In antiquity, the coast of Asia Minor was a string of famous and powerful cities and
towns, each with its own history. Some are only slowly revealing their
presence and their treasures.
One such relic is Notion, located roughly 50 kilometers from Izmir.
One day, driving back from Izmir to Ephesos, I
skirted the peninsula's entire south coast, passing cities like Teos and
Claros. However, my intention was to stop at Clazomena, Colophon, and Notion. Life is such
that it deviates us from our initial plan. It so happened that I frequently
stopped to take in the vistas leading me from promontories into deep bays - a
landscape from the beginning of time, I thought. As a result, I never made it
to Notion
…
I may not have missed much because the
first archaeological surveys started in 2014. Mapping Notion revealed a city
laid out conform to the Hippodamian plan sitting on two promontories overlooking
the Aegean Sea. Inside the remains of sturdy
fortification walls, research exposed beside the ever-present Agora, a Theater,
a Bouleuterion, a Heroon, a Temple
of Athena, and a large
housing district. Notion flourished from the 2nd century BC until the
1st century AD, after which it was abandoned in favor of Ephesus
which became the major center of commerce in Roman times.
The city’s origin goes back to at least the
6th century BC when it was part of the Persian Empire like the rest
of Asia Minor. Inevitably, it got involved in
the Graeco-Persian Wars of the 5th and 4th centuries BC
and was conquered in turn by Athens and Persia.
During those uncertain times, it is thought
that Notion
was occupied and/or defended by “barbarian” mercenaries. This is documented through
the hoard of Persian gold darics found under the floor of one of the houses.
The coins were probably buried there to be recovered later on. The daric with
its particular face featuring the figure of a kneeling archer was the
equivalent of a month’s pay for a mercenary foot soldier. Based on their style,
these darics were probably minted during the 5th century BC in Sardes,
which lies about 100 kilometers to the north.
Darics rarely surface in Greek or
Hellenistic cities and to find such a collection buried in a jar is astonishing.
I remember seeing my first Darics in Sicily at The Medagliere, the strong room of the Archaeological Museum
in Syracuse.
It was quite a shock because I knew the coins only from pictures and was not
expecting to find them here. On the other hand, their presence raised the
question of how they had reached Sicily –
probably carried west by early colonists from mainland Greece who settled in Magna
Graecia.
Life surely is full of surprises.
