assos

Assos, also called Assos of Troas, was an ancient Greek city located on the western coast of Anatolia. Its ruins lie on a steep hill overlooking a natural harbor near the modern village of Behramkale in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale Province, Turkey.

According to tradition, Assos was founded in the 7th century BCE by Ionian colonists from Methymna on Lesbos and soon developed as a regional political and cultural center. It was part of the Ionian League and later came under various powers as control of the area changed through the classical and Hellenistic periods. The city features an acropolis crowned by the Temple of Athena, a Doric temple dating to the late 6th century BCE, with other sanctuaries and civic remains nearby. A theatre and the remains of an ancient agora, walls, and gateways survive from the Greek and later periods.

Assos is historically associated with the philosopher Aristotle, who is said to have lived and taught there for a time around 347 BCE before moving to Lesbos. In the Hellenistic and Roman eras the city remained inhabited and continued as a local center, though it declined in late antiquity.

Today the site is a major archaeological area and a popular tourist destination. Visitors reach Behramkale and climb to the hilltop ruins, which include the Temple of Athena, the theatre, and other remnants from Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman occupation. The modern village preserves traditional architecture on the slope above the ancient remains.