Teos ( grc, Τέως) or Teo was an ancient Greek city on the coast of

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

, on a peninsula between Chytrium and

Myonnesus Myonessus or Myonessus ( grc, Μυόννησος) was a town of ancient Ionia, located near Teos and Lebedus. It was situated on promontory of the same name. An island also called Myonessus stood offshore. The location is noted for the naval batt ...

. It was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus, Ionians and Boeotians, but the date of its foundation is unknown. Teos was one of the twelve cities which formed the Ionian League. The city was situated on a low hilly isthmus. Its ruins are located to the south of the modern town of Sığacık in the Seferihisar district of Izmir Province, Turkey.

History

Pausanias writes that the city was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus under the leadership of Athamas, a descendant of Athamas the son of Aeolus. Later on they were joined by Ionians and more colonists from Athens and Boeotia. Because it was founded by Athamas, Anacreon also called it Athamantis (Ἀθαμαντίς). Teos was a flourishing seaport with two fine harbours until

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

invaded

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

and

(c. 546 BC). The Teans found it prudent to retire overseas, to the newly founded colonies of Abdera in Thrace and Phanagoria on the Asian side of the Cimmerian Bosporus. The port was revived by

Antigonus Cyclops Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Μονόφθαλμος , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he se ...

. During the times of the Roman emperors, the town was noted for its wine, a theatre and Temple of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. These are positioned near the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

, which is situated on a low hill and had fortifications by the 6th century. A shipwreck near Tektaş, a small rock outcrop near Teos harbour, dates from the Classical period (around the 6th to the 4th centuries BC) and implies trading connections by sea with the eastern Aegean Islands. It was a member of the

n group of the Ionian League, one of the four groups defined by Herodotus, based on the particular dialects of the cities. Vitruvius notes

Hermogenes of Priene Interest in Hermogenes of Priene (late 3rd - early 2nd century BC), the Hellenistic architect of a temple of Artemis Leukophryene (''Artemision'') at Magnesia in Lydia, an Ionian colony on the banks of the Maeander river in Anatolia, has been s ...

as the architect of the

monopteral A monopteros (Ancient Greek: , from the Polytonic: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing') is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a Tholos (architecture), tholos (in its wider sense as a circular buildin ...

temple of

at Teos.

The site today

The modern village of Sığacık is situated close to the ruins of Teos. The interior of what was previously the city has now been intensively farmed, which makes it difficult to excavate the site. Through ploughing, pottery has been brought to the surface of the earth, which has been collected through archaeological survey. An interesting rental agreement chiseled into stone was uncovered in 2016 in the ruins of Teos.

Notable people

* Anacreon the poet, * Hecateus the historian *

Protagoras Protagoras (; el, Πρωταγόρας; )Guthrie, p. 262–263. was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and rhetorical theorist. He is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue '' Protagoras'', Plato credits him with inventing the r ...

the sophist * Andron the geographer * Antimachus the epic poet *

Apellicon Apellicon ( el, Ἀπελλικῶν; died c. 84 BC), a wealthy man from Teos, afterwards an Athenian citizen, was a famous book collector of the 1st century BC. He not only spent large sums in the acquisition of his library, but stole original do ...

, the preserver of the works of Aristotle *

Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...

reportedly grew up in Teos and studied there under Nausiphanes, a disciple of Democritus.

References

External links

Teos Archaeological ProjectsThe Archaeological Investigations At Teos
*
Orthodox Romanian Portal
{{Authority control Ionian League Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Geography of İzmir Province History of İzmir Province Members of the Delian League Greek city-states Populated places in ancient Ionia Seferihisar District

History

The site today

Notable people

See also

References

External links