Sarcophagi of the Ionian Greeks of Clazomenae
Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla near Izmir in Izmir Province, Turkey. The city was originally located on the mainland at Limantepe, but probably during the early fifth-century BCE Ionian Revolt from the Persians, it was moved to Karantina Island just off the coast. Soon after that, the city of Chyton was founded on the mainland. For some time it was subject to the Athenians, but during the middle of the Peloponnesian War (412 BCE) it revolted. After a brief resistance, though, it once more submitted to Athenian supremacy, and repelled a Lacedaemonian (Spartan) attack. In 387 BCE Clazomenae and other cities in Asia were once more taken over by Persia. Then came Alexander the Great, who eventually connected Karantina island to the mainland with a causeway, the remains of which are still visible. Later, under the ...