Agora (), also called Cherronesos or Chersonesos (; IPA^{( key)}: /kʰer.ró.nɛː.sos/, /kʰer.só.nɛː.sos/), was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

town in Thrace. It was situated about the middle of the narrow neck of the

Thracian Chersonese The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning 'b ...

(called today

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

peninsula), and not far from

Cardia The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical terms re ...

, in what is now European

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was a colony of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, founded between 561 and 556 BCE, and a member of the

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

. It is known for its series of tyrants in antiquity. Xerxes, when invading

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 480 BCE, passed through it. Its site is tentatively located near modern

Bolayır Bolayır is a village in the Gelibolu District of Çanakkale Province, situated on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the European part of Turkey. Its population is 1,053 (2021). Between 1958 and the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reor ...

Tyrants

According to the Greek Historian

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, Militiades the Elder was chosen by the Dolonci to be tyrant of Chersonesos. His most notable achievement was building a long wall to guard from invaders crossing the isthmus. Following the death of Militiades the Elder, his maternal half brother, Stesagoras acquired power. Stesagoras only ruled for approximately three years (519 - 516 BCE), when he was struck in the head by an axe. After Stesagoras' death, the

Peisistratids Pisistratus (also spelled Peisistratus or Peisistratos; ; – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular p ...

of Athens sent Militiades the Younger, Stesagoras' brother, to mourn and honor him. After grieving for a period of time, Militiades the Younger restrained all the powerful men of the city and seized control of the area. He later abandoned the area when

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

invaded in 493 BCE.

References

Sources

* Smith, William (editor);
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
'
"Agora"

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, (1854) Ionian colonies in Thrace Milesian colonies Athenian colonies Greek colonies in the Thracian Chersonese Populated places in ancient Thrace Former populated places in Turkey History of Çanakkale Province Members of the Delian League {{SmithDGRG, title=Agora

Tyrants

See also

References

Sources