Magnesia on the Maeander

Overview

Inland from Ephesus, farmland fills the flat valley of the Maeander. Beside a village road, a long hollow stadium curves along a hillside, and in the grass beyond, giant blocks of carved marble lie where they fell. Yet this was Magnesia on the Maeander, a city whose temple Strabo thought more beautiful than any other in Asia. For both cities in one day, join our Alinda and Magnesia tour.

The Story of Magnesia on the Maeander

Settlers from Magnesia in Thessaly founded the city with some Cretans, and so they gave it their homeland’s name. Later, people added “on the Maeander” to tell it apart from another Magnesia near Manisa. Its land was rich, and it was famous for wine, figs and cucumbers.

A gift for Themistocles

In the 7th century BC, Cimmerian raiders destroyed the city, but it rose again. Then, in the 5th century BC, came its most famous resident. Themistocles, the Athenian hero of the battle of Salamis, fled to Persia in exile, and the Persian king gave him Magnesia to support his family. Tradition has it that his wife or daughter served as a priestess here.

An epiphany of Artemis

Later, in the 3rd century BC, the people reported that the goddess Artemis had appeared to them. As a result of this vision, other Greek states recognized the city and its temple as a place of sanctuary, and every four years a great festival drew visitors from all over the Greek world.

The Temple of Artemis at Magnesia on the Maeander

The architect Hermogenes designed the great Ionic temple of Artemis Leukophryene. Strabo wrote that it was smaller than the temple at Ephesus, but in the harmony and skill of its sacred enclosure it was far superior. Besides, only the sanctuaries of Ephesus and Didyma were bigger. For Didyma itself, see our Didyma tour from Bodrum.

A temple scattered across Europe

In 1891 to 1893, the German archaeologist Carl Humann, who had found the Pergamon Altar, dug here for 21 months. So today pieces of Magnesia are in Istanbul, Aydın, Berlin and Paris. For example, a long battle frieze of the temple hangs in the Louvre, and copies of temple fronts stand in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

The lime burners

Unfortunately, local lime burners destroyed much of the marble over the centuries, and even the Temple of Zeus, well preserved when Humann found it, later vanished. Finally, in 1984, Turkish archaeologists under Orhan Bingöl began to dig again.

What to See at Magnesia on the Maeander

First, walk the long stadium in the southwest of the city. Find the fallen temple of Artemis and the agora beside it. Look also for the theater and the town hall that Humann uncovered.

Tips for visiting Magnesia on the Maeander

How to Visit Magnesia on the Maeander

The ruins lie west of the village of Tekin in the Germencik district of Aydın Province. In the same district, Ionia Guest House has four rooms in a house of straw bales and timber, built by its owners. Access to Magnesia changes, so we confirm it before the day.

Then combine it with Ephesus, the hillside city of Priene and the Roman city of Nysa further up the valley, where our Nysa tour visits the theater and the library.

Magnesia on the Maeander on a Private Tour

Our Alinda and Magnesia tour brings you here from Kuşadası or Selçuk, with your own guide and driver. Your guide shows you the marble stadium, built for the games of Artemis, with inscriptions and reliefs on its podium. Then you drive on to Alinda, the city of Queen Ada, for its market hall and theater. The stadium of Artemis first, Queen Ada’s city after: send us your day from Kuşadası or Selçuk.