Priene

Priene

Πριήνη (in Ancient Greek) Prien (in Turkish)
The Temple of Athena, funded by Alexander the Great, at the foot of an escarpment of Mycale. The five columns were erected in 1965–66 from rubble and are 3 metres (9.8 ft) shorter of the calculated original column height.
Shown within Turkey
Alternative name	Sampson
Location	Güllübahçe, Söke, Aydın Province, Turkey
Region	Ionia
Coordinates	37°39′35″N 27°17′52″E / 37.65972°N 27.29778°E / 37.65972; 27.29778
Type	Settlement
Area	37 ha (91 acres)
History
Builder	Theban colonists
Founded	Approximately 1000 BCE
Associated with	Bias, Pythius

Priene (Ancient Greek: Πριήνη, romanized: Priēnē; Turkish: Prien) was an ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of what was then the course of the Maeander River (now called the Büyük Menderes or "Big Maeander"). It was 67 kilometres (42 mi) from ancient Anthea, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from ancient Aneon and 25 kilometres (16 mi) from ancient Miletus. The city was built on the sea coast, overlooking the former Latmian Gulf of the Aegean. It was developed on steep slopes and terraces extending from sea level to a height of 380 metres (1,250 ft) above sea level at the top of the escarpment.^[1] Because of siltation from the river filling the bay over several centuries, the city is now an inland site. It is located at a short distance west of the modern village Güllübahçe Turun in the Söke district of Aydın Province, Turkey.

Priene is known to have been the site of high-quality Hellenistic art and architecture. The city's original position on Mount Mycale has never been discovered; however, it is believed that it was on a peninsula with two harbours. Priene never held a great deal of political importance due to the city's relatively limited size, as it is believed around four to five thousand inhabitants occupied the region. The city was arranged into four districts, firstly the political district, which consisted of the bouleuterion and the prytaneion; the cultural district containing the theatre; the commercial, where the agora was located; and finally the religious district, which contained sanctuaries dedicated to Zeus, Demeter and, most importantly, the Temple of Athena.