city state · Greece and the Aegean

Smyrna

1000 BCE – 133 BCE (approx.) · capital Smyrna

Ancient Greek city on the Gulf of Izmir, a claimed birthplace of Homer, destroyed by Lydia and refounded in the Hellenistic age.

Origins

Old Smyrna, at Bayraklı on the Gulf of Izmir, was settled by Aeolian Greeks c. 1000 BCE and taken over by Ionian exiles from Colophon, probably in the 8th century BCE. It developed into one of the first Greek cities with planned streets and stone walls, and claimed to be the birthplace of Homer.

Rule and society

The city prospered from the fertile Hermus plain. Its temple of Athena is among the earliest monumental Ionian sanctuaries. It was not one of the original twelve members of the Ionian League. Smyrna fought the Kingdom of Lydia, resisting Gyges, but Alyattes destroyed it c. 600 BCE, after which it survived only as villages.

Decline and legacy

Antigonus and Lysimachus refounded Smyrna on the slopes of Mount Pagus c. 300 BCE, and it joined the Ionian League. It sided with Rome against Antiochus III and passed into the province of Asia after 133 BCE, growing into the modern city of Izmir.

Connections (3)

More states of Greece and the Aegean →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Smyrna. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smyrna
MLA
“Smyrna.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smyrna. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Smyrna.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smyrna.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Smyrna’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/smyrna (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻