The Black Sea, which washes the shores of several countries, including Russia, was not always called that way. A large role in its cultural development belongs to the ancient Greeks. They called it Pont Euxine. The modern name has little to do with this phrase.
Name history
In Antiquity, the Greeks were the most daring and successful sailors in the Mediterranean. They built reliable ships that transported goods from different countries, thanks to which the economy of policies grew faster than those of their neighbors. Pontus Euxinus, whose modern name is the Black Sea, was also of interest to enterprising colonizers.
The Greeks were separated from the Black Sea by the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. When it had not yet been mastered, few ships dared to go so far north. The first name given by the Greeks to this reservoir sounded like this: Pont Aksinsky. Translated from their language, it meant "inhospitable sea."
What was the reason for such a characteristic? This ancient name of the Black Sea was associated with difficult navigation and the tribes that inhabited its coast - the Scythians. These Iranian nomadsorigins were wild and hostile, they interfered with trade and attacked the colonies. It was because of this that the sea was considered "inhospitable".
However, there is another hypothesis for the origin of this name. The adjective "Aksinsky" could be a tracing paper from the language of the Scythians, in which this word is translated as "black". It was these nomads who gave their sea the name that is now accepted in our culture. The Greeks, having adopted it from the Scythians, could associate the word with the similar-sounding adjective "inhospitable." It is found in the famous book "Geography", which was written by Strabo. One way or another, but discussions about the origin of the name continue among linguists today.
Hospitable sea
Over time, the ancient Greeks adopted the phrase "hospitable sea", or Pontus Euxinus. Its modern name, now used in Greece, is also a translation of "black", and the old one has been forgotten and disappeared from everyday life. In addition, the same Strabo in the books can be found mentioning the Sea, or simply Ponte (although it is less common).
In place of the Greeks came the Romans, and even later the Byzantines. Starting from the 9th century, they began to call the Russian sea. This was due to the fact that it was in its water area that foreign sailors began to appear - the Varangians and Slavs, who brought goods from the northern latitudes: furs, honey, etc. This name eventually spread both in Kyiv and in the West. It lasted until the 14th century. For example, it can be found in the Tale of Bygone Years.
Modern name
After the Russian Sea, it's time for the Black Sea. Since the late Middle Ages and ending today, this name is used in most languages of the world. There is no exact information about its origin. Most likely, it has Asian roots, as evidenced, for example, by the use of this phrase by the Scythians and other nomadic tribes.
Why Black? Asian languages (Turkic, Arabic, etc.) have an entertaining tradition of naming the seas by color. Such examples are spread over different parts of the continental coast: Yellow, Red, etc.
Ancient Greek colonization
During their heyday, the Greeks explored the entire Pont Euxinus. The modern name may have nothing to do with this phrase, but traces of ancient civilization are scattered all over the sea coast.
So, in the south, the main colony of the Greeks was Sinop (today's Turkish Sinop). It was founded by people from Miletus, who liked the narrow isthmus between the mainland and a small peninsula, where there were convenient harbors. There are still disputes about the exact date of the founding of this city. The problem is that historians have few reliable sources at their disposal, and those that do exist can contradict each other.
According to the most common version, Sinop was founded in 631 BC. e. Some researchers in their dating tend to the VIII century BC. e. At the same time, Heraclea Pontica was studied by archaeologists better than others on the southern coast of Pontus. Local populationwas turned into serfs owned by we althy merchants. According to legend, there was a descent into the underworld not far from here, and the river that flowed near the city sent the dead to the kingdom of the dead.
Greeks in the Northern Black Sea region
The southern coast of the Black Sea was mastered by the Greeks better than others, for the reason that in the north the climate was already noticeably different from that which prevailed in the Peloponnese or Attica. In the Crimea and the Caucasus, winters were harsh and wet, which scared the settlers away. In addition, the Greeks feared the Scythians and Taurians, who, according to Strabo, practiced cannibalism.
However, over time, this region also came under the influence of the Hellenes. The Black Sea (as Pont Euxinus is now called) has several estuaries suitable for building a port. One of them is located in the place where the mouths of the Bug and the Dnieper merge (modern Ukraine).
Olvia
It was here that the Milenians built Olbia, the ruins of which still attract tourists. At this point, trade routes leading from various regions converged, because the most marvelous, from the point of view of the Hellenes, goods that were highly valued in the southern markets were delivered here along different rivers. Thanks to this, the Black Sea coast became a real gold mine for merchants, and Olbia quickly got rich.
It was divided into two parts. On the shore, in a lowland, there was a lower city, and on a plateau - a few kilometers from there - an upper one. Since Antiquity, the sea level in this place has risen, and part of the port has gone under water. However, preservedall public places that were located in the upper city. This is the usual Greek agora, sacred groves, etc.
To protect against the Scythians, Olbia was surrounded by fortress walls, which are mentioned in the work of the great historian Herodotus. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of residential buildings here. Most often they were one-room premises, which had a semi-basement structure. This helped the inhabitants to protect themselves from the winter cold. It also kept the hearth warm. The roofs were made of straw.
The history of the Black Sea knows a dozen such colonies that fell into decay after the Ancient Greek civilization was conquered by the Romans.
