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Antiquity[edit]
Temple of Athena in Assos, overlooking the Aegean
Ancient theatre of Assos overlooking the Aegean, with the island of Lesbos on the horizon to the right
City walls
The city was founded from 1000 to 900 BC by Aeolian colonists from Lesbos, who are said to have come from Methymna.[citation needed] The settlers built a Doric Temple to Athena on top of the dominant crag in 530 BC. From this temple Hermias of Atarneus, a student of Plato, ruled Assos, the Troad and Lesbos during the town's greatest period of prosperity. (Strangely, Hermias was actually the slave of the ruler of Atarneus.) 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 on zoology and biology. Assos' 'golden period' ended several years later when the Persians arrived and tortured Hermias to death. Aristotle then fled to Macedonia, which was ruled by his friend King Philip II of Macedon and where he became tutor to Philip's son, Alexander the Great. A modern statue of Aristotle greets visitors at the entrance to Assos.
The Persians were driven out by Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Not long afterwards Assos became the birthplace of Cleanthes, who later succeeded Zeno of Citium as head of the Stoic school of philosophy in Athens. Between 241 and 133 BC, the city was ruled by the Kings of Pergamon. However, in 133 BC, the Pergamons lost control of the city and it was absorbed into the Roman empire.
According to Christian tradition, St. Paul visited the city during his third missionary journey (53-57 AD) through Asia Minor on his way to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Acts 20 records that Luke the Evangelist and his companions ('we') "went ahead to the ship and sailed [from Troas] 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".
Middle Ages[edit]
During Byzantine times the city was called Makhramion (Μαχράμιον) from a Byzantine officer named Makhram, hence its modern name of Behramkale.
In the early 14th century, the town was filled with refugees from Mysia, who were fleeing from Turkish raiders who invaded Western Anatolia. The Turks attacked the region and the city's population, along with the refugees, abandoned Makhramion and fled to the island of Mytilene.
From the Middle Ages there exist the Hüdavendigar Mosque and Bridge, dating back to the second half of the 14th century. The mosque is on the hilltop near the ruined temple while the bridge is off the road to Ayvacık.
Modern archaeological discoveries[edit]
The ruins of ancient Assos continue to be excavated. In 2018, archaeologists discovered an undamaged Hellenistic 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 inside urn-like vases. The lids had been sealed with cement to prevent any foreign substance getting inside the urns. In 2018, archaeologists also discovered many strigils, some of them iron, but most of them bronze.
Archaeologists also uncovered a 2,200-year-old Hellenistic lion sculpture and a 1,500-year-old stone oven dating to the Byzantine 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.
The pillars from the ancient port lay in the harbour for over a millennium. Eventually they were probably sold.
