Νότιον(in Greek) | |
 The Temple of Athena at Notion in July 2025 | |
  Notion Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Notium |
|---|---|
| Location | Ahmetbeyli,İzmir Province,Turkey |
| Region | Ionia |
| Coordinates | 37°59′34″N27°11′51″E / 37.99278°N 27.19750°E /37.99278; 27.19750 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Events | Battle of Notium |
Notion orNotium (Ancient GreekΝότιον, 'southern') was aGreek city-state on the west coast ofAnatolia; it is about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south ofİzmir in modernTurkey, on the Gulf ofKuşadası. Notion was located on a hill from which the sea was visible; it served as a port for nearbyColophon andClaros, and pilgrims frequently passed through on their way to the oracle ofApollo at Claros. There are still remains of the defense walls, necropolis, temple, agora, and theater. The ruins of the city are now found east of the modern town Ahmetbeyli in theMenderes district ofİzmir Province, Turkey.[1]
The earliest reference to Notion is inHerodotus, who includes it among the cities ofAeolis (of which it is the southernmost): "Kyme, which is called Phriconis, Larisai, Neon-teichos, Temnos, Killa, Notion, Aigiroëssa, Pitane, Aigaiai, Myrina, Grynei" (I:149). Its proximity to theIonian city of Colophon needs explanation; we may "suppose either that the Ionian settlers negotiated their rights of passage up to their inland site or more probably that they reached it originally up one of the other river valleys."[2]Robin Lane Fox, discussing the early rivalry between the cities, writes:
Relations between Colophon and nearby Notion were never easy and their bitter rivalry may help to explain the story of a quarrel between the two prophets at Claros. The Aeolian Greeks at Notion had a special relationship with AeolianMopsus, but the Ionian Greeks at Colophon had a special relationship withCalchas. It was, then, particularly appealing for the Aeolian controllers of Claros to claim that Mopsus had outwitted Calchas and caused his death on the site.[3]
H. W. Parke suggests that in the seventh century BC "Claros was in the control of Notion, which must have remained a small Aeolian town dominated by its more powerful inland neighbour [Colophon], but also protected by it against the threat of Lydia. Notion itself was not big enough to send out colonies on its own."[4] Persia conquered Colophon and Notion in the mid-sixth century BC, but they were liberated in theGreco–Persian Wars and joined theDelian League separately (Colophon paying threetalents a year, the smaller Notion only a third of a talent).[5]
During the first years of thePeloponnesian War, Notion was split into factions, one of which called in mercenaries under Persian command; the Athenian admiral Paches ruthlessly restored the pro-Athenian faction to power, "and settlers were afterwards sent out from Athens, and the place colonized according to Athenian laws" (Thucydides III:34). Thereafter it served as an Athenian base. In 406 BC it was the site of the Spartan victory at theBattle of Notium. By the late fourth century BC it was joined in asympoliteia (federal league) with Colophon[6] and "by the Roman period the name of Notion dropped out of use completely."[7]
Archaeological expeditions, carried out in part by theUniversity of Michigan, resumed in 2022. In July 2023, a small hoard of 68 goldpersian darics was found buried underneath the walls of one of the houses.[8] According toChristopher Ratté, one of the lead archaeologists on the expedition, the hoard may have been left by a soldier for safekeeping.
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