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Eregli is a large military and industrial harbor. As you enter the harbor with its large steel mills, the largest in the Middle East, appears as the entrance to a modern version of hell. It is a very large harbor, busy with many large ships, some docked some moored off-shore. Despite the amount of shipping the harbor is actually not as dirty as Samsun. Nor does the town look as bad as the first impression. The mills are all at the western end and the town seems to have a large promenade shaded with trees at its eastern end. The town has some green parks, and is built amphitheatrically.
Eregli the ancient Greek Herakleia (Ηράκλεια Ποντική - Heraclea Pontica) was founded in the 6th century BC by Greeks from Megara and Tanagra. It became one of the most important commercial and cultural centers in the Hellenic Black Sea. It was believed to have been near one of the entrances to Hades, the very entrance that Hades, the very entrance that Hercules used to enter Hades in his labor of fetching the three headed dog Cerberos. Xenophon in 355 BC, on his way back to Greece, stopped at Herakleia and was shown the place on the Acherusian peninsula (Cape Baba) where Hercules entered Hades.
In 364-353 BC Herakleia was ruled by the tyrant Clearchos who was credited with liberating the serfs and building the first public library. His dynasty stayed in power until 288 BC. His son Dionysios ruled over several cities including Sesamos and Tieum. He was married to [Amastris the founder of Amastris (modern Amasra). In Roman times, Herakleia was an ally of Mithridates Eupator (ca 120-63 BC) and as a result was razed to the ground by the Roman general Cotta. Strabo describes it as a city with a good harbor. The Byzantines built a citadel here. In 1360 AD the town was taken by the Turks but was also used by the Genoese as a trading post. It was later incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. In 1922 its sizable Greek population was forced to abandon their homes, under the Greek-Turkish treaty.
There were many famous people from Herakleia including Heracleides Ponticos (ca 390-310 BC) who was a student of Plato and proposed the Heliocentric system, and Dionysios of Herakleia (c 330-250 BC) who was a stoic philosopher and friend of Zenon, the founder of stoicism.
Eregli the ancient Greek Herakleia (Ηράκλεια Ποντική - Heraclea Pontica) was founded in the 6th century BC by Greeks from Megara and Tanagra. It became one of the most important commercial and cultural centers in the Hellenic Black Sea. It was believed to have been near one of the entrances to Hades, the very entrance that Hades, the very entrance that Hercules used to enter Hades in his labor of fetching the three headed dog Cerberos. Xenophon in 355 BC, on his way back to Greece, stopped at Herakleia and was shown the place on the Acherusian peninsula (Cape Baba) where Hercules entered Hades.
In 364-353 BC Herakleia was ruled by the tyrant Clearchos who was credited with liberating the serfs and building the first public library. His dynasty stayed in power until 288 BC. His son Dionysios ruled over several cities including Sesamos and Tieum. He was married to [Amastris the founder of Amastris (modern Amasra). In Roman times, Herakleia was an ally of Mithridates Eupator (ca 120-63 BC) and as a result was razed to the ground by the Roman general Cotta. Strabo describes it as a city with a good harbor. The Byzantines built a citadel here. In 1360 AD the town was taken by the Turks but was also used by the Genoese as a trading post. It was later incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. In 1922 its sizable Greek population was forced to abandon their homes, under the Greek-Turkish treaty.
There were many famous people from Herakleia including Heracleides Ponticos (ca 390-310 BC) who was a student of Plato and proposed the Heliocentric system, and Dionysios of Herakleia (c 330-250 BC) who was a stoic philosopher and friend of Zenon, the founder of stoicism.
