PRIENE

Priene is located side by side to the village of Güllübahçe which is 15 kms. away from Soke, in the southwest corner of Turkey .

Panionion, the political and religious center of Ionia was inside the boundaries of Priene. This has resulted the Priene to become one of the earliest settlement points in Ionia . Still it is not known the exact location of this first city of Priene , but it is suspected to be on the coast of the Gulf of Latmos during the archaic age. It is mentioned by the ancient historians that the city of Priene participated to the Lade sea battle, supporting Miletus against Persians in 494 B.C. Famous philosopher Bias (6th century B.C.), considered to be one of the Seven Sages of antiquity, was known to be a citizen of Priene.

Later in time, as the aluvions coming from the Maender River accumulated in front of the harbour. The city was left too far from the sea port and lost its importance. The new city was constructed in 350 B.C. on the high Mycale Mountains with the help from Athenians and Alexander the Great. Priene fell into the sovereignity of the Romans in 129 B.C. They did not pay enough attention to the city and because of this, never built new buildings on top of the existing ones. Therefore, Priene remained as a very good example of the Hellenistic style architecture until today.

During the Byzantine age (13th century A.D.), the city was abandoned after a major earthquake and a severe malaria epidemic.

THE AGORA

The agora was constracted in the 3rd centruy B.C. It was mainly an open space with the dimensions of 77m x 36m., which was surrounded by a hall with stoas (walk-way, covered by a ceiling on the top and surrounded by columns and shops on sides) on three sides. There were 49 Doric stoas decorating the outer facade and 24 Ionic stoas supporting the roof from the inside. There was an altar for offering sacrifices to god Hermes. The Agora of Priene was an open place for people to meet, celebrate special days and festivals and do commerce like any other Hellenistic city Agoras. The main area at the center and in front of the stoas were full of statues made of bronze and marble, painted to various colours. It was looking very egzotic and charming. There were platforms for people to sit and also the statues to stand. There used to be a separate section for food market. During the second bright period (2nd century B.C.) of Priene, the Agora was surrounded by large buildings. Kolonad was the most important of these buildings. It was built by the King of Cappadocia Ariarathes VI in 130 B.C.

TEMPLES OF PRİENE

THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA

The oldest and the most important building in the city, the temple of Athena was built at the highest spot in the city, 97m. from the sea level. The temple was built in the 4th century B.C. with a major assistance by Alexander the Great. The Carian architect Pytheos, who also built the mausoleum in Halikarnassos which was one of the seven wonders of the world, designed and built the temple.

The temple is obviously one of the most important Ionian architectural examples in Anatolia . The building was consisting of 6 x 11 columns in the Ionian style. The whole building area was 38 m. long and20 m. wide. Local Mykale marble was used for the construction. Blue and red colour was used extensively for decorational purposes.

Temple is open to the east like most of the other temples of this age. An altar (flat-topped platform for sacrificial offerings) was standing opposite the pronaos (entrance section to the cella) from where you enter the temple. A cella (main room) where they keep the statue of Athena was inside the main building. They used to keep the treasures of the temple in the west end of the building.

The temple was devastated by earthquakes.

THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS

The temple was to the east of the agora and the entrance was in the east. The base of the cult statue in the cella was wide enough to accomodate two statues.  Most probably they used to worship two gods in this temple; Zeus and Hera. It was built between 2nd and 3rd century B.C.  The base structure of the columns are identical to the ones in the Artemis temple. The foundations are the only remnants of the temple today. There is a Byzantine castle to the east of the temple.

THE TEMPLE OF KYBLE

The temple was built for Kybele, great goddess of Anatolia . Usually poor people worshiped here. It was not under the official protection of rulers of the city of Priene . Two little statues representing Kybele cult, Kybele and holy animal Lion, were found here.

THE TEMPLE OF DEMETER & PERSEFONE

One of the oldest temples in the city of Priene , dedicated to the goddeses of fertility, Demeter and Kore (Persefone). The symbol of these goddesses, a bunch of wheat are seen on the coins of Priene.

The entrance to the 45 m long and 18 m wide temple was directed to the east. A statue which belongs to nun Timonassa was standing in front of the entry to the temple, is on exhibition at Berlin Museum now.

THE TEMPLE OF EGYPT

The temple which is 47m. long and 31 m. wide was standing on the east side of the city of Priene .   It was built for the Egyptian businessman to worship their gods while they were visiting the Priene. The temple was believed to be dedicated to Isis, Serapis and Anubis. It was mainly an altar (place where sacrifices were offered to the gods).  The temple represents a good quality Hellenistic architectural design.

THE TEATHRE

The theatre was located on the northeast side of Priene. It was built during the Hellenistic times (4th century B.C.). Later on, Romans restructered the theatre in the 2nd century A.D. This alteration changed the whole Hellenistic character of the theatre.

This is one of the oldest theatres in Anatolia . The floor of the orchestra is made of hardened soil. The place for orchestra is surrounded by five marble armchairs with an altar in the middle. The building is 18m long and has 11 pilars with 10 half columns at the front. The theatre was horse-shoe shaped and 5,000 seat swere available for the spectators. The auditorium had 50 tiers, but only bottom 8 remained till today. The elevated altar in the orchestral place had a table shape and during the performances for Dionysos, the offerings were laid on the altar. The theater reached to our time in a well preserved condition.

THE BOULEUTERION

In other words, this was the building for city council meetings. It is well protected and stays behind the Sacred Stoa. The bouleuterion is a rectangular hall with tiers on the sides for 650 people to meet. There are two gates on one side and an altar on the middle of the chamber for offerings to the gods. The roof was covered by wood. The dimensions are 20m x 21m, nearly square in shape. There were an additional 3 tiers of seats forthe guests.

UPPER GYMNASIUM

This gymnasium was built in the 4th century B.C. During the Roman age the original structure was changed quite substantially. We do not have any information about the original Hellenistic form.  It was mainly used for training purposes. During the Roman age the gymnasium was surrounded by new buildings.

THE LOWER GYMNASNIUM

It is located to the south of Priene. It is in a better preserved shape than the upper gymnasium. The main structure is surrounded by a Doric style stoa with the open area in the middle. The northern side is the best preserved.  There are five classrooms to the south of the sports area. They used to teach boxing, wrestling and similiar sports as well as theology in one of these classes. There used to be bathrooms in the gymnasium.

THE HOUSE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

The house was used by Alexander the Great during his seizure of Miletus . The people of Priene declared this house as a holy place during the following years, to the memory of Alexander the Great who contributed to the freedom and well being of Miletus and Priene very much.  It is located to the east of the temple of goddess Kybele. Its internal design was like a standard Priene house. White dresses were worn by the people visiting the house. There was an altar for offering sacrifices inside the building.