Tenedos (Bozcaada)

The island of Tenedos. Photo Marco Prins.

The island of Tenedos (on the horizon; satellite photo) is situated near Troy and controls the southwestern entrance of the Hellespont, from which it is about 20 km away. According to the ancient legends, the Greeks went into hiding at Tenedos after leaving behind the Trojan horse. It must have been more common for ships to wait on the beach of the little island until favorable winds allowed them to enter the Hellespont.

The city of Tenedos is on the site of modern Bozcaada and had two harbors; from the sixth century BCE onward, it owned land on the opposite shore as well. The people spoke an Aeolian dialect resembling that of Lesbos, from which Tenedos was settled. It was occupied by the Athenian commander Miltiades at the turn of the sixth/fifth century, conquered by the Persians after the Ionian Revolt, became a member of the Delian League, and was sacked by the Spartans during the Corinthian War (in 389 BCE). During Alexander's war against the Persian Empire, the Persian commander Pharnabazus occupied Tenedos an threatened the Alexander's line of communication; however, Pharnabazus was recalled.

Tenedos lost its independence and was added to Alexandria in Troas by Antigonus Monophthalmus in 306 BCE.

Livius.Org

Anatolia