- Sestos
Sestos was an ancient town of the
Thracian Chersonese , the modernGallipoli peninsula in EuropeanTurkey . Situated on theHellespont opposite Abydos, it was the home of Hero in the legend ofHero and Leander . Sestos was anAeolian colony, as it was founded by settlers fromLesbos . Her ruins near toEceabat .Xerxes' army crossed at this point on a bridge in
480 BC , and most ofAlexander the Great 's forces went the other way here by boat in334 BC .The Seige of Sestos in 479-478BC (
Persian Wars Period)Some time after the Greek victories (against Persia)at Plataea and Mycale Greek forces under the command of
Xanthippus besiged a the Persian garrison at Sestos from 479-478BC at which time the Greeks conquered the city. As a result Persian influence along theHellespont was significantly reduced, this served the dual goal of denying Persian land forces acesses to the Greek mainland while restoring Athenian trade toBlack Sea ports such as Byzantium.In
1810 Lord Byron swam from Sestos to Abydos in four hours, recreating Leander's feat.
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