Notion (ancient city)
Encyclopedia
Notion or Notium was a Greek
city-state on the west coast of Anatolia
; it is about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) south of Izmir
in modern Turkey
, on the Gulf of Kuşadası
. Notion was located on a hill from which the sea was visible; it served as a port for nearby Colophon and Claros
, and pilgrims frequently passed through on their way to the oracle of Apollo
at Claros. There are still remains of the defense walls, necropolis, temple, agora, and theater.
The earliest reference to Notion is in Herodotus
, who includes it among the cities of Aeolis
(of which it is the southernmost): "Kyme, which is called Phriconis, Larisai, Neon-teichos, Temnos, Killa, Notion, Aigiroëssa, Pitane, Aigaiai, Myrina, Grynei" (I:149). Its proximity to the Ionia
n city of Colophon needs explanation; we may "suppose either that the Ionian settlers negotiated their rights of passage up to their inland site or more probably that they reached it originally up one of the other river valleys." Robin Lane Fox
, discussing the early rivalry between the cities, writes:
separately (Colophon paying three talents a year, the smaller Notion only a third of a talent).
During the first years of the Peloponnesian War
, Notion was split into factions, one of which called in mercenaries under Persian command; the Athenian admiral Paches ruthlessly restored the pro-Athenian faction to power, "and settlers were afterwards sent out from Athens, and the place colonized according to Athenian laws" (Thucydides
III:34). Thereafter it served as an Athenian base. In 406 B.C. it was the site of the Spartan victory at the Battle of Notium
. By the late fourth century B.C. it was joined in a sympoliteia (federal league) with Colophon, and "by the Roman period the name of Notion dropped out of use completely."
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city-state on the west coast of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
; it is about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) south of Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
in modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, on the Gulf of Kuşadası
Kusadasi
Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary...
. Notion was located on a hill from which the sea was visible; it served as a port for nearby Colophon and Claros
Claros
Claros is a prophecy center of Colophon, one of the twelve Ionic cities. Claros is built between two cities; it is 13 kilometers south of Colophon and two kilometers north of Notion. The Temple of Apollo here was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi and Didyma. The oldest information...
, and pilgrims frequently passed through on their way to the oracle of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
at Claros. There are still remains of the defense walls, necropolis, temple, agora, and theater.
The earliest reference to Notion is in Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, who includes it among the cities of Aeolis
Aeolis
Aeolis or Aeolia was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor, mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islands , where the Aeolian Greek city-states were located...
(of which it is the southernmost): "Kyme, which is called Phriconis, Larisai, Neon-teichos, Temnos, Killa, Notion, Aigiroëssa, Pitane, Aigaiai, Myrina, Grynei" (I:149). Its proximity to the Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
n city of Colophon needs explanation; we may "suppose either that the Ionian settlers negotiated their rights of passage up to their inland site or more probably that they reached it originally up one of the other river valleys." Robin Lane Fox
Robin Lane Fox
Robin Lane Fox is an English historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford and University of Oxford Reader in Ancient History.-Life:Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford....
, discussing the early rivalry between the cities, writes:
H. W. Parke suggests that in the seventh century B.C. "Claros was in the control of Notion, which must have remained a small Aeolian town dominated by its more powerful inland neighbour [Colophon], but also protected by it against the threat of Lydia. Notion itself was not big enough to send out colonies on its own." Persia conquered Colophon and Notion in the mid-sixth century B.C., but they were liberated in the Greco–Persian Wars and joined the Delian League
Relations between Colophon and nearby Notion were never easy and their bitter rivalry may help to explain the story of a quarrel between the two prophets at Claros. The Aeolian Greeks at Notion had a special relationship with Aeolian MopsusMopsusMopsus or Mopsos was the name of two famous seers in Greek mythology. A historical/legendary Mopsus was the founder of a house in power at widespread sites in the coastal plains of Pamphylia and Cilicia during the early Iron Age.-Son of Manto and Rhacius or Apollo:Mopsus, a celebrated seer and...
, but the Ionian Greeks at Colophon had a special relationship with CalchasCalchasIn Greek mythology, Calchas , son of Thestor, was an Argive seer, with a gift for interpreting the flight of birds that he received of Apollo: "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp"...
. It was, then, particularly appealing for the Aeolian controllers of Claros to claim that Mopsus had outwitted Calchas and caused his death on the site.
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in circa 477 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150 to 173, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars...
separately (Colophon paying three talents a year, the smaller Notion only a third of a talent).
During the first years of the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
, Notion was split into factions, one of which called in mercenaries under Persian command; the Athenian admiral Paches ruthlessly restored the pro-Athenian faction to power, "and settlers were afterwards sent out from Athens, and the place colonized according to Athenian laws" (Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
III:34). Thereafter it served as an Athenian base. In 406 B.C. it was the site of the Spartan victory at the Battle of Notium
Battle of Notium
The Battle of Notium in 406 BC, was a Spartan naval victory in the Peloponnesian War. Prior to the battle, the Athenian commander, Alcibiades, left his helmsman, Antiochus, in command of the Athenian fleet, which was blockading the Spartan fleet in Ephesus...
. By the late fourth century B.C. it was joined in a sympoliteia (federal league) with Colophon, and "by the Roman period the name of Notion dropped out of use completely."