CIDADE DE SMYRNA
Smyrna Agora was founded in late 4th Century BC, immediately after the reign of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Nestled in modern-day İzmir’s historic city center’s core, it is one of the largest agoras in the world that witnessed the Roman Empire.
According to Pausanias, “Alexander, the son of Philippos, founded the present city after a dream. Rumour has it he was hunting atop Pagos Hill. On his return from the hunt, he arrived at temple of the Nemesis, and decided to take a nap under a tree that had grown out of the spring in front of it. Nemesis came in a dream and commanded him to build a city here, and relocate the people of Smyrna there.” He then adds, The Smyrnians sent envoys to Claros (Apollo) to learn what he thought about the situation. This time, God answered, “Those to dwell in Pagos beyond the sacred Meles shall be happy beyond their wildest dreams.”
Smyrna Agora located in the heart of historical city center of İzmir, Smyrna Agora is one of the world’s largest of its kind. Excavation work on the site first began in 1933. In 2007, Assoc. Prof. Akın Ersoy (of İzmir Katip Çelebi University) and his team of archaeologists revisited the Agora and have remained there ever since – with permission of the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism. So far, they have uncovered a west portico, a basilica, a Bouleuterion, a mosaic hall, a roman bath, and a building from the Ottoman era that surrounds its courtyard.
It was founded at the end of the 4th Century BC immediately following the reign of Alexander the Great. It served as Smyrna’s administrative, political, and judicial centre, as well as main hub of commerce and trade. Surrounded by porticos, it used to contain monuments meant for important occasions and agreements, altars for pagan religious ceremonies, statues honouring prominent local figures, exedras with marble seat, and both a temple and altar for the city’s patron deity.
A major earthquake destroyed the Agora in 178 AD. Shortly thereafter, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius set about rebuilding it. Nearly all surviving remains belong to that second period. Its overall character only remained intact until 7th Century. Over time, it began to lose its lustre as Smyrna shrank. Its courtyard moreover ended up being used as cemetery during Middle and Late Byzantine alongside Ottoman Empires. Ottomans moreover converted any surrounding buildings into dwellings, a tradition that would last until the end of 20th Century.
Smyrna/İzmir has remained a major Mediterranean port city since antiquity. In Ottoman times, Agora and its environs played host to a bustling commercial life, as well as dozens of different ethnic and faith communities scattered across several neighborhoods.
Fonte
