The Bosporus Strait has seen human footprints from Paleolithic times. As the only feed into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, the Bosporus is part of the reason the Black Sea is anoxic.
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Much of the Black Sea is deprived of oxygen due to poor water mixing. The top water layer is able to sustain life. Black Sea fauna includes c. 200 species of fish such as tuna, anchovy, sharks, rays, mackerel and sturgeon; well as bottlenose dolphins and 18 species of crab.
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The Bosporus is a natural strait. In Istanbul, Turkey, it connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara leading to the Mediterranean. The Bosporus is a continental boundary between Asia and Europe. It's the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation.
At one time the Black Sea is freshwater, fed by rivers and rain. A natural formation blocks water from the salty Mediterranean. About 5500 BCE, the dam breaks and salt water floods into the Black Sea.
It's thought to be part of overall glacial melt and movement which is described as a huge flood in many cultures. About this time is the warmest of the post-glacial temperatures.
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In the Black Sea, almost all sea life is in the top 100 - 200 m (328 - 656 ft). The deep sea plunges 2 mi (3.2 km) a floor of massive crevasses and cracks. From above, the Black Sea is fed by rain and fresh water. Through the Bosporus, the water is salt and more dense.
Heavy, cold and anoxic, these waters cannot hold life ... or can they?
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Certain bacteria live without oxygen, and these are found in the depths of the Black Sea. Some even create protective slime to help others survive.
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The Bosporus takes its name from Greek mythology and the story of Io. As an object of Zeus's amorous pursuits she makes Hera jealous. Io tries to escape Zeus, but he turns himself into a white cloud and impregnates her.
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Angry Hera turns Io into a white cow watched by giant Argus Panopte of a hundred eyes. Panopte means all-seeing. Hermes (Mercury), sent by Zeus, slays Argus, setting Io free to wander the lands.
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Hera immortalizes the eyes of Argus in the tail of the peacock. She sends a relentless gadfly to torment the white cow until Io crosses the Bosporus Strait. She lands at present-day Üsküdar, which was named Bous 'the Cow' and later Greek Chrysopolis or City of Gold.
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Bosporus (Gr. boos poros) means "cattle crossing" or "ox ford". After crossing the strait Io meets the Titan Prometheus, who assures her she'll be restored to human form by Zeus. She becomes the ancestor of several Greek heroic figures.
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The hero Kadmos (Cadmus) is her descendant, and so is King Minos of Minotaur fame. Greeks Perseus and Heracles descend from Io through her granddaughter Libya. The Ionian sea between the south of Italy and the East Mediterranean coast is named for her.
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To get to the Bosporus, seafaring Greeks of the Bronze Age begin in the Mediterranean. They sail through the world's smallest sea, the Sea of Marmara, and arrive the Bosporus Strait. Marmara means marble, after the stone of its southern island.
Called Propontis by Ancient Greeks the sea is 175 mi (280 km) long and about 50 mi (80 km) across at the widest point. Jason and the Argonauts sail through seeking the Golden Fleece, historically c. 1300 BCE.
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The Argonauts are 50 of the bravest heroes of Greece. They include Heracles; Orpheus; Castor, Pollux and Argos, builder of the Argo aided by war goddess Athena. A typical Bronze Age ship, Argo is a single-sail wood galley with maneuverable sail and room for fifty rowers.
A special sightline from a statue at the ship's prow helps Jason, on the rudder at the back, to navigate. The piece of wood is considered a gift from Zeus. The ship can even be taken apart and rolled on logs over land.
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The Argonauts cross the Sea of Marmara without mishap, except for killing King Cyzicus, only to find Bosporus Strait blocked by colossal floating boulders called the Symplegades, or Clashing Rocks. The rocks guard the entrance to the channel.
The boulders smash together and crush any ship trying to pass between them. Jason and the Argonauts must get through the strait, for the Golden Fleece lies beyond.
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On shore Jason helps a blind prophet, who gives him advice. The prophet tells him to let a dove fly through the pass first. The rocks will crush the bird and Jason and the Argo crew can get through as the rocks pull apart.
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Jason does as directed. The rocks clash together and the bird barely escapes with the loss of some tail feathers. This indignant bird may have had a talk with the warlike Stymphalian Birds of Ares, who dwell on the Black Sea and also show up in the Argonaut adventures.
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As the great rocks pull apart again, Jason and the Argonauts aboard the magnificent ship safely pass through. The rocks then become fixed, clearing the strait for Greeks to access the Black Sea for evermore.
Jason and the Argonauts head for Colchis on the east coast of the Black Sea, in the area of today's Georgia. On the way they have many adventures. At the Isle of Ares, they encounter hostile Stymphalian Birds, man-eating avian monsters with feathers of copper and bronze.
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The Isle of Ares correlates with today's Giresun Island on the Turkish Black Sea Coast. Besides vicious Stymphalian Birds it's known for the tragic tale of love between a princess and a shepherd.
Creatures of battle, Stymphalian Birds are protected by Greek war god Ares. Their feathers hurtle like arrows through the skies. Only by skillful use of their shields do most of the Argonauts avoid grievous injury. In later depictions the birds are often shown as harpies.
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Heracles has encountered these birds before, in his sixth labor for Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, Greece. He tells the warriors to bang on their shields and shout. The noise is enough to frighten the birds, who retreat from the fray.
Eventually the Argonauts arrive in Colchis, a Bronze Age state in today's Georgia. Aeëtes, King of Colchis, won't part with the Golden Fleece. A symbol of authority and Kingship, it's guarded by a dragon who never sleeps. Jason steals it with help of Aeëtes' daughter, Medea.
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Medea, a sorceress, sedates the dragon with narcotic herbs. Once the dragon is asleep, Jason takes the fleece and sails off with Medea, who kills her brother Absyrtus on the way. The story of the Golden Fleece a popular tale by c. 8th century BCE.
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