One of the most beautiful cities on earth, Istanbul is a source of attraction for tourists for its history, texture surviving from the distant past, and unique beauties. One of the points of this unique city everybody wants to see must be the Estuary called the “Golden Horn” by foreigners.  

Certainly, the only reason why the Estuary where the sea shines like “Gold” during sunrise and sunset, giving it a unique visuality, is called the Golden Horn is not this image that constitutes the background of the most beautiful photographs.  

Do you wonder why this natural beauty adorned with legends, which has become the subject of novels and movies, is called the Golden Horn? Then, you have come to the right place. We would like to explain to you why this region that has the most beautiful scene of the city is called the Golden Horn, the meaning of this name mentioned in folk tales and legends… 

The Supreme God Zeus and His Jealous Wife Hera

The best-known legend related to the name “Golden Horn” naturally goes back to the Ancient Greek gods. Of course, the most-renowned of the Greek gods who live it up at the top of the Mount Olympus and meddle in the daily life of the people down on Earth is the Supreme God Zeus who is also renowned for his emotional affairs. 

There is almost no love story in the ancient Greek myths, which Zeus is not involved in. The adventures of the Supreme God Zeus who sends lightnings to the world when he is angry and his jealous wife Hera, on the other hand, are more like a thriller movie than a love story.

Legend has it that the beauty “Io” is daughter of Inachus, the River God of Argos, and also a priestess of the temple of goddess Hera. The womanizer Zeus sees Io someday and decides to have an affair with this beautiful young woman. Zeus transforms into a white cloud, approaches Io, declares his love to her, and they have an affair eventually. 

Hera who notices that something is wrong as Zeus is nowhere to be found goes ballistic when she has busted his husband with her priestess Io. She transforms Io into a white cow. This is not the only punishment imposed by Hera, of course. She inflicts a horsefly to Io she has just transformed into a cow to avenge herself. Every time this horsefly bites Io, the young girl will flee helplessly. Io who headbutts every way to get rid of the fly breaks lands into pieces and creates deep cracks. The treacherous waters of the Black Sea flow southward through these cracks, and thus emerges Istanbul Strait. This is suggested as the reason why the strait that separates Europe and Asia is called “Bosphorus” i.e. “passage of the cow” in Greek. 

The Estuary created by Beautiful Io’s Horn

One of the places created by Io’s horn strikes is today’s Estuary region. Io comes ashore at the Estuary and gives birth to Zeus’s daughter there. She names her daughter Keroessa, which turns into “keros”, i.e. “horn”, in time. Then, this name is given to the Estuary region by the Megara King Byzas who is Io’s grandson.  

The foreigners who have heard this legend begin to call the Estuary, the region regarded as a place “paved with gold” thanks to its fertile soil, the “Golden Horn”…

This is how the legend explains why the Estuary of Istanbul is called the Golden Horn. You too become our guest in Aspera Hotel Golden Horn in the heart of Pera where the Continents meet; see the Estuary called the Golden Horn for yourself, and you decide if the legends are true.

Our series of articles disclosing the secrets of the Golden Horn from legends to folk tales will be continued…