A city on the Hellespont.1
During the Trojan War, Asios commanded an undisclosed number of Trojan soldiers from Sestos, Abydos (Abydus), Arisbe, Perkote (Percote), and the vicinity of the Selleeis (Selleïs) and Praktion (Practius) Rivers. Trojan King Priam's kingdom included the territories of the Hellespont. Inhabitants of Sestos were considered to be Trojans.
To the south of Sestos is Cape Sestias, a level area more or less opposite the city of Abydos (Abydus). In 480 BCE, Persian King Xerxes anchored his pontoon bridge on Cape Sestias to span the Hellespont to Abydos on the Asian side of the narrow channel.
Sestos and other Greek cities on the Hellespont were required to supply soldiers and ships for Xerxes' invasion forces. When Xerxes retreated after his invasion of Greece had failed, the waves and wind made the pontoon bridge unstable and unusable. Xerxes and his army crossed from Sestos to Abydos via ship.
When the people of Abydos and Sestos learned that the Greeks who had not allied themselves with the Persians were approaching the Hellespont, they dismantled the pontoon bridge and stored the gear at Sestos. When the Greeks arrived, they focused their attention on punishing the traitor-Greeks on the European side of the Hellespont, which included Sestos.
Because of its strategic location, Sestos played a major role in the long and brutal Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE). Many sea battles were fought in the narrow channel between Abydos and Sestos.
A tragically romantic story is associated with Sestos involving Hero and Leander. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Leander was a young man from Abydos. Living on different sides of the Hellespont did not discourage their love. Each night Leander would swim from Abydos on the Asian side of the 4 mile (6.6 km) channel to be with Hero. Using a lamp or some other sort of beacon, Hero would mark her location so Leander could find her in the darkness. A cloudy night and rough seas caused Leander to become disoriented. He drowned before he reached the European shore. When Hero found his body on the beach, she either leapt from Aphrodite's tower or threw herself in the sea. Regardless, she was reunited with Leander in the House of Hades.
This tale from antiquity inspired many young adventurers to swim the strait to duplicate Leander's feat. Perhaps the most famous crossing was made by Lord Byron on May 3rd, 1810 CE. The grueling swim took one hour and ten minutes to swim from shore to shore.
1. Hellespont (Helle's Sea)—now associated with the Dardanelles, the narrow body of water separating Europe and Asia. The Hellespont of antiquity was undoubtably much larger and probably included the Propontis and a large portion of the northern Aigean (Aegean) Sea.
Latitude North, Longitude East
40.2133, 26.3892
| References: Homer, Iliad book 2, line 836 Herodotus, The Persian War book 7.33, 34, 78 book 9.115, 116, 119 Ovid, The Heroides XVIII and XIX Musaeus, Hero and Leander |