The Ionian League ( Ancient Greek : Ἴωνες , romanized : Íōnes ; κοινὸν Ἰώνων , koinón Iōnōn ; or κοινὴ σύνοδος Ἰώνων , koinē sýnodos Iōnōn , in Latin : commune consilium ), also called the Panionic League , was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian Greek city-states (a dodecapolis , of which there were many others), and eventually thirteen city-states with the admission of Smyrna . The earliest union of city-states in the area was the Ionian League. The League survived through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, until the 3rd century AD.
16-436: Dodecapolis or Dodekapolis (Greek: Δωδεκάπολις ) refers to a group or confederation of twelve cities. It may refer to: Ionian dodecapolis Aeolian dodecapolis Etruscan dodecapolis See also [ edit ] Decapolis (disambiguation) Pentapolis Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
32-706: The Panionia (πανιώνια). Under Persian rule, activities at the Panionium were curtailed. Writing at the end of the 5th century BC, Thucydides says that the Ionians were then celebrating their festival at Ephesus . Diodorus writes that the Ionians were forced to move the Panionia from the Panionium to Ephesus, because of war in the surrounding area. Under Alexander the Great the games and festival were again held at
48-609: The Ionians, and by anachronism apply it to the early league when they mention it. Under the Roman Empire it was allowed to issue its own coinage under the name koinon Iōnōn on one side with the face of the emperor on the other. The Meliac War was a final settlement between the ancient state of Caria and the Ionians who had been settlers on its land at the mouth of the Maeander for some centuries. Their last stronghold
64-481: The Ionians, asked for admission and entered the League at a later date, being first attested in a decree of 289/8 BC. The league is still attested as having thirteen members as late as the 3rd century AD, but this may reflect tradition more than reality, as due to synoecisms and the fluctuation in importance of the various cities, some were incorporated into others over time (e.g. Myus became part of Miletus). One of
80-465: The Panionium, and continued to be so under Roman rule, without however, regaining their previous importance. The approximate location of the Panionium is given by several ancient writers. For example, Herodotus says it is on "Mycale facing north", and Strabo says it is "after the Samian strait, near Mt. Mycale, as one sails to Ephesus…lying three stadia above the sea". However, the exact location of
96-454: The council chamber is a large cave, although what if any cult function it may have had is unknown. Ancient sources mention sacrifices, but no temple, and none has been found. However, in 2004, the German archaeologist Hans Lohmann, surveying the peninsula of Mt. Mycale, discovered another archaeological site high in the mountains, a settlement and an archaic temple (about mid 6th century BC) of
112-565: The earliest known historical sources, the Histories of Herodotus , and early inscriptions refer to the legally constituted body customarily translated by "league" as "the Ionians" in the special sense of the cities incorporated by it. One therefore reads of the cities, council or decisions "of the Ionians." Writers and documents of the Hellenistic Period explicitly use the term koinon ("common thing") or synodos (" synod ") of
128-559: The festival to which they gave the name of Panionia. The sanctuary was under the control of the Ionian city of Priene , one of the twelve cities comprising the Ionian League. Priene was about 15 kilometres (9 mi) away, on the opposite side of Mt. Mycale. The Prienians managed the sanctuary and presided at the sacrifices and sacred rites. The Panionium was the site of the Ionian religious festival and games ( panegyris ) called
144-407: The hill, 50 m (160 ft) southwest of the altar, is a small theatre or odeum . It is 32 m (105 ft) in diameter, a little bit more than semicircular, with 11 rows of seats, cut into solid rock, and is presumed to be the council chamber for the meetings of the Ionian League. It dates from the 4th century BC, when the Ionian League and the Panionia were revived. Between the sanctuary and
160-624: The meeting place of the Ionian League . It was on the peninsula of Mt. Mycale , about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Smyrna —now İzmir , in Turkey . Herodotus describes it as follows: The Panionion is a sacred ground in Mykale, facing north; it was set apart for Poseidon of Helicon by the joint will of the Ionians. Mykale is a western promontory of the mainland opposite Samos; the Ionians used to assemble there from their cities and keep
176-540: The rising Persian threat, they decided to continue the coalition as the Ionian League, building a new religious and political center at Melia. Delegates ( theoroi ) of the league gathered to celebrate the Panionia , a religious festival and games ( panegyris ) dedicated to Poseidon Heliconius at the sanctuary of Poseidon called the Panionium . The Ionians (who had amalgamated with the Carians) had decided to continue
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#1732776177734192-460: The sea. Wiegand's site has been for many years identified as the Panionion. It was enclosed by a temenos wall, of which one to three courses can still be seen, with an entrance from the west. In the central area can be seen evidence of a 17.5 by 4.25 m (57.4 by 13.9 ft) rectangular stone, presumed to be the altar of Poseidon, dated from the end of the 6th century BC. At the foot of
208-453: The site was lost. A potential clue to the Panionium's location was the discovery of an inscription in the area in 1673. Theodor Wiegand discovered a site at the end of the 19th century, and it was excavated in 1958 by Kleiner, Hommel and Müller-Wiener . It is located 17 km (11 mi) south of Kuşadası , near Güzelçamlı , on the north slope of Mt. Mycale , on the top of a low hill called Otomatik Tepe ("machine-gun-hill"), overlooking
224-617: The title Dodecapolis . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dodecapolis&oldid=1254340024 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Greek-language text Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ionian dodecapolis The twelve ancient city-states were listed by Herodotus as: Smyrna , an originally Aeolic city bordering
240-517: The worship of Poseidon. Eventually, a new temple to the god was erected about 540 BC. (Its ruins and the location of Melia were part of the Lohmann et al. discoveries of 2004; prior to then, other theories of the location had been prevalent.) [REDACTED] Media related to Ionian League at Wikimedia Commons Panionia The Panionium ( Ancient Greek : Πανιώνιον, Paniōnion ) was an Ionian sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios and
256-415: Was the fortified settlement of Melia at the smaller peak of Dilek Daglari on the north slopes of Mycale , where the seat of their worship of Poseidon Heliconius was located. The fort was constructed in the early 7th century BC. Carians and Ionians had been intermarrying for generations but a Carian state persisted until a coalition of Ionian cities defeated it and divided its lands among them. In view of
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