Gonio Fortress

Gonio-Apsaros Fortress is located 12 km south to Batumi, on the left bank of the River Chorokhi. One of the ancient settlements of Georgia was located round this fortress. Gonio-Apsaros Fortress used to have a unique strategic importance: it protected the entrances towards the Chorokhi and Acharistskali Gorges which connected inland regions of south-western Georgia with the Black Sea littoral. It is due to such a strategic location that Gonio Fortress became a supporting citadel first for the Roman and later to the Byzantium and the Ottomans along the eastern Black Sea littoral. Respectively, the fortress contains several layers: the Roman layer (3^rd-4^th cc BCE), the Byzantine layer (6^th-7^th cc CE) and the Ottoman layer (16^th c CE). The history of Gonio-Apsaros fortress is closely connected with the myth of the Argonauts. As it is known, the king Aeetes buried his son Apsaros killed by fleeing Jason on the territory of Gonio. In addition, according to some sources, Mathias, one of 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, is believed to be buried here.