Magnesia Ancient City is an ancient city located in the Germencik district of Aydın Province, Türkiye, within the boundaries of the Ortaklar Township and near the village of Tekin. According to ancient sources, the city was founded in the 4th century BCE by the Magnetes, who came from the Thessalian region. According to legend, the Magnetes were guided to Anatolia by an oracle of Apollo. Diodorus reports that due to the changing course of the Meander River and the resulting outbreaks of disease, as well as the Persian threat, the Athenian general Thibron relocated the city to its current location between 400 and 399 BCE. Therefore, the Magnesia seen today is considered the second settlement, re-established after the original city.
Magnesia Ancient City (T.C. Germencik Belediyesi)
Urban Planning and Architectural Structures
The new Magnesia covers an area of approximately 1300 x 1100 meters, surrounded by walls and laid out in a grid street-plan system. It was located at the intersection of the ancient cities of Ephesus (Ephesos), Priene, and Tralleis, making it a strategically and commercially significant location.
The city gained architectural fame thanks to the architect Hermogenes, who developed the “pseudodipteros” temple plan and designed Ionic order temples. According to the Roman architect Vitruvius, Hermogenes' masterpiece was the Temple of Leukophryne in Magnesia. Built upon the remains of an archaic structure, this temple features an 8 x 5 column layout and is considered the fourth largest temple in Hellenistic Anatolia (67.5 x 40 meters).
Magnesia Ancient City (T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı)
Religious Structures and Sacred Areas
The Temple of Leukophryne, dedicated to Artemis, is the city’s most important religious building. Excavations between 1994 and 2001 in the Sanctuary of Artemis uncovered a ceremonial area paved with marble between the altar and the agora in front of the temple. This area is notable for its reliefs of deities reaching up to three meters in height and the sacrificial rings located in front of them. The locations for participants during rituals were marked with inscriptions called topos. Architectural remains of the stoa that once surrounded the sanctuary have also been unearthed.
Magnesia Ancient City (T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı)
Public Buildings and Urban Infrastructure
The agora of Magnesia, accessed through a sacred gate (propylon) from the Sanctuary of Artemis, covers a commercial area of 26,000 square meters. Surrounded by 414 columns, it is considered one of the largest marketplaces of the period. Excavations revealed that a structure in the agora is actually a Roman-period Market Basilica, with column capitals decorated with Scylla figures, as described in Homer’s Odyssey.
The city also includes the Theatron, constructed for religious ceremonies but left incomplete due to a landslide; a 32-seat Latrina (public toilet); a bath complex similar to the Faustina Baths in Miletus; an Odeon; a stadium-hippodrome with a capacity of 40,000; a Gymnasion for athletic training; a Roman temple; Byzantine walls; and the Çerkez Musa Mosque, which dates to the 5th century and has a transverse plan.
Excavations and Recent Discoveries
Excavations are conducted under the direction of Associate Professor Görkem Kökdemir of the Archaeology Department at the Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Ankara University. Recent excavations—carried out as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Heritage for the Future” project—have focused on the areas near the Çerkez Musa Mosque. These digs have uncovered previously unknown artifacts from the Late Roman, Early Christian, and Beylik periods.
Artifacts such as bronze lamps, frescoes, and architectural elements dated between the 4th and 6th centuries CE document the transition from the final stages of paganism to the rise of Christianity. These findings are significant as they reveal the first architectural traces of the Christian era in Magnesia. Furthermore, they provide the first concrete evidence of the city's settlement history after the 4th century CE.
