The Ancient City Of Priene

The Ancient City of Priene

Temple of Athena

Ancient city of Priene is not among the most visited sites in Turkey. For history lovers, it is a major source of information about ancient Greek town planning and its best example, and other visitor are always surprised when they see how well preserved the site is. Priene is located on the slope of Mykale mountain, in the Aegean region of Turkey. As it is very close to the ancient city of Miletus and the Apollo temple in Didyma, travelers can visit these three sites during a typical daily tour.

Hellenistic Theatre

  According to historians, before the Greek  arrived to Priene area, there had already been an earlier settlement, but we do not know its original location, as it was probably covered by the sediments brought by the Meander river. One of the Seven Sages of Greece, well know philospher Bias who lived in the the 6th century BC, was the most famous resident of Priene. After the period of Persian domination, Priene became of of the twelve Ioanian cities. The city was moved to its actual location in the 4th century BC and was under construction when Alexander the Great came to Asia Minor. The construction of the Temple of Athena Polias, one of the highlights of the site, was supported by the donations of Alexander. The city was planned according the hippodamus plan, with smaller streets crossing the main ones at right angles. In the Hellenistic period Priene was a small city with with a population of 6000 inhabitants. It lived its cultural golden age in the 3rd and 2nd century BC, but did not have  great political importance. After Romans took over the rule in the area, it remained a typical

Seats in the theatre

Hellenistic city, as Romans were not interested in rebuilding it according to their own standards. Later, in the Byzantine period, it became a bishopic center. The Turks conquered the area in the 13th century.

Church

   Beautifully located on the hillside, overlooking the fertile flat expanse and hidden among the pine trees, Priene exceeds visitors expectations. When you arrive to the parking lot, after a short walk up the hill, the first impressive details are a well preserved retaining wall and a stairway that leads to the main area. All that you know about grid city plan in antiquity comes to life in this city. You can see bouleterion and prytaneion in the administrative district, agora, open market and houses in the residential district, but the highlights are the theatre and the temple. The theatre is in a great condition, and it is attached to a church by a passage, so it takes only few steps to travel in time – from the 4th century BC to the 5th century AD. The Temple of Athena Polias occupies the highest point of the site so you can get a very nice view of the valley. Its base is completely preserved as well as some of the columns. From there, you can proceed to lower area of the city to see the house of Alexander the Great and the sinagogue in the residential district.