Aenus (Thrace)
| Enez | |
|---|---|
 Enez
|
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| Coordinates: 40°44′00″N 26°04′00″E / 40.73333°N 26.06667°ECoordinates: 40°44′00″N 26°04′00″E / 40.73333°N 26.06667°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Edirne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmet Çayır (DSP) |
| • Kaymakam | Fatih Baysal |
| Area | |
| • District | 438.18 km2 (169.18 sq mi) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Urban | 3,723 |
| • District | 10,516 |
| • District density | 24/km2 (62/sq mi) |
| Website | www |
Enez is a town and a district of Edirne Province, in Thrace, Turkey. The pre-Turkish name of the town was Ainos (Greek: Αἶνος), Latinized as Aenus.
The mayor is Ahmet Çayır (DSP). The population is 3,826 as of 2010.
The town is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Hebrus, where its estuary broadens to flow into the Gulf of Saros, the ancient Melas Gulf, and so into the Aegean Sea. Enez occupies a ridge of rock surrounded by broad marshes. In ancient Greek times, it lay on a land route for trade from the Black Sea to the Aegean and was a port for the corn, wood and fruit produced in eastern and central Thrace.
The mythical and eponymous founder of the ancient Greek city of Ainos/Aenus was said to be Aeneus, a son of the god Apollo and father of Cyzicus. Another mythical ruler, named Poltys, son of Poseidon, entertained Heracles when he came to Aenus. On that occasion, Heracles slew Poltys' insolent brother Sarpedon on the beach of Aenus. According to Strabo, Sarpedon is the name of the coastline near Aenus, so both Poltys and Sarpedon would appear to be eponyms.
Presumably because of the similarity of the names, Virgil has Aeneas found the city after the destruction of Troy. A surer sign of its antiquity is in the Iliad, where Homer mentions that Peirous, who led Troy's Thracian allies, came from Aenus.
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Wikipedia