Izmir Agora Open Air Museum/Smyrna Agora

Smyrna Agora is located at the center of the same-named ancient city, today in Konak district, Izmir. The city was built as Hippodamos city plan and have been archaeological excavations first between 1932-1941 by archaeologists R. Naumann ve S. Kantar, secondly between 1996-1998 by Izmir Museum and since 2002 the museum had started the excavations again. Smyrna Agora is one of the best-preserved ones among the Ionian agoras and the biggest one.

Persians were on the rule in Anatolia during the 4th century B.C. At around 388 B.C. Phillipos II was succeeded to bring together the Northern Greece clans under Corinthos Union to defeat the Persians. His son Alexandre the Great fulfilled his father’s purpose after his father suddenly passed away by an assassination. He passed from Dardanels, arrived in Anatolia and defeated Persians at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 B.C., and went to Ephesus.

Lydian traveler and geographer Pausanias in his book Periegesis tes Hellados which is about his travel from Greece to Egypt, tells the foundation story of Smyrna Agora. According to that story Alexandre the Great while he was turnişng back from a hunt from Pagos hills falls asleep under a plane tree behind the temple of Nemesis. In his dream, Nemesis had appeared to him and asked him to establish a new city for the Simrinas. The Simrinas consult this idea to Apollon he says: “The ones to reside in Pagos beyond Holy Meles shall be three, four times happier compared to a previous time” as the response.

Since then the city had grown with the advantages of its location and proximity to the sea, however, it was used as a cemetery during the Byzantine and Ottoman Eras.