Priene

The city of Priene, one of the settlements of Ionia was laid out on Mount Mycale (Samsun) and contained many famous examples of Hellenistic art and architecture. The original location of the city has never been found but it was probably a peninsula with two harbors. It is a small city with 4 or 5 thousand inhabitants and never of great political significance had it shared the same story as the other Ionian cities.

The city is organized in four districts, the political (bouleterion and prytaneion), the cultural (Theatre), commercial (agora) and most importantly religious (Athena Temple) In addition to the Athena Temple, the people of Priene erected sanctuaries dedicated to Zeus, Demeter and Egyptian gods.