Assos
Where is Assos today? Behramkale in Ayvacık, Çanakkale; the ancient port where Paul, coming overland from Troas, boarded ship, with its chapters.
- Today
- Behramkale, Ayvacık, Çanakkale
- Country
- Türkiye
- Status
- Archaeological site: Ancient Assos, Behramkale
- Identification
- Certain
Assos was a port city built on a steep volcanic hill facing the island of Lesbos. Returning from his third journey, after seven days in Troas, Paul sent his companions ahead by ship and chose to go overland himself. They met at Assos, where Paul came aboard, and the voyage continued past Mitylene, Chios and Samos to Miletus (Acts 20:13-15). Although it appears only in this chapter, Assos is one of the Aegean stops on Paul's journey back to Jerusalem. In antiquity the philosopher Aristotle is also known to have lived here for a time.
Read the chapters
Related topics
Related people
- Paul
- Peter
- Barnabas
- Stephen
- Lydia
- Matthew
- Timothy
- John the Apostle
- Philip the Apostle
- Judas Iscariot
- Mark
Related verse collections
- Bible Verses About Salvation
- Bible Verses About Repentance
- Bible Verses About Generosity
- Bible Verses About Witness
Reading plans
- The Early Church Through Acts — 28 Days
- The Bible in a Year — 365 Days from Cover to Cover
- 30 Days with the Gospel — An Introduction to the New Testament
Books
Places in the Bible
Where is Assos today?
Assos is in Türkiye today, at the village of Behramkale in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale. This is the port where Paul, having come overland from Troas, joined his companions' ship (Acts 20:13-14). On the acropolis visitors see the re-erected columns of the Temple of Athena and the 14th-century Hüdavendigâr Mosque; the slopes hold strong city walls and a necropolis, and below, the old harbour lives on as a small stone-built landing.
Why did Paul travel to Assos by land?
The Bible does not give a reason; it only says that Paul preferred to go by land and had arranged it that way (Acts 20:13). The road from Troas to Assos was shorter than sailing around Cape Babakale (ancient Lectum). His companions went ahead by ship and took Paul on board at Assos.