Overview
Giresun Island, lying approximately 1.5 kilometers off the coast of Giresun city in northeastern Turkey, is the only significant island along the entire Turkish Black Sea coastline. In Greek mythology, this remote rocky isle was identified as Aretias — the Island of Ares — where Jason and the Argonauts encountered the deadly Stymphalian Birds during their quest for the Golden Fleece, as recounted in Apollonius of Rhodes's Argonautica.
The island's mythological significance extends beyond the Argonaut legend. Ancient sources describe it as a sacred site where the Amazons — the legendary warrior women believed to inhabit the eastern Black Sea coast — established a temple to Ares, the god of war. This connection between the island and the Amazon warrior cult reflects the broader Greek perception of the southeastern Black Sea region as a wild, martial frontier inhabited by fierce peoples who worshipped martial deities.
"The Amazons sacrificed to Ares on this island, which is a sheer rock, rising from the sea."
— Xenophon, c. 370 BC
Archaeological investigations on the island have revealed remains from multiple periods. A ruined Byzantine monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary sits atop the island's summit, built upon what appear to be earlier foundations. Fragments of ancient walls, cisterns, and ceramic finds suggest habitation or ritual use from at least the Classical period through the Byzantine era. The island's small size — roughly 400 meters long and 150 meters wide — limited permanent settlement but made it ideal as a sacred precinct or defensive lookout.
The island continues to hold cultural significance for the people of Giresun. Each year in May, a festival called Aksu Senligi (also known as the Giresun Island Festival) takes place, involving ritual processions and the throwing of pebbles into the sea — traditions some scholars trace to pre-Christian fertility rites that may echo the island's ancient sacred functions. The festival has been recognized by UNESCO as an element of intangible cultural heritage.
Giresun Adasi (Amazon Island) Giresun Turkey | Dr. Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 3.0)
