I
Ancient Anatolian town northeast of modern Çanakkale, Turkey, on the eastern side of the Dardanelles .
It was colonized с 670 BC by the Milesians (see Miletus ). Xerxes I crossed the strait on a bridge of boats to invade Greece in 480 BC. Abydos is celebrated for its resistance to Philip V of Macedon in 200 BC and for the legend of Hero and Leander .
II
Sacred city, one of the most important archaeological sites of ancient Egypt.
It was a royal necropolis of the first two dynasties and later a pilgrimage centre for the worship of Osiris . The pharaohs, including Thutmose III and Ramses III , embellished the temple to Osiris, and some pharaohs had cenotaph s at Abydos. The temple of Seti I, one of the most beautiful, has helped decode Egyptian history: in a long gallery is a relief, the so-called Abydos list of kings, showing Seti and his son Ramses making offerings to the cartouches of 76 dead predecessors.