Temple of Athena

The Temple of Athena, dated to the Subgeometric Period (post late Geometric period), is located in front of the eastern gate of Smyrna Mound, right next to the defensive wall. (Anonymous) It’s known that the worship of the goddess Athena has been practiced in this area since the late Geometric period. The podium of the temple, approximately 20×30 m in size, is constructed with surfaces of processed polygonal and smoothly cut andesite stone blocks. In the 630s BCE, under the influence of the orientalist movement, it was expanded towards both the west and the south by 4.5 meters. Two steps were added to this area, creating a new offering space for the temple. The craftsmanship and wall technique in the expanded section, being considerably smoother compared to the older structure, indicate the wealthier status of the people of Izmir during this period. During this time, the naos was also renovated. The south and west sides of the naos were surrounded by stoas consisting of columns in the Old Corinthian style with cylindrical bases, believed to have had a seated Athena statue, completed with a wooden flat roof and columns. The dimensions of the temple on the podium are approximately 8×18 m. While the dimensions of the Athena Temples in Emproio settlement on Chios (Sakiz) Island and in Erythrai during the 6th century BCE were smaller than the temple in Old Smyrna Mound, the dimensions of the Athena Temple in Neandria were closer to those of the temple on the mound.

With the expansion and growth of the city, the number of people wanting to make offerings to Athena increased. Between 620-600 BCE, two terraces with stoas were built to the south of the temple. Athena Avenue, paved with tufa stone, passes along the front of the temple.

In 600 BCE, King Alyattes of Lydia destroyed Izmir but could not capture it. Despite this, the city continued to prosper in subsequent periods, with houses and shops being built, and the Temple of Athena was reconstructed in a more magnificent manner. The bases of the temple’s columns, standing at a height of 9-10 m, are cylindrical with a diameter of 1 m, while the column capitals come in two varieties: mushroom-shaped and with double vertical volutes.

Although the ancient Izmirians constructed a barricade wall at the entrance to protect the temple, the Persians destroyed the city along with the Temple of Athena in 545 BCE. (Akurgal, 2020, pp. 55-103).

Athena Street

Athena Avenue, identified in excavation research conducted until the present day to have been used between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, is the east-west main street of the city. Starting from the eastern gate and passing in front of the Temple of Athena, the street is connected by numerous streets at almost right angles, presumably changing direction towards the west gate of the city. The west gate of the city opens to the ancient harbor of Smyrna. (Excavation Directorate of Old Smyrna Mound).