the Kingdom of Pergamum, and a century later, came under the Roman rule. Pagan worship was brought to an end with the rapid spread of Christianity in this regions as taught by St. Paul and St. Luke during their visit to the Aegean area. St. Ignatius, one of St. John’s disciples lived for a period in Assos. Following a decree issued by Emperor Theodosius forbidding the practice of paganism, the city and its temple were effectively destroyed. In 1330, Assos became a province of Ottoman Empire.
Ruins Of Assos
Today, the visitors of Assos may see ruins left over from various historical periods including Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, but its main attraction lies at the top of the acropolis, the ruins of Temple of Athena. Besides the advantages of the acropolis which provided a natural protection against enemy attacks, a massive fortification wall that extended some three kilometers around the city was erected during the Hellenistic period. The walls which are considered to be among the most effective and complete, reaches a height of ten meters. A large portion of the ancient city was excavated by archaeologists during the 19th century. Some of the important finds from the site included relief works and a number of Archaic statues many of which are on exhibition in Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Temple of Athena
The once magnificent temple, erected on the acropolis, dates to the second half of the sixth century BC. The design of the temple bears the characteristics of both, Ionic and Doric orders. It survived intact until the war waged by Byzantine Emperor Theodosius against the pagan temples in the 4th century AD.
Doric friezes incorporating triglyph and metope decorative elements depicted mythological scenes of animals fighting together. There were friezes in relief on the architrave on four corners of the temple. These works are considered to be some of the best remaining examples of Doric architectural design. The temple stood on a stylobat measuring 30.31 by 14.03 meters and the cella (the main sacred chamber) was encircled with 34 columns and preceded two fluted columns. The temple was built of local stones and completely painted. Today, unfortunately, very little remains from the temple including some column bases, capitals and scanty fragments of the original black and white mosaic floor.
The remains of a Byzantine fortification wall can be seen all around the site. This was built primarily from materials taken from the ruined archaic temple and other buildings of ancient Assos. There is a well-preserved Byzantine watchtower to the southeast. The remains of an early Hellenistic structure can be seen near the south wall. The gateways to the acropolis are still in reasonably good condition, differing from one another in size and form. The main gate is to the west.
The ruins of a gymnasium, a stoa and agora are located to the south of the acropolis that date from the Hellenistic period. The gymnasium consisted of an enclosed marble-paved courtyard that measured roughly 32 x 40 meters. It was surrounded by colonnades of Doric order of which little remains. A small Doric temple, built adjoining the west wall of the agora, was turned into a church during the Byzantine era. Only the foundations of this prostyle temple may be seen today.
The buildings grouped together on the eastern edge of the agora served as meeting places and official buildings.One of these was the council chamber, or Bouleuterion. Behind the agora are the ruined baths from early 1st century AD. The third century BC theatre which is situated just below the agora, is in a poor state of preservation. To the west of the acropolis is a street flanked on either side by graves. The Doric stoa, on the northern edge of the agora, was a two story construction that measured over a hundred meters long. The upper floor must have offered a fine view of the agora, the Aegean sea and the village below, and it was probably made up of more than a dozen shops for tradesmen and craftsmen. The entrance door of the mosque north of acropolis was built with materials taken from a Byzantine church. On the shore there are remains of an ancient breakwater.