Μαγνησία ἡ πρὸς Μαιάνδρῳ | |
 ThePropylaea of Magnesia on the Maeander | |
  Magnesia on the Maeander Shown within Turkey Show map of Turkey Magnesia on the Maeander Magnesia on the Maeander (Aegean Sea) Show map of Aegean Sea | |
| Location | Tekin,Aydın Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Ionia |
| Coordinates | 37°51′10″N27°31′38″E / 37.85278°N 27.52722°E /37.85278; 27.52722 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Magnetian andCretan settlers |
| Cultures | Greek,Roman |
| Associated with | Bathycles of Magnesia,Themistocles,Saint Lazarus of Magnesia |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1891–1893, 1984–present |
| Archaeologists | Carl Humann, Orhan Bingöl |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Magnesia orMagnesia on the Maeander (Ancient Greek:Μαγνησία ἡ πρὸς Μαιάνδρῳ orΜαγνησία ἡ ἐπὶ Μαιάνδρῳ;Latin:Magnesia ad Maeandrum) was anancient Greek city inIonia, considerable in size, at an important location commercially and strategically in the triangle ofPriene,Ephesus andTralles. The city was named Magnesia, after theMagnetes fromThessaly who settled the area along with someCretans. It was later called "on theMeander" to distinguish it from the nearbyLydian cityMagnesia ad Sipylum. It was earlier the site ofLeucophrys mentioned by several ancient writers.[1]
The territory around Magnesia was extremely fertile, and produced excellentwine,figs, andcucumbers.[2] It was built on the slope ofMount Thorax,[3] on the banks of the small riverLethacus, atributary of theMaeander river upstream fromEphesus. It was 15 miles from the city ofMiletus.[4][5] The ruins of the city are located west of the modern villageTekin in theGermencik district ofAydın Province,Turkey.
Magnesia lay withinIonia, but because it had been settled byAeolians from Greece, was not accepted into theIonian League. Magnesia may have been ruled for a time by theLydians,[6] and was for some time under the control of thePersians and subject toCimmerian raids. In later years, Magnesia supported theRomans during theSecond Mithridatic War.[7][8]
Magnesia soon attained great power and prosperity, so as to be able to cope even with a challenge fromEphesus.[9] However, the city was taken and destroyed by theCimmerians sometime between 726 BC and 660 BC. The deserted site was soon reoccupied, and rebuilt by theMilesians or, according toAthenaeus,[10] by theEphesians. The Persian satraps of Lydia also occasionally resided in the place.[11]
In the fifth century BC, the exiledAthenianThemistocles came toPersia to offer his services toArtaxerxes, and was given control of Magnesia to support his family.[12]
The word "magnet" possibly derives fromlodestones found aroundMagnesia ad Sipylum, a neighbouring city with a similar name.[13]
In the time of theRomans, Magnesia was added to the kingdom ofPergamon, afterAntiochus had been driven eastward beyondMount Taurus.[14] After this time the town seems to have declined and is rarely mentioned, though it is still noticed byPliny[15] andTacitus.[16]Hierocles[17] ranksit among thebishoprics of theprovince of Asia, and later documents seem to imply that at one time it bore the name ofMaeandropolis.[18] The existence of the town in the time of the emperorsAurelius andGallienus is attested to by coins.
A great quadrennial festival called the Leucophryna (Λευκόφρυνα) was held in the city and people from all over the Greek world gathered there.[19]
Magnesia contained a temple ofDindymene, themother of the gods; the wife or daughter ofThemistocles was said to have been a priestess of that divinity.
Strabo later noted[20] the temple no longer existed, the town having been transferred to another place. The change in the site of the town alluded to by Strabo, is not noticed by other contemporary authors, however some suggest that Magnesia was moved from the banks of the Meander to a place at the foot of Mount Thorax three miles from the river.[21]
The new town which Strabo saw was remarkable for itstemple of Artemis Leucophryene (Ancient Greek:Ἄρτεμις Λευκοφρυηνή), which in size and the number of its treasures was surpassed by the temple ofEphesus, but in beauty and the harmony of its parts was superior to all the temples in Asia Minor:
The temple to Artemis is said byVitruvius[23] to have been built by the architectHermogenes, in theIonic style. Following atheophany of the goddess Artemis in the 3rd century B.C., the temple and the city were recognised as a place ofasylia by other Greek states.[24]
The temples of the city would have been closed during thepersecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire and little remains of either temple today. The site of Magnesia on the Maeander was once identified with the modernGüzelhisar; since then the ruins of a temple to Artemis were found atInck-bazar, and the latter is considered a more likely site.
A further important monument in Magnesia was the stadium in the south-western part of the city with a length of 185,90 meters.[25]
The first excavations at the archaeological site were performed during 1891 and 1893 by a German archaeological team conducted byCarl Humann, discoverer of thePergamon Altar. These lasted 21 months and partially revealed the theatre, theArtemis temple, theagora, theZeus temple and theprytaneion. Excavations were resumed at the site, after an interval of almost 100 years, in 1984, by Orhan Bingöl of theUniversity of Ankara andthe Turkish Ministry of Culture.
Findings from the site are now displayed inIstanbul andAydın, as well as inBerlin andParis. Copies of the portico (pronaos) of the Zeus temple and of a bay of the Artemis temple can be visited in thePergamonmuseum in Berlin. Much of the architectural remains of Magnesia were destroyed long ago by local lime burners. The well preserved remains of the Zeus temple have been destroyed by local residents even after Humann's excavation campaign.
In July 2018, six Greek statues were discovered. Four female, one male and one with unknown gender were unearthed in the ruins of a temple ofArtemis.[26]
Media related toMagnesia on the Maeander at Wikimedia Commons
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