Mount Ida (, pronounced , meaning "Goose Mountain", ''Kaz Dağları,'' or ''Karataş Tepesi,'' Greek: Ίδα'')'' is a mountain in northwestern

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 ...

, some southeast of the ruins of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, along the north coast of the Edremit Gulf. It is between

Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Its area is 14,583 km ...

and Çanakkale Province.

Geography

Mount Ida is a lightly populated upland

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

of about 700 km² located to the north of Edremit. A number of small villages in the region are connected by paths. Drainage is mainly to the south, into the Edremit Gulf, also known as Edremit Bay, where the coast is rugged and is known as "the Olive Riviera." However, the Karamenderes River (the ancient Scamander) flows from the other side of Mount Ida to the west. Its valley under Kaz Dağları has been called "the Vale of Troy" by English speakers. Currently a modest 2.4 km² of Mount Ida are protected by Kaz Dağı National Park, created in 1993. The summit is windswept and bare with a relatively low

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

due to exposure, but the slopes of this mountain, at the edge of mild Mediterranean and colder central Anatolian climate zones, hold a wealth of endemic flora, marooned here after the Ice Age. The climate at lower altitudes has become increasingly hot and dry in the deforested landscape. The dry period lasts from May to October. Rainfall averages between 631 and 733 mm per year. The mean annual temperature is 15.7 degrees Celsius, with diurnal temperatures as high as 43.7 degrees Celsius in Edremit. The forests on the upper slopes consist mainly of Trojan fir (''Abies nordmanniana'' subsp. ''equi-trojani''; considered by some botanists to be a distinct species ''Abies equi-trojani'').

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

and

jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...

are common at the area.

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

s and

big cats The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

once roamed there, but now disappeared from the mountains due to overhunting.

Legend

Cultic significance

Cybele

In ancient times of the Greeks, the mountain was dedicated to the worship of

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

. The Romans gave this goddess the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Magna Mater'' ("Great Mother"), or ''Magna Mater deorum Idaea'' ("great Idaean mother of the gods").

Sibylline books

The oldest collection of Sibylline utterances, the Sibylline Books, appears to have been made about the time of

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

at Gergis on Mount Ida; it was attributed to the Hellespontine

Sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

and was preserved in the temple of Apollo at Gergis. From Gergis the collection passed to Erythrae, where it became famous as the oracles of the Erythraean Sibyl. It seems to have been this very collection, or so it would appear, which found its way to Cumae (see the Cumaean Sibyl) and from Cumae to Rome.

Mythology

Mount Ida owes much of its fame to the work of the poet

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, gaining renown from having been mentioned in his epic poem the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''. It is the setting for numerous episodes in Ancient Greek myth. For example, in the ''Iliad'', Mount Ida plays an essential role for the lives of Trojans in the city of Troy. Part of Troy's water source came from the rivers along Mount Ida, while the city uses the mountain to collect wood as well. Trojans also used the peaks on Mount Ida for religious purposes, while in the ''Iliad'',

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

stayed on the peak at Gargarus on Mount Ida for a period of time in the poem.

Idaea

Idaea was a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, mate of the river god Scamander, and mother of King Teucer the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

king. The Scamander River flowed from Mount Ida across the plain beneath the city of Troy, and joined the

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

north of the city.

Ganymede

At an earlier time, on Mount Ida, Ganymede, the son of

Tros TROS, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting ("Television Radio Broadcasting Foundation"), was a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. This broadcasting association was partic ...

or perhaps of

Laomedon In Greek mythology, Laomedon (; , ''Lāomédōn'', "ruler of the people") was a Troy, Trojan king, son of Ilus (son of Tros), Ilus and thus nephew of Ganymede (mythology), Ganymede and Assaracus. Laomedon was variously identified with differe ...

, both kings of Troy, was desired by

, who descended in the form of an eagle and swept up Ganymede, to be cupbearer to the Olympian gods.

Hermaphroditus

In The Metamorphoses,

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

writes that

Hermaphroditus In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus (; , ) was a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably beautiful boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her pra ...

, the child of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

and

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

, was taken after birth to be raised for fifteen years by the Naids of Mount Ida.

Paris

On the sacred mountain, the nymphs who were the daughter-spirits of the river Cebrenus, had their haunt, and one, Oenone, who had the chthonic gifts of prophetic vision and the curative powers of herb magic, wed

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, living as a shepherd on Mount Ida. Unbeknownst to all, even to himself, Paris was the son of Priam, king of Troy. He was there on Mount Ida, experiencing the rustic education in exile of many heroes of

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, for his disastrous future effect on Troy was foretold at his birth, and Priam had him exposed on the sacred slopes. When the good shepherd who was entrusted with the baby returned to bury the exposed child, he discovered that he had been suckled by a she-bear (a totem animal of the archaic goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

) and took the child home to be foster-nursed by his wife. When Eris ("discord") cast the Apple of Discord, inscribed "for the fairest", into the wedding festivities of

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biogra ...

with

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

, three great goddesses repaired to Mount Ida to be appraised. By a sacred spring on the mountainside, in "the

Judgment of Paris The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, which was one of the events that led up to the Trojan War, and in later versions to the foundation of Rome. Eris (mythology), Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding ...

", the grown youth Paris awarded it to

, who offered Helen for a bribe, earning the perpetual enmity of the discredited goddesses

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

and

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

to the

cause ('' Bibliotheca'' 3.12.5).

Anchises

Anchises, father of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

, also of the Trojan royal house, was tending sheep on Mount Ida when he was seduced by Aphrodite. Their union led to the birth of

, the mythological progenitor of Rome's

Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

and a founder of Rome.

Trojan War

The mountain is the scene of several mythic events in the works of

. At its summit, the Olympian gods gathered to watch the progress of the epic fight. But the mountain was the sacred place of the Goddess, and Hera's powers were so magnified on Mount Ida, that she was able to distract Zeus with her seductions, just long enough to permit Poseidon to intercede on behalf of the Argives to drive Hektor and the Trojans back from the ships. During the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

, in an episode recorded in ''Epitome'' of the fourth book of the '' Bibliotheca'', Achilles with some of the Achaean chiefs laid waste the countryside, and made his way to Ida to rustle the cattle of Aeneas. But Aeneas fled, and Achilles killed the cowherds and Mestor, son of Priam, and drove away the sacred kine (''Epitome'' 3.32). Achilles briefly refers to this incident as he prepares to duel with Aeneas during the siege of Troy. (''Iliad'' XX) After the Trojan War, the only surviving son of Priam, Helenus, retired to Mount Ida, where he was surprised and became the captive of

Neoptolemus In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), originally called Pyrrhus at birth (; ), was the son of the mythical warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossian ...

. In the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' a shooting star falls onto the mountain in answer to the prayer of Anchises to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

History

Bronze age

In the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, the region around the mountain complex had a somewhat chequered ethnography. There is evidence for the following peoples with a reasonable degree of probability: * The Tjeker in Ayvacık, Çanakkale Province, which the Greeks called the Teucri. They were probably from Crete and are most likely to have been the source of the name, Mount Ida, which they took from

Mount Ida, Crete Mount Ida (), known variously as Idha, Ídhi, Idi, and Ita (the massif including the mountain is called Psiloritis, ), is the highest mountain on the island of Crete, with an elevation of . It has the highest topographic prominence of any mountai ...

Iron age

In historical times, Xerxes' march took him past Mount Ida (Herodotus VII:42).

2019 Controversy

In July 2019, protesters made accusations against Canadian company Alamos Gold for constructing a mine in Mount Ida, despite the fact that the mine was located 40 km away from Mount Ida, within the borders of the Biga Mountains and in the skirts of Balaban Hill. The Republic of Turkey prohibits mining in National Parks, Natural Preserves, Archeological Sites and Wildlife Protection Areas. Protesters criticized that thousands of trees were cleared as well as plans to use cyanide to extract gold. The Turkish government and company responded with claims that the mine would not damage the environment. Protesters began a "Water and Conscience Watch" on July 26. A "Great Water and Conscience Meeting" was then held on August 5, during which protesters entered the mining site and symbolically planted trees in front of the press. Local residents near the village of Kirazlı criticized the protesters who came to the region with misinformation. Images of the land which had been cleared of trees also caused outrage on social media. Artist Zülfü Livaneli wrote an open letter to UNESCO protesting about the destruction of the natural environment in the area. In 2021, the mining company filed an investment treaty claim exceeding $1 billion against Turkey for "unfair and inequitable treatment".

Notes

References

* Martyn Rix, "Wild About Ida: the glorious flora of Kaz Dagi and the Vale of Troy", ''Cornucopia'' 26, 2002. * Çoban, Ramazan Volkan. İda Dağı'ndan Kaz Dağına; Yöre Anlatılarının Karşılaştırmalı Mitoloji Tarafından İncelenmesi, III. Ulusal Kazdağları Sempozyumu (Balıkesir, 2012)

External links

* Çoban, Ramazan Volkan.
İda Dağı'ndan Kaz Dağına; Yöre Anlatılarının Karşılaştırmalı Mitoloji Tarafından İncelenmesi
', III. Ulusal Kazdağları Sempozyumu (Balıkesir, 2012) *

', article by Recep Peker Tanıtkan in ''Diplomat'' magazine, Ankara, May, 2006.
Morphological, Anatomical and Ecological studies on the two Turkish endemic species collected from Kaz Dağı (B1 Balıkesir) “Allium sibthorpianum Schultes & Schultes fil. and Allium reuterianum Boiss.”
article by İsmet Uysal in the ''Turkish Journal of Journal of Botany'', 23 (1999), 137–148. *
A Contribution to the Moss Flora of Western Turkey: Moss Flora of the Kaz Mountain (Balıkesir, Turkey)
', article by Adnan Erdag and Ahmet Yayıntaş in the ''Turkish Journal of Botany'', 23 (1999), 117–125. *
İda's researching in Comparative Mythology
', İda's researching in Comparative Mythology. {{authority control Ida Geography of ancient Anatolia National parks of Turkey Landforms of Balıkesir Province Places in the Iliad Tourist attractions in Balıkesir Province Landforms of Çanakkale Province Tourist attractions in Çanakkale Province Important Bird Areas of Turkey Former Christian monasteries in Turkey Byzantine monasteries in Turkey Ida Cybele Ida