Greek city of Amisos in Pontus
Bronze 23mm (11.67 grams) Struck under Mithradates VI the Great circa 105-90 B.C. or circa 90-85 B.C.
Reference: HGC 7, 239; SNG Black Sea 1212-1217; Sear 3639; B.M.C. 13.18,61
Head of Perseus right, wearing Phrygian helmet.
Pegasus standing left, drinking; in exergue, ΑΜΙΣΟΥ and two monograms.

Amisos was a flourishing Greek city on the Black Sea coast commanding an important trade route to the south, Amisos was founded in the 6th century B.C. It was re-settled by Athenians in the following century and they renamed the place Peiraeus.

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In Greek mythology, Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans, was the first hero. His exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians. Perseus beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. Perseus was the son of the mortal Danaë and the god Zeus.

Pegasus (Greek Πήγασος/Pegasos, Latin Pegasus) is one of the best known fantastical creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him in the sky.

Hypotheses have been proposed regarding its relationship with the Muses, the gods Athena, Poseidon, Zeus, Apollo, and the hero Perseus.

The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of the poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the 19th century. Pegasus is the subject of a very rich iconography, especially through the ancient Greek pottery and paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance. Personification of the water, solar myth, or shaman mount, Carl Jung and his followers have seen in Pegasus a profound symbolic esoteric in relation to the spiritual energy that allows to access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus.

In the 20th and 21st century, he appeared in movies, in fantasy, in video games and in role play, where by extension, the term Pegasus is often used to refer to any winged horse.

Mithridates VI
King of Kings
Mithridates VI from the Musée du Louvre
Reign	120–63 BC
Successor	Pharnaces II of Pontus
Father	Mithridates V of Pontus
Mother	Laodice VI

Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI (Greek: Μιθραδάτης), from Old Persian Mithradatha, “gift of Mithra“; 134–63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great (Megas) and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia (now Turkey) from about 120–63 BC. Mithridates is remembered as one of the Roman Republic’s most formidable and successful enemies, who engaged three of the prominent generals from the late Roman Republic in the Mithridatic Wars: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Lucullus and Pompey. He was also the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus.

Samsun is a city in northern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea, with a population of over 1 million. It is the capital city of Samsun Province and an important port. Samsun was founded as the colony Amisos (alternative spelling Amisus, Eis Amison – meaning to amisos took the name Samsunta or Samsus (Eis Amison – Samson – Samsounta) as in Greek + ounta “Greek toponomical suffix”. ) by settlers from Miletus in the 7th century BC.

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 History

Samsun’s original name was Enete (from Hitits.) Samsun’s ideal combination of fertile ground and shallow waters attracted numerous traders. Greek colonists settled in the 6th century BC and established a flourishing trade relationship with the ancient peoples of Anatolia. At that time, Samsun was part of the Greek colony of Amisus. In the 3rd century BC, Samsun came under the expanded rule of the Kingdom of Pontus. The Kingdom of Pontus had been part of the empire of Alexander the Great. However, the empire was fractured soon after Alexander’s death in the 4th century BC. At its height, the kingdom controlled the north of central Anatolia and mercantile towns on the northern Black Sea shores.

The Romans took over in 47 BC, and were replaced by the Byzantines after the fall of Rome. In 1200 Samsun was captured by the Seljuks, to be later taken over by the İlhanlılar. Samsun was incorporated into the network of Genoese trading posts and was taken by the Ottomans in the beginning of the 15th century. Before leaving, the Genoese razed the town.

Atatürk founded the Turkish republic movement at Samsun and it served as its base during the Turkish War of Independence.

The city is both an Eastern Orthodox and a Roman Catholic titular see.

 Geography

Samsun is situated between two river deltas which jut into the Black Sea. It is located at the end of an ancient route from Cappadocia: the Amisos of antiquity lay on the headland northwest of the modern city. To Samsun’s west, lies the Kızılırmak (“Red River”, the Halys of antiquity), one of the longest rivers in Anatolia and its fertile delta. To the east, lie the Yeşilırmak (“Green River”, the Iris of antiquity) and its delta.