Paesus or Paisos (
Hittite: Apaššawa,
Ancient Greek: Παισός), in the
Trojan Battle Order in
Homer's ''
Iliad'' called Apaesus or Apaisos (Ἀπαισός), was a town and ''
polis'' (city-state)
on the coast of the
ancient Troad
The Troad ( or ; el, Τρωάδα, ''Troáda'') or Troas (; grc, Τρῳάς, ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula (Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Ça ...
, at the entrance of the
Propontis
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
, between
Lampsacus and
Parium. The city of Apaššawa from the Hittite documents is identified as Paesus. In the ''Iliad'',
Amphius, son of Selagus, was said to be from Paesus. At one period it received colonists from
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
. It suffered
Persian occupation during the
Ionian Revolt. In
Strabo's time the town was destroyed, and its inhabitants had transferred themselves to Lampsacus, which was likewise a Milesian colony. The town derived its name from the small river Paesus, on which it was situated. It was a member of the
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...
and appears in tribute lists of
Athens between 453/2 and 430/29 BCE.
[
Its site is located northeast of Çardak, Asiatic Turkey.]
References
Populated places in ancient Troad
Former populated places in Turkey
Locations in the Iliad
Milesian colonies
Greek city-states
Members of the Delian League
{{AncientTroad-geo-stub