Metropolis () is a classical city situated in western

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

near Yeniköy village in Torbali municipality - approximately 40 km SE of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. Occupation at the site Bademgediği Tepe goes back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. In the Late Bronze Age, the city was known under the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

as Puranda. Classical,

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, and Ottoman periods are well represented at the site. It is often referred to as the "City of the

Mother Goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

History

The earliest known settlement at the site is from the

showing evidence of contact and influence with the Troy I littoral culture.

Late Bronze Age

The city seems to be referred to as Puranda in the Annals of Mursilis II which described his invasion of

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...

in the late 14th century BC. According to the Annals, after Mursili conquered the capital of Arzawa, Apasas (later

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

) which was located some 30 km to the southwest, Hursanassan, Surudan, and Attarimman refugees fled to Puranda. The prince of Arzawa, Tapalazunauli, who had fled to the islands during the invasion, entered Puranda to lead the resistance, but Mursili took Puranda and Tapalazunauli fled with his family. Mycenaean remains are also found. Bademgedigi Tepe is the archaeological site in the area with large amounts of local Mycenaean pottery, ranging from the 14th to 12th century BC, and later. A Mycenaean-age representation of a ship on a vase from Bademgediği Tepe is an important find that casts light on the development of ship technology and iconography on ceramic vessels.

Hellenistic Period

Metropolis was a part of the

kingdom of

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

and during this period the city reached a zenith of cultural and economic life. A temple dedicated to the war god

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

, one of only two known such temples, has been located at this site. The city was noted by numerous classical authors including

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, and described as a town in the Caystrian plain in

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

, on the road from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, at a distance of 120 stadia from Ephesus, and 180 from Smyrna. Strabo relates that the district of Metropolis produced excellent wine.Strab., ''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'', XIV i, 15. The town was still noted by Byzantine authors such as

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

and Hierocles. What is visible today is primarily a Hellenistic city heavily Romanised, and with Byzantine remains laid across it – a church to the east of the city, and fortification walls laid across the city that connect to the Hellenistic defenses on the Acropolis.

Excavations

The city was first investigated through

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

field work from 1972 by Professor Recep Meriç from the

Dokuz Eylül University Dokuz Eylül University () (DEÜ) is a Public university, public research university in İzmir, Turkey. Founded in 1982, it is organized into 18 faculties. It holds the distinction of being the first university in Turkey to implement the probl ...

, İzmir. Metropolis has been excavated since 1989. In 1995, archaeologists discovered a

marble seat of honor with

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

s in the Ancient Theatre. The original seat of honor is displayed at the

Archeological Museum and a replica has been placed at the theatre. In June 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of a well-preserved 1,800-year-old

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

statue of a woman standing on a

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

Torbalı Torbalı () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 577 km2, and its population is 207,840 (2022). An ancient Ionian city, Metropolis, is found in the district. It was famous for its wines and religious sites, a ...

district. The head and two arms of the statue were missing.Büyükyıldırım, Oğuz,
1,800 Years Old Woman Sculpture in the Ancient City of Metropolis
', Arkeonews, June 16, 2021

Notes

Bibliography

Books *Aybek, S., Metropolis İonia I: Heykel, Metropolis'de Hellenistik ve Roma Dönemi Heykeltıraşlığı, İstanbul, 2009. *Aybek, S., Ekin Meriç, A., Öz, A. K., Metropolis: A Mother Goddess City in Ionia, İstanbul, 2009. *Aybek, S., Ekin Meriç, A., Öz, A. K., Metropolis: İonia'da Bir Ana Tanrıça Kenti, İstanbul, 2009. *Meriç, R., Metropolis, City of the Mother Goddess, İstanbul, 2003. *Meriç, R., Metropolis, Ana Tanrıça Kenti, İstanbul, 2003. *Meriç, R., Späthellenistisch-römische Keramik und Kleinfunde aus einem Scachtbrunnen am Staatsmarkt in Ephesos, Wien, 2002. *Meriç, R., Metropolis Kazılarının İlk 5 Yılı, İstanbul, 1996. *Meriç, R., Metropolis, İstanbul, 1992. *Meriç, R., Metropolis in Ionien: Ergebnisse einer Survey-Unternehmung in den Jahren 1972–1975, Königstein, 1982. Articles *Herling, L., Kasper, K., Lichter, C., Meriç, R., Im Westen nichts Neues? Ergebnisse der Grabungen 2003–2004 in Dedecik-Heybelitepe, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 58, s. 13-65, 2008. *Meriç, R., “Metropolis”, W. Radt ed. içinde, Byzas 3; Stadtgrabungen und Stadtforschung im westlichen Kleinasien, 2006, s. 227-240. *Meriç, R., “Excavation at Bademgeiği Tepe (Puranda) 1999–2002: A Preliminary Report, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 2003, s. 79-98. *Meriç, R., Mountjoy, P., “Three Mycenaean Vases from Ionia”, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 51, 2001, s. 133-137. *Meriç, R., Mountjoy, P. (2002), “Mycenaean Pottery from Bademgedigi Tepe (Puranda) in Ionia: A Preliminary Report.” Istanbul Mitteilungen 52:79–98 *Meriç, R., Schachner, A., “Ein Stempelsiegel des spaeten 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr. aus Metropolis in Ionien”, Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, XLII/1-2000, s. 85-102.

External links

The Official Site of Metropolis ExcavationsKulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo Metropolis PageFacebook Group of Metropolis Excavations
{{Authority control Tells (archaeology) Archaeological sites in the Aegean region Former populated places in Turkey Greek colonies in Anatolia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Buildings and structures in İzmir Province History of İzmir Province Members of the Delian League Greek city-states Populated places in ancient Ionia Populated places in ancient Lydia Neolithic sites Torbalı District