From an ‘inhospitable’ sea to a ‘hospitable’ one

‘The “Hospitable Sea” (Pontos Euxeinos) is a mockery of its name!’, railed the Roman church writer Tertullian. According to ancient views, the Black Sea – or ‘Dark Sea’ – lay on the periphery of the Greco-Persian-Roman world, far removed from civilisation. On the contrary, the Black Sea region harbours an immense variety of fascinating archaeological artefacts. Numerous powerful trading cities in what is now northern Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have shaped the continuous cultural and economic flourishing of this vast region over millennia, right up to the present day.