Metropolis
Metropolis on a hill west of the Torbalı Plain, layered through the Mother Goddess, Ares, theatre and Roman houses.
İzmir · Hillside city
A hill looking over the Torbalı Plain
Metropolis was established about 45 kilometres east of İzmir, on a hill between Yeniköy and Özbey west of the Torbalı Plain. This position lets us read it not as a coastless 'interior' but as a hillside settlement connected to production on the plain, streams and movement toward İzmir.
The Hellenistic rise of the Mother Goddess's city
The Culture Portal states that Metropolis was founded in the third century BCE under the Seleucid Kingdom by men of Lysimachos and that its name means 'City of the Mother Goddess'. In the Hellenistic period, walls, the Temple of Ares, stoa and theatre were built; the Mother Goddess statue found in excavations at Uyuzdere makes the relation between name and sacred setting tangible.
City life in a marble theatre
The marble theatre on the natural slope hosted social, cultural and artistic activities. Its orchestra, stage building, seating and front-row seats for elites show a public order that tells us not only about performance but also whom the city received and how. Built in the Late Hellenistic period, it was enlarged under Rome and held roughly 8-10 thousand people.
From Roman houses to a contracting Byzantine city
Under the Roman Empire, the city developed down the slopes; atrium, Roman House and temples of Zeus and the Twelve Gods are associated with this phase. As an episcopal centre in Byzantium it contracted under the pressure of war, its walls narrowed and settlement concentrated around castle, stoa and acropolis. The theatre's loss of function in the fourth century CE is another sign of this transformation in urban life.
Plain, hill and the İzmir line
Between Klaros's ground of consultation and Klazomenai's productive coast, Metropolis represents another urban scale in İzmir's hinterland. New excavation and care announcements will be added with dated institutional publication; theatre, temple, house, wall and watercourse will be not isolated markers but place records explaining one another.
Four sourced layers from the research library
How is the place situated?
The city occupies a hill between Yeniköy and Özbey, facing the plain. The theatre, stoa, acropolis and Roman structures lower on the slope sit at different levels; the aerial image makes this topographic relationship visible.
How do the layers change?
Walls, a stoa and a theatre stand out among the Hellenistic public works. In the Roman period the city expanded down the slopes, while in the Byzantine period the settlement contracted and its defensive line enclosed a smaller area.
How was the place inhabited?
The theatre set into the natural slope hosted social, cultural and artistic gatherings. Reading it together with the other public structures and the changing scale of the city offers a safer community frame than labelling the entire site a single “monument to democracy.”
What can be said today?
The theatre, protective roofs, excavation areas, olive groves and the modern fabric of Yeniköy enter the same field of view. The current visitor route, closed structures and working hours must be checked through dated institutional notices.
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Frequently asked questions
Where is Metropolis?
Metropolis is presented in this guide as a hillside city in İzmir.
How can I find sources for Metropolis?
The Sources section on this page links to the institutions and research records supporting this dossier.