Lampsacus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient Greek city located on the Hellespont, the strait connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara in what is now Turkey
2. A classical settlement on the eastern shore of the Hellespont, known in antiquity as a centre of wine production and learning
3. An old Greek town on the Hellespont strait in northwestern Anatolia, later important for its schools of philosophy and rhetoric

Etymology: Lampsacus was an ancient Greek city on the Asian shore of the Hellespont, the narrow strait now called the Dardanelles, in what is today Lapseki in Turkey. Ancient writers attached a founder's legend to the name, but its linguistic origin is uncertain, and no etymology is securely established. The city's reputation came mainly from Priapus, the god of fertility and gardens, whose cult was centred there. Ancient authors often linked the city to his worship, and the god was sometimes called "Lampsacenus" after the place. That association, rather than any trade or politics, is why the name remains familiar to classicists.