[Verginius Rufus]

Pontos is Greek for "sea" and is applied to various seas but especially to the Black Sea. A district of ancient Asia Minor was called Pontus. Its heyday was the reign of its most famous king, Mithridates the Great.

[SMARTY]

Right. The people from there call it ‘Pontu’ and emphasize the ‘u’ in pronunciation. It's where all my grandparents are from...the ‘old country’. Of course, when the Romans took it over, they Latinized the pronunciation to, ‘Pontus’.

I have read that, when Alexander the Great got there (about 300 BC), he met Greek-speaking people. So, I know they were there at least that long.

In the end, the Turks took over. Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) threw out all the Greeks and Armenians after WWI.