"the ancient marble harbor can still be traced under the clear
water"
Assos is an ancient Greek city located on the Adramittyan
Gulf, Turkey. It was established by the Aioli society arriving in early 6th
century BC from the Aegean Sea. The city
was built on the summit of a crag and was crowned by the Temple of Athena in
Doric style, which is rarely seen in the area. The city hosted famous visitors
such as Aristotle and St. Paul throughout its existence. Aristotle, who was
one of the most important students of Plato, came to Assos and established
a school of philosophy here. The city went under the rule of Alexander
the Great and was later occupied by Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman
Empires successively.
The view from the summit is spectacular and of historical
interest. Standing on the remains of the Athena Temple, one can see the ruins
of the Academia founded by Aristotle down the hill, Mount Ida, equally
named "Mount of the Goddess' in Greek Mythology on the East and another Greek town-island Lesbos famous
for being the hometown of the term lesbian (because of the poems of Sappho
which expressed romantic interest towards other females) on the South, Pergamum
on the Southeast and Tuzla River (along which St. Paul must have walked) on the
North. Troy is just a few miles away
and on the shore the ancient marble harbor can still be traced under the clear
water.
Assos today is a national park and she is under the
protection of Turkish Government. The sculptures, the archeological findings of
the excavations pertaining to the city and most of the remains of the Athena
Temple were moved to the Louvre Museum in the early 1900s.