Achilleion (Troad)
Encyclopedia
Achilleion was a Greek
city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia
. It has been located on a promontory known as Beşika Burnu ('cradle promontory') about 8 km south of Sigeion
. Beşika Burnu is 2 km south of the modern village of Yeniköy in the Ezine district of Çanakkale
province, Turkey
. The site considered in Classical Antiquity
to be the tomb of Achilles
is a short distance inland at a tumulus known as Beşiktepe. Achilleion in the Troad is not to be confused with Achilleion near Smyrna
and Achilleion in the territory of Tanagra
.
of Achilleion was most famous in Classical Antiquity
for its association with Achilles
, after whom it was named ('the place of Achilles'). According to some sources, while passing by Ilion in 334
BC Alexander the Great sacrificed at the Tomb of Achilles. This story became famous, and in the mid 1st century BC it is mentioned by the politician and writer Cicero
in his Pro Archia Poeta. In AD 216
the Empreror Caracalla
emulated Alexander when, on passing Ilion on his way to a war against Parthia
, he held funeral games around the tumulus. Following the abandonment of the settlement at Achilleion in the late Hellenistic period
, writers began to associate the tomb with nearby Sigeion
to the north.
conducted its attacks on Athenian
controlled Sigeion
to the north in the early 6th century BCE. It is not clear whether Achilleion had been settled earlier, but the ceramic record also begins at this point, suggesting that it had not. Recent excavations have established that the walls of the settlement also date to the first half of the 6th century BCE, further corroborating the literary accounts of Herodotus
and Strabo
regarding its origins. Achilleion remained under Mytilenaean control until Athens brought an end to the Mytilenaean revolt in 427
BCE and took over all the so-called Actaean cities in the Troad. Achilleion appears in the Athenian tribute lists for 425/4 and 422/1 BCE, indicating that it had joined the Delian League
. The legend (ACH) which some bronze coins found in this region bear is thought to refer to Ach(illeion) and suggest that c. 350 - 300 BCE the city minted its own coins. King Lysimachus
synoecized
Ilion with many surrounding communities including Achilleion during his reign (306 - 281 BCE), effectively ending Achilleion's political independence. The testimony of Demetrius of Scepsis
, who hailed from a nearby town in the Troad, indicates that there was still a hamlet known as Achilleion on the site in the mid-2nd century BCE. It is to around this time that the latest ceramic finds from Achilleion date, suggesting that the site became uninhabited soon afterwards.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. It has been located on a promontory known as Beşika Burnu ('cradle promontory') about 8 km south of Sigeion
Sigeion
Sigeion was a Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander . Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aegean Sea and the Scamander which is now known as Yenişehir and is a part of the Çanakkale district in Çanakkale province, Turkey...
. Beşika Burnu is 2 km south of the modern village of Yeniköy in the Ezine district of Çanakkale
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a town and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 106,116 . The mayor is Ülgür Gökhan ....
province, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The site considered in Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
to be the tomb of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
is a short distance inland at a tumulus known as Beşiktepe. Achilleion in the Troad is not to be confused with Achilleion near Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
and Achilleion in the territory of Tanagra
Tanagra
Tanagra is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it...
.
Tomb of Achilles
The otherwise obscure polisPolis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
of Achilleion was most famous in Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
for its association with Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, after whom it was named ('the place of Achilles'). According to some sources, while passing by Ilion in 334
334
Year 334 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Optatus and Caesonius...
BC Alexander the Great sacrificed at the Tomb of Achilles. This story became famous, and in the mid 1st century BC it is mentioned by the politician and writer Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
in his Pro Archia Poeta. In AD 216
216
Year 216 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Anullinus...
the Empreror Caracalla
Caracalla
Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
emulated Alexander when, on passing Ilion on his way to a war against Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
, he held funeral games around the tumulus. Following the abandonment of the settlement at Achilleion in the late Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
, writers began to associate the tomb with nearby Sigeion
Sigeion
Sigeion was a Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander . Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aegean Sea and the Scamander which is now known as Yenişehir and is a part of the Çanakkale district in Çanakkale province, Turkey...
to the north.
History
The first mention of Achilleion is as a fortified settlement from which MytileneMytilene
Mytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...
conducted its attacks on Athenian
Classical Athens
The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece was a notable polis of Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias...
controlled Sigeion
Sigeion
Sigeion was a Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander . Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aegean Sea and the Scamander which is now known as Yenişehir and is a part of the Çanakkale district in Çanakkale province, Turkey...
to the north in the early 6th century BCE. It is not clear whether Achilleion had been settled earlier, but the ceramic record also begins at this point, suggesting that it had not. Recent excavations have established that the walls of the settlement also date to the first half of the 6th century BCE, further corroborating the literary accounts of Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
regarding its origins. Achilleion remained under Mytilenaean control until Athens brought an end to the Mytilenaean revolt in 427
427
Year 427 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hierus and Ardabur...
BCE and took over all the so-called Actaean cities in the Troad. Achilleion appears in the Athenian tribute lists for 425/4 and 422/1 BCE, indicating that it had joined the Delian League
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
. The legend (ACH) which some bronze coins found in this region bear is thought to refer to Ach(illeion) and suggest that c. 350 - 300 BCE the city minted its own coins. King Lysimachus
Lysimachus
Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
synoecized
Synoecism
Synoecism or synecism , also spelled synoikism , was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Hellas into poleis, or city-states. Etymologically the word means "dwelling together in the same house ." Subsequently any act of civic union between polities of any size was described by the...
Ilion with many surrounding communities including Achilleion during his reign (306 - 281 BCE), effectively ending Achilleion's political independence. The testimony of Demetrius of Scepsis
Demetrius of Scepsis
Demetrius of Scepsis was a Greek grammarian of the time of Aristarchus and Crates . He was a man of good family and an acute philologer . He was the author of a very extensive work which is very often referred to, and bore the title Τρωικὸς διάκοσμος. It consisted of at least twenty-six books...
, who hailed from a nearby town in the Troad, indicates that there was still a hamlet known as Achilleion on the site in the mid-2nd century BCE. It is to around this time that the latest ceramic finds from Achilleion date, suggesting that the site became uninhabited soon afterwards.