Teos

Teos, an ancient Greek city located in the Ionia region on the west coast of Anatolia (present-day Turkey), was founded in the 8th century BC during the Ionian colonisation. Strategically situated on the coast, it benefited from its proximity to the sea, becoming a thriving maritime and trading centre. Teos was one of the twelve cities forming the Ionian League, a confederation of Greek city-states established after the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC. Throughout its history, the Ionian city underwent periods of prosperity and cultural development. Teos is home to the largest temple of Dionysus in the ancient world, designed by the famous architect Hermogenes of Priene.

Coordinates: 38° 10′ 38″ N, 26° 47′ 6″ E

Teos was once a thriving seaport along the Ionian coast, boasting two excellent harbours. According to tradition, the city was initially established by Athamas, who brought Minyan colonists from Orchomenus (Paus. 7.3.6). They were followed by Ionians (when the city was re-founded by Nauklos), Boeotians (with Geres as founder) and Athenians (with Apoikos and Damasos as founders). Teos was a member of the Panionium, an Ionian sanctuary devoted to Poseidon Helikonios located on Mount Mycale and the gathering place of the Ionian League. The city developed rapidly and soon reached the stage where colonists from Teos settled in Phokaia (Phocaea). When the Persians seized the cities of Ionia in 546 BC, some of Teos’ inhabitants abandoned their hometowns. They established significant colonies at Abdera in Thrace and Phanagoreia on the Asian side of the Bosporus, while they participated in the establishment of the Greek trading station at Naukratis in Egypt.

Greek Expansion in the Ancient Aegean.
Map created by Simeon Netchev for World History Encyclopedia (link).

Teos took part in the Ionian Revolt against Persian rule (499-493 BC), which led to the Greco-Persian Wars and the first invasion of Greece. After its liberation from Persian domination, Teos joined the First Athenian League and remained a member until 412 BC. Later, the city became a part of the Delian League and paid an annual tax of 6 talents, demonstrating Teos’s thriving economy at that time.

After the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), Teos came under Spartan and Persian control. The Persian rule was eventually overthrown with Alexander the Great‘s conquests. During the Hellenistic period, Teos flourished as a cultural and economic centre. According to Strabo (14.644), a sanctuary dedicated to the Macedonian king was founded in Teos, and a festival known as the Alexandreia was held there. When the kingdom of Alexander fell, the city was successively occupied by Antigonids, Seleucids, and Ptolemies.

In 190 BC, the allied Roman and Rhodian fleets defeated the Seleucid navy of Antiochus III, commanded by Hannibal, in the bay of Teos. As a result of the defeat, the city of Teos, which stood on Antiochus’ side, surrendered to the Romans. Through the Peace of Apamea of 188 BC, the Kingdom of Pergamon gained control of the city. From 129 BC onwards, Teos became part of the Roman province of Asia.

Teos was renowned for its production of wine, olive oil, and marble. This contributed significantly to its wealth and influence in the region. It was also a centre of artistic and intellectual activity, attracting poets, philosophers, and artists from across the ancient Greek world. Anacreon, the famous poet, who makes an interesting appearance on the provincial Roman coinage (see here), hailed from Teos, while Epicurus reportedly studied in the city for three years. In the Roman period (late 1st century AD), Tiberius Claudius Philistes was the most eminent Teian citizen. He was honoured as the ‘new Athamas’, the first mythical founder of the city (see here). Philistes served as priest of Dionysus and held several other official positions in Teos. He spent most of his wealth on public benefactions.

The ruins of ancient Teos can still be visited today, offering a glimpse into the city’s rich history and legacy as a prominent Ionian city in antiquity. The ruins include a harbour, temples, an Agora, a bouleuterion, and a Hellenistic theatre located at the foot of the Acropolis. The Temple of Dionysus is the most significant building in Teos and was the largest temple dedicated to the god of wine in the ancient world, measuring 18.50 meters by 35 meters. The temple was also associated with the celebrated synod, an organisation of actors related to the cult of Dionysus, who established their headquarters in Teos in the late 3rd century BC.

Reconstructive drawing of the Temple of Dionysus at the ancient city of Teos (1782).
CHOISEUL-GOUFFIER, Gabriel Florent Auguste de. Voyage pittoresque de la Grèce, Paris, J.-J. Blaise M.DCC.LXXXII [=1782].
The Temple of Dionysus was built in the Ionic order, entirely of marble. It had eleven columns on the longer side and six on the shorter side. Hermogenes was mentioned as the architect of the temple in Vitruvius’ Ten Books on Architecture (III.3.6-8, IV 3.1). The temple was constructed in the last quarter of the 3rd century BC, as indicated by an inscription related to Antiochus III. However, the Hellenistic temple was destroyed, possibly due to an earthquake in 14 BC. It was later reconstructed twice, first during the reign of Augustus and later during the reign of Hadrian, possibly after another earthquake in the mid-1st century AD. A fragmentary inscription on an architrave (Teos 76) to Hadrian’s responsibility for restoring the temple towards the end of his life. The emperor visited Ionia in AD 124, 129, and 131; thus, the decision to restore the temple at Teos was likely taken during one of these visits.

Αὐτοκράτω[ρ Καῖσαρ]| Θεοῦ Τρ|[α]ϊαν|οῦ Πα|[ρθικοῦ υἱ]|ὸς Θεο|[ῦ Νέρου]|α υ[ἱωνὸς Τραϊανὸς Ἁδριανὸς Σεβαστὸς Ὀλύμπιος Πανελλήνιος —]
Παν[ι]ώνιο[ς ἀρχιερεὺ]|ς μέγι|[σ]τος| δημ|[αρχικῆς ἐξου]|σίας| [τὸ ․, ὕπατ]|ος τ̣|[ὸ —]

Some of the columns of the Temple of Dionysus have been restored, while parts of the relief frieze and an acroterion are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Izmir.

The reliefs from the Temple of Dionysus in the garden of the Izmir Archaeological Museum.

Another temple, located in the agora, was dedicated to the goddess Roma and the emperor Augustus. During excavations in the southeast corner of this temple, a marble portrait head of Antinous was discovered. This discovery could be related to the imperial cult or to the Emperor’s last visit in AD 131 (Kadioğlu, 2022).

PORTFOLIO

The “Gate of Dionysus” is a well-preserved section of the Hellenistic City Wall. The Hellenistic walls were 4m thick, composed of a double circuit built of local limestone in isodomic masonry. The wall was c. 3.8 km long and encircled an area of 65 hectares, with twelve towers identified in the recently undertaken geomagnetic survey.
The West Temenos wall of the Hellenistic Sanctuary of Dionysus. The temple was constructed between the last quarter of the 3rd century BC and AD 120-138.
The Temple of Dionysus was built on the western border of the ancient city, in the Ionic order, at the centre of a trapezoidal temenos. The temenos was surrounded by four stoas: two Doric (north and
south) and two Ionic (east and west).
The Temple of Dionysus was a peripteros structure with six columns on its front and back and eleven along its sides, which rose from a stylobate measuring 18.5m x 35m.
The Sanctuary of Dionysus (view from the south temenos).
Considered by Vitruvius to be the work of Hermogenes, the hexastyle peripteral temple in Teos was described by Vitruvius as having been completed according to the eustyle principles. However, most Ionic capitals are Roman reinstalled in Hadrian’s rebuilding. Some acroteria are also Hadrianic.
The cella of the Temple of Dionysus consisted of three sections: a deep pronaos, a naos, and a narrow opisthodomos.
An Ionic column from the Temple of Dionysus.
Dionysian frieze in the Izmir Archaeological Museum.
Dionysian frieze in the Izmir Archaeological Museum.
The Propylon of the Sanctuary of Dionysus. The structure was probably built during the reign of Augustus, as suggested by the Latin inscription dated 3 BC.
The Roman Propylon of the Sanctuary of Dionysus.
Fragments of columns from the Sanctuary of Dionysus.
The theatre of Teos is located on the south-eastern slopes of the Acropolis. The structure is oriented to the southeast. Although it is built according to Greek traditions, nothing dating to the pre-Roman period has been found.
The seating steps of the lower cavea were built in opus incertum, and the upper cavea was constructed on a vaulted substructure.
The decorated architectural blocks of the scaenae frons (stage building) and the facade of the proscaenium, as well as the column bases with inscriptions, point to building activities at the end of the 1st century AD (Flavian period).
Inscriptions honouring Tiberius Claudius Philistes of Teos (the new Athamas), who spent most of his wealth on public benefactions. One of these statue bases was found in the theatre.
The Bouleuterion was built towards the end of the 1st century AD. Located in the northwest corner of the agora, the bouleuterion is the best-preserved building in the ancient city.
The Bouleuterion was built on a flat area and rested on 1 m thick walls made of squared stone ashlars. It comprised a cavea with seventeen rows of seats made of grey Teos marble, an orchestra, and a low proscaenium/pulpitum (stage).
The Bouleuterion was enclosed in a large rectangular building (33.05 x 21.90 m) accessed from the east by two monumental doors, one to the north and the other to the south.
A door opening in southern end of the analemmata, which lead, via a staircase, to the upper seats of the cavea.
Architectural fragments in front of the Bouleuterion.
The Temple of Rome and Augustus in the agora. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Roma and Augustus (as suggested by a building inscription on the architrave Θεᾶι Ῥώηι καὶ Σ[εβαστῶι]), was a peripteral temple with 6 × 12 columns in the Corinthian order. Excavations in the southeast corner of this temple yielded a portrait head of Antinous.
The portrait of Antinous from Teos.
The Agora. Very little is known about the agora of Teos, which was at the centre of the social and political life of the city.
The Acropolis. The Acropolis of the ancient city’s was located on a rocky hill, dominating the North and South Harbours. Today, traces of the structure called the Hekatompedon can be seen on the Acropolis, as well as a possible altar to the east of it, and the terrace wall confining the Acropolis to the east.
The Southern Harbour with traces of the ancient piers.
The south harbour is one of the best preserved ancient ports in western Anatolia.

Links:

Source:

  • Kadıoğlu, M., (2022). A new Antinous portrait from Teos. ASIA MINOR , no.2, 55-65.
by Categories: Ionia 2 Comments

2 thoughts on “Teos”

  1. Beautiful job! Love these reports, so detailed, yet also so simple and clear. The photography is especially gorgeous (as usual!). Thanks,

    Dr. Richard J Gibson, Brevard NC

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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