Priene ;

The ruins of the Ionian city Priene are located on the slope of the Mykale mountain on the road to Didyma. It provides a wonderful observation point on the plain where the Meander river runs towards the Aegean Sea. Priene also offers an excellent practical lesson in archaeology and history. The main result of the visit in Priene is with a literary reading dedicated to this city: nothing is clear here. The real name of the city, Kadme, was founded by the Carians and was located in a different place on the shore of the Aegean Sea.

Priene in Mythological Times

According to the old tradition, Priene was founded by Aepytus, the son of Neleus, the founder of Miletus, and the grandson of Neleus, the king of Athens. He chose the previous Karian settlement called Kadme. The founding partner of the colony was Philotas from the Greek city Thebes. There was another belief that the original settlement was founded by the Amazons such as Gryneion and Pitane (modern-day Çandarlı).

Greek Colonialism and Persian Domination

The arrival of the Greek colonists and the establishment of Priene is around 1000 BC. researchers believe that the settlement is near the ancient Aneon (currently near the town of Söke). Priene's first deportation took place in 700 BC, and the urge to do so was a series of earthquakes. The settlement was then moved to a location about 8 km from the last location of the city of the 4th century BC.

Priene was of great importance from the time of uniting the Ionian colonies in Asia Minor, called the Ionian League, that is the alliance of the twelve towns. It hosted meetings and events held in a place called Panionion. The only reminder of the town's history, which has been preserved from that time, is one of the electrum coins, printed from the alloy of gold and silver and decorated with similarities of the goddess Athena. It was held at the beginning of the 6th century BC.

Priene's most famous inhabitant of this history was Bias, who, like Milet Thales, was considered one of the Seven Islets of Greece. He earned a reputation as an expert lawyer, a thinker, author of the Ionian poem and, above all, a man with a good heart and a remarkable sense of justice. The most frequent repetition is: "Everything I have, I carry it on me" - this means that true human value lies in the interior of people.

It is known that the inhabitants of Priene participated in the lost sea war with the Persians in Lade in 495 BC and sent 12 ships to war. The further history of the town followed a similar path with other cities in the Ionian region. After a period suppressed by the Persians caused by the revolt, the Ionian settlements came under the sovereignty of Athens. Then Priene became a member of the Delian League. Just before Alexander the Great came to Asia Minor, Priene was ruled by the famous Halicarnassus Mausoleum appointed by the Persians in the satrap of the region. Mausolus was responsible for moving Priene to its familiar location on the slopes of Mt. Mykale. He hoped it would be a permanent solution with access to the excellent Naulochos port below.

Athena Polias Temple

The most important building that can be seen during the Priene visit is the temple of the goddess Athena Polias. BC using funds provided by Alexander the Great. It was built in 335 and was originally dedicated to it. The main architect responsible for its construction was Pyteos, who participated in the construction of the Mausoleum in Halikarnas, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The temple once contained a copy of the statue of Athena, the goddess of Athens Parthenon, built in the 2nd century BC. Its appearance is known from the coins minted in Priene during the Roman period. Archaeologists found only the left foot and left arm of this statue. On this basis, it was estimated that the statue was 6.5 meters high, that is, the original was half the height from Athens.

Architecturally, the temple of Athena was a hexotrop with six to eleven columns. It is also defined as a peripteros, as it is surrounded by a single row of columns from the outside of the building. It was built in Ionic order and is considered the classic model of Ionic architecture. Architect Pyteos reportedly wrote a book explaining how he applied the rules to create this architectural design.

The five columns on the north side of the temple were re-erected in the 60s of the 20th century and created a unique landscape as a background with Mount Mykale. Unfortunately, an element base was forgotten during reconstruction, so the columns are now lower than those that adorned the temple. The foundations of the altar of the temple have been preserved in its original location and part of its base is in the Istanbul Archeology Museum.

The floors of the temple are now filled with various architectural pieces, and their size and quantity give us an idea of ​​the scale and grandeur of the building.

Zeus Olympios Temenoses

The quarter of the city devoted to Zeus Olympios was on the east side of the Agora. Only the foundations that once stood here from the temple and the altar were preserved. The reconstructions made on the basis of the parts of the buildings show the strong influence of the architectural style of Pyteos. However, there are also differences, for example, greater space between the columns. The width of the floor in the central part of the temple shows that two statues of god stood there, most likely accompanied by Zeus, his wife, Hera.

Bouleuterion ve Prytaneion

Bouleuterion is one of the best-preserved buildings in Priene. It was built on a 20-meter long square plan. In the middle of the altar, it was in the form of a room surrounded by rows of steps on three sides surrounded by rows of seats. On the north side, there were 16 rows of seats and the east and west sides - only ten rows available. In total, 640 people could sit in the hall at the same time. The double entrance was located in the south, and there was also a lectern on this side. Everything was once covered with a wooden roof. The altar in the middle of the Bouleuterion is carved out of a single marble block, decorated with carved busts of god and bullheads (i.e., bucrania) all around.

Priene senate meetings were held in Bouleuterion, and members of the city government elected from the senators gathered in the neighbouring Prytaneion. It was an administrative and spiritual centre of Priene, where an eternal flame burned. The establishment of both buildings dates back to the middle of the 2nd century BC.

Demeter Temple

One of the oldest places of worship in Priene is dedicated to the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone. In the cult area was the temple with a sacrificial pit surrounded by sculptures, priest houses and grotesque figures. When the Greeks sacrificed their underground gods, including Persephone, instead of burning animals at the altar, they poured their blood into such a hole.

Alexander the Great House

One of the houses in the northwestern part of the city is known as the house of Alexander the Great. In fact, it was a place of worship, as evidenced by the inscription that the entrance to the building was given only to people dressed in white. The building consists of a large courtyard, a three-column hall and many small rooms.

A marble statue depicting Alexander the Great was found in the building area. It is still in Berlin. This shows that Alexander was worshipped in the sanctuary. No wonder this fact, as Alexander has allocated a significant amount of money for the construction of the Temple of Athena in Priene. It is also thought to have lived in the building during the siege of Miletus in 334 BC, so this place was later established as a sanctuary.

Travellers with a considerable amount of time and sufficient physical condition may be tempted to climb the acropolis rising above the Priene. It has amazing views of the surrounding countryside, including the Meander River delta.

Theatre

B.C. Priene Theater, built in the 3rd century, is one of the best-preserved examples from the Hellenistic period in Anatolia. The semi-circular and 6,500 person audience area was built on the slope as usual in this period.

The stage building (Skane), an independently built building, was a background for the plays on display in the semicircular space (Orchestra) in front of it in the early stages.

Five marble seats, decorated with ivy leaves, stand out right on the edge of the orchestra. These protocol seats (Phohedria) are dedicated to the god Dionysus as a donation of an Agonethes (official officer responsible for organizing festivals). In the middle of the first seating row, the god of theatre Dionysos has an altar that is now standing up again. Because the ancient games were always held in honor of Dionysos and were linked to the presentations to God.

B.C. in the 2nd century, the plays in the theatre were moved up from the orchestra section onto the stage supported by half-columns (Hyposkene). This application is simultaneously built a bench for the protocol in the middle of the fifth seating row. Thus, distinguished guests were able to watch the games with the best viewing angle. The area, which remained empty in the Orchestra section with the change of the location of the theatre performances, was used for the honor sculptures whose written bases are still visible today.

Residential Houses

Residential houses in Priene are often compared to residences from the island of Delos and Pompeii, both in terms of their protection and size and beauty. It represents the characteristics of most early Hellenistic periods.

The walls of the houses are built of small stones, sometimes with the addition of sun-dried bricks at the top. The most carefully constructed walls of the houses are located along the main street of the city. The rooms are up to 6 meters high. In some cases, it can be concluded from the pieces of stairs that some houses are two-story buildings.

Some houses had shuttered windows and their inner walls were covered with plaster imitation marble. The interiors are illuminated with olive oil lamps and decorated with terracotta figurines. In one house there was a bathroom with a clay bathtub, the dimensions of which allowed a dip in the sitting position.

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