Teos was an ancient Greek city located on the western coast of Asia Minor, near Sığacık in the Izmir Province. Founded around the 10th century B.C. by Ionian Greeks, Teos was a member of the Ionian League, a confederation of 12 cities. It was renowned for its wealth and culture and as a centre for arts and philosophy. One of the most significant aspects of Teos was its association with the poet Anacreon, who was famous for his verses on love and wine. The city was also known for its large temple dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and theatre, designed by the famous architect Hermogenes. Throughout its history, Teos experienced various periods of prosperity and decline, influenced by the broader geopolitical changes in the region, including Persian and Roman domination. The city eventually fell into decline during the Byzantine period, and today, the ruins of Teos are an archaeological site that draws interest for its historical and cultural significance.
Getting there: 75km southeast of Çeşme town centre in the district of Seferihisar, close to the small attractive harbour town of Sığacık. 1-hour and 15-minute drive by car Urla-Bademler-Sığacık.
Excavated archaeological findings at Teos (Ancient Greek: Τέως) indicate that the city was founded in the Greek Dark Ages, the Homeric age / Protogeometric period circa. 1,000 B.C. Greek philosopher and one of the seven sages of Greece, Thales of Miletus (c. 624-545 B.C.), proposed in around 600 B.C. that Teos should be the central city of the twelve Ionian cities due to its location. The promotion was rejected, but the commercial relations of the town remained influential in the region and extended to Naucratis, in the Nile Delta, the only Greek colony in Egypt, around 545 B.C. Harpagus conquered Teos, the Median (Persian) general, and significant migration occurred in 543 B.C., with Teians settling in Abdera (present Xanthi, near Kavala) and Phanagoria (present Crimea). Over the following half-decade, Teos recovered and was in 494 B.C. able to contribute seventeen ships to the battle of Lade (between present-day Samos and Didim) during the Ionian revolt 499-493 B.C. Following the Corinthian War, the king’s peace treaty – peace of Antalcidas of 387 B.C. Teos was left as a subject of Persia until 334 B.C. when the city gained its freedom under Alexander the Great. From 281 B.C., the town was part of the Seleucid Empire, and under Attalus I (269-197 B.C.), was part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. On the death of Attalus III in 133 B.C., the kingdom was ceded to the Roman Republic.
The principal god of Teos was Dionysus (god of fertility and wine), and the sanctity of this god increased the city’s dignity. The famous poet Anacreon (570-488 B.C.), poet Antimachus of Colophon (≈400 B.C.), philosopher Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), philosopher Nausiphanes (360-290 B.C.), bibliophile Apellicon of Teos (died 84 B.C) and historian/geographer Hecataeus of Abdera (360-290 B.C.) were all from or studied in Teos.
Poem by Anacreon, “Youth and Age” – translated by Thomas Stanley
When I see the young men play, Young methinks I am as they; And my aged thoughts laid by, To the dance with joy I fly: Come, a flowery chaplet lend me; Youth and mirthful thoughts attend me: Age be gone, we’ll dance among Those that young are, and be young: Bring some wine, boy, fill about; You shall see the old man’s stout; Who can laugh and tipple too, And be mad as well as you.
Anacreon (570-488 B.C.) – translated by Thomas Stanley (1625-1678 A.D.)
The Maxims of Epicurus – translated by C. D. Yonge M.A.
(1) That which is happy and imperishable, neither has trouble itself, nor does it cause it to anything; so that it is not subject to the feelings of either anger or gratitude; for these feelings only exist in what is weak.
(2) Death is nothing to us; for that which is dissolved is devoid of sensation, and that which is devoid of sensation is nothing to us.
(3) The limit of the greatness of the pleasures is the removal of everything which can give pain. And where pleasure is, as long as it lasts, that which gives pain, or that which feels pain, or both of them, are absent.
(4) Pain does not abide continuously in the flesh, but in its extremity, it is present only a very short time. That pain which only just exceeds the pleasure in the flesh, does not last many days. But long diseases have in them more that is pleasant than painful to the flesh.
(5) It is not possible to live pleasantly without living prudently, and honourably, and justly; nor to live prudently, and honourably, and justly, without living pleasantly. But he to whom it does not happen to live prudently, honourably, and justly, cannot possibly live pleasantly.
The Maxims of Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) by Diogenes Laërtius (180-240 A.D.) from “The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers” (Book X) translated by C. D. Yonge M.A (1812-1891). These are only five of fourty-three maxims for the full list see Gutenberg.org pages 474-479
Teos Today
Today, the ruins of ancient Teos are an important Turkish national heritage site, with ongoing archaeological study and excavations. They are open to the public and provide stone walkways, signage, information boards, and rest areas. The natural beauty of the ancient olive trees and other flora and fauna throughout the park complement the allure of the historical restorations. The site has been marked out with four interlinking walks which can be partially or wholly combined: (i) the Temple of Dionysus route – 1.4km (return walk from the visitor centre), (ii) the Theatre & Acropolis route – 1.0 km (return walk from the visitor centre), (iii) the Bouleuterion-Agora route – 0.9km (return walk from the Umay Nine Ağacı olive tree), and (iv) the Grand Cistern, Hellenistic Wall and Harbour route – 2.5km (return walk from Temple of Dionysus). The entire site combined is a walk of approximately 5km. A trip to Teos is an enlightening and satisfying day excursion, especially when mixed with the town of Sığacık, with its Ottoman castle built in 1522 under Parlak Mustafa Paşa and harbour lined with restaurants and cafes.
Hellenistic City Walls (circa 300 B.C.)
The city walls are built of limestone with isodomic (equal height) masonry at a thickness of four metres. The 3.7km length encircles an area of 65 hectares and is preserved fully on the west and south sides of the site and partially on the north and west.
Since 2010, geophysical surveys have been undertaken to locate the walls, gates and towers. The well-preserved eastern portion from the Acropolis to the southern port has at the southeast point the gate identified by an inscribed block as the “Herodot Gate”. To the west of “The Temple of Dionysus” is the “Gate of Dionysus” Gate” with double stairs leading to a tower or terrace, explored in 1924 and 1962. An inscription in the gate notes the cost of building that part of the wall as the equivalent of about 26kg of silver. The inscriptions, historical events, and technical and stylistic comparisons suggest the walls were built between 300 and 225 B.C.
The Temple of Dionysus (circa 200 B.C.)
The Temple of Dionysus (the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy) is the largest structure of Dionysus in Anatolia. Located on the western border of the Hellenistic city walls, the temple is built in three sections in the Ionic order (6th century B.C. architectural style developed by Ionian Greeks), with six columns on its short sides and eleven columns on its long sides similar to the Temple of Athena at Priene 75km southeast of Teos. The temple originates from the early Hellenistic period, either in the last quarter of the 3rd century B.C or the second quarter of the 2nd century B.C and according to D. M. Uz, who studied the temple in the 1980s, the Hellenistic temple was destroyed and rebuilt under the reigns of Augustus (27 B.C. – 14 A.D.) and Hadrianus (117-138 A.D.)
Umay Nine Ağacı Olive Tree (circa 200 A.D.)
One hundred twenty metres east of the Temple of Dionysus is the Umay Nine Ağacı Olive Tree, estimated to be 1,800 years old.
The Theatre (circa 200 B.C.)
The theatre is 350 metres northwest of the Temple of Dionysus, on the hillside rising to Kocakirtepe Hill. It is built in Greek theatre-style cavea, which consists of two parts and preserves only the steps of the lower cavea and the prohedria (seat of honour) blocks. Built on an arched and vaulted substructure, the upper cavea is typical Roman. The multi-storey stage building, which was built in front of the stage building in both the 1960s and the new period excavations, yielded many decorated architectural blocks belonging to the columned façade, the scaenae frons (an elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre stage) and the proskenion façade (front pulpit). These blocks and the pedestals with inscriptions indicate the theatre’s building activities at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. The inscription on the statue base found in the theatre in 1963 calls Tiberius Claudius Philistes the new founder of the city, Athamas.
The Acropolis & the Archaic Temple (circa 750 B.C.)
The Acropolis is 120 metres north of the theatre on Kocakirtepe Hill at 35 metres overlooking both of Teos’s northern and southern ports. The site has two rectangular foundations carved into the bedrock: a late Archaic period temple measuring 7.3 x 37.4 metres and what is considered to be either an altar or Roman building of 9.6 x 18.2 metres.
Although the remains are few, they provide information on the earliest settlement at Teos. In excavations carried out in 1962, materials such as ceramics uncovered date to the late 7th century B.C., as well as the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. archaeological finds between the altar and the temple date to 630-590 B.C. reveal religious use.
Bouleuterion – Senate House (circa 200 B.C.)
The bouleuterion, the assembly house for the council of citizens in the democratic city-state of Teos, is located in the southeast direction of the theatre and east of the Dionysus Temple. It was partially unearthed in 1924, then in the 1960s and 2010. The building had a rectangular foundation plan with a semi-circular seating area of sixteen steps. The cavea (seating sections) are divided into four, with five stairways.
A second-century inscription notes that general school exams for grammar and music were performed in the bouleuterion at that time. Another 200 B.C. inscription notes that the bronze statue of King Antiochos III the Great (241-187 B.C.) was in the bouleuterion. Born in Susa in modern-day Iran, Antiochus was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire of Western Asia, Anatolia, Ptolemaic (north Egypt-Libia) and Macedonia kingdoms. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire before suffering a severe setback towards the end of his reign in his war against Rome. In 192 B.C., Antiochus invaded Greece with a 10,000-man army and was elected the commander in chief of the Aetolian League. In 191 BC, however, the Romans forced him to withdraw to Asia Minor, following up their success by invading Anatolia. By the Treaty of Apamea (188 B.C.) Antiochus abandoned the entire country north and west of the Taurus Mountains.
Agora Temple (circa 150 B.C.)
Little is known about the Agora Temple, which was probably located in the Agora (the central gathering space) to the southeast of the bouleuterion and most likely built in the 2nd century B.C. The temple, created in a southwest-northeast direction, is divided into three parts: the pronaos (a vestibule enclosed by a portico and projecting side walls), the naos (the inner chamber), and the opisthodomos (the inner shrine) with the entrance from the southwest. Only the double-faced blocks of the upper surface of the vestibule wall are currently visible. The temple has a rectangular plan and measures 18.4 metres x 8.1 metres, with the vestibule being 5.5 metres and the inner shrine 2.15 metres.
The Grand Cistern
The cistern was built along an east-west axis in the city’s southwest and approximately 350 metres south of the Temple of Dionysus. The rectangular structure was 47 metres long and 6.8 metres wide, built with rubble masonry and lime mortar, covered with a barrel vault, preserved today only on the eastern part. The inner walls of the cistern were plastered with 10–12 cm thick opus signinum (waterproof Roman concrete using small pieces of broken pots) up to the height of the start of the vault to ensure. The 3-metre-deep cistern could hold at least 542 cubic metres of water.
South Harbour
Teos was one of the important port cities of Ionia and had both a northern and a southern port. The South Harbour is one of the best-preserved ancient ports in western Anatolia. In 2011 and 2012, the ancient South Harbour was surveyed on the land and water, documenting 153 metres of the pier wall. The double wall was built with binding stones, most likely topped by double-faced cornice blocks. Four breaks along the wall provided access to a quay located on the north. The pier is 4.5 metres wide in the west and was widened to 15.4 metres by a right-angle projection to the east, an alteration made possibly to accommodate more boats. The stones for tying up the boats are located on the side of the platform facing towards the shore. Teos owes its wealth to the maritime trade, playing a successful role in the Mediterranean trade. Teos Grey and Africano marble were extracted from local quarries (Karagöl region, 3 km northeast) and exported to Rome.
The North Harbour of the ancient city is located in Sığacık Bay, approximately 1.5 km north of the ancient theatre. No remains of the ancient harbour, abandoned since the 15th century, have survived in this area, possibly because Sığacık Castle (constructed 1521-1522 by Parlak Mustafa Paşa) was built on the remains of the ancient harbour pier.
Port Chapel (circa 1,100 A.D.)
The South Harbour excavations in 2011 yielded an unexpected discovery: a small chapel dating from the 10th to 12th century A.D. The chapel, located at the eastern edge of the port and adjacent to the wall of the breakwater pier, has two aisles and two apses (semicircular recesses, often covered with a hemispherical vault). To the east of the apses are traces of two larger apses, indicating the existence of an earlier and larger church. Built in an east-west direction, the chapel has a rectangular plan with dimensions around 11.4 metres x 5.2 metres.
Research & Excavations in Teos
A British Society of Dilettanti research team came to Smyrna between 1764 and 1765. It published the first volume of the Antiquities of Ionia, focusing on the Temple of Dionysus. Systematic archaeological excavations of Teos first started in 1862, again with the support of the Society of Dilettanti. The research was interrupted during the First World War before resuming in 1921 when French researchers started working on it. They were granted permission to continue archaeological excavations and research in Teos between 1924 and 1925.
The first excavations by Turkish archaeologists were carried out between 1962 and 1967 by the Faculty of Language, History and Geography at Ankara University. To investigate the main structures of the city and its early history, excavations took place in the Agora, on the Hellenistic Wall, on the Acropolis, to the west of the Temple of Dionysus, and 100 metres south of the ancient theatre, the bouleuterion is located. The architect Duran Mustafa Uz opened a few trenches in the Temple of Dionysus between 1980 and 1992. He completed his doctoral thesis on ‘The Temple of Dionysus in Teos’ at Dokuz Eylül University in 1987. From the Middle East Technical University, Numan Tuna took over the studies and conducted short-term surveys in the ancient city between 1993 and 1996. The excavation and restoration works, which started again in 2010, were carried out by Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History – Geography, Classical Archaeology Department Lecturer Prof. Dr Musa Kadıoğlu.
