26.12.2023
5 Dakika
A Gateway from Mythology to Reality: Giresun Island
Giresun, nestled along the Black Sea coast of Türkiye, stands as a captivating city where the green of the plateaus and the blue of the sea blends. Referenced as the homeland of the Kaskans in Hittite sources and known as Kerasus in ancient times, this city boasts cultural riches. Notably legendary is Giresun Island, or Aretias, situated a mere mile from Giresun's shores, believed to be the dwelling place of the mythical Amazons and mentioned in the epic journey that Argonauts, including Hercules, embarked upon to find the Golden Fleece. Let's take a closer look at this island that has packed many legends and ancient stories into its modest 4-hectare expanse.
The Amazons, Argonauts, and Giresun Island
One of the earliest mentions of Giresun Island is found in the Argonautica, a masterpiece written by Apollonius of Rhodes. In this epic poem, Apollonius, one of the important poets of the 3rd century BC, delves into the ancient legend of the Golden Fleece and the Argonauts, which dates back at least 4.000 years. According to the mythological narrative, after the murder of King Aeoson of Thessaly, his son Jason must seize the golden fleece, a symbol of wealth and power, to save the kingdom from the hands of his uncle. For this end, he leads a group of heroes, including Hercules, on a journey to Colchis, a country on the Black Sea, aboard the ship Argo. In the narrative of Apollonius of Rhodes, the words of the blind seer Phineus indicate that the Argonauts must navigate Aretias inhabited by the legendary Amazons:
“After passing them ye must beach your ship upon a smooth island, when ye have driven away with all manner of skill the ravening birds, which in countless numbers haunt the desert island. In it the Queens of the Amazons, Otrere and Antiope, built a stone temple of Ares what time they went forth to war.”
Later in the same work, as the Argonauts land on the shores, more descriptions of the island can be found:
“Then all together they went to the temple of Ares to offer sacrifice of sheep; and in haste they stood round the altar, which was outside the roofless temple, an altar built of pebbles; within a black stone stood fixed, a sacred thing, to which of yore the Amazons all used to pray.”
The Remains of Aretias Connecting Mythology and Reality
This is where mythology and reality intercept. The depiction of the poet, who lived 1.700 years ago, remarkably align with what can be seen today on Giresun Island. Indeed, on a trip to the island, you may come across the remains of an open stone temple, the "Hamza Stone", which is very similar to the black stone in the depiction, and is associated with the cult of Cybele, the goddess of fertility and abundance in Anatolia. Furthermore, you can also find the ruins of walls and watchtowers that seem to wholly surround the island, as well as a monastery believed to have been built in the 5th or 6th century AD. Two mortars used to crush grapes or olives were also among the artifacts found on the island. During excavations in 2015, the remains of an 11th-century chapel were also uncovered. The many cemeteries around the chapel have led archaeologists to believe that the island was a center of faith during the Byzantine Empire Period.
