Editing Smyrna (section)

===Hellenistic period===

<!-- deleted file removed [[File:Agora3.jpg|thumb|left|Agora of Smyrna]] -->
[[Alexander the Great]] conceived the idea of restoring the Greek city in a scheme that was, according to [[Strabo]], actually carried out under Antigonus (316–301&nbsp;BC) and [[Lysimachus]] (301&nbsp;BC—281&nbsp;BC), who enlarged and fortified the city. The ruined acropolis of the ancient city, the "crown of Smyrna", had been on a steep peak about {{convert|1250|ft|m|order=flip}} high, which overhangs the northeast extremity of the gulf. Modern İzmir was constructed atop the later [[Hellenistic]] city, partly on the slopes of a rounded hill the Greeks called ''Pagos''<ref>Simply "the hill".</ref> near the southeast end of the gulf, and partly on the low ground between the hill and the sea. The beauty of the Hellenistic city, clustering on the low ground and rising tier over tier on the hillside, was frequently praised by the ancients and is celebrated on its coins.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Colossal_reclining_statue_of_the_river_god_Kaystros_with_a_cornucopia,_from_the_frigidarium_of_the_Vedius_Gymnasium_at_Ephesus,_2nd_century_AD,_Izmir_Museum_of_History_and_Art,_Turkey_(45112787215).jpg|thumb|200px|The statue of the river god Kaystros with a cornucopia in İzmir Museum of History and Art at [[Kültürpark]]]]

Smyrna is shut in on the west by a hill now called Deirmen Tepe, with the ruins of a temple on the summit. The walls of Lysimachus crossed the summit of this hill, and the acropolis occupied the top of Pagus. Between the two the road from Ephesus entered the city by the Ephesian gate, near which was a gymnasium. Closer to the acropolis the outline of the stadium is still visible, and the theatre was on Pagus's north slopes. Smyrna possessed two harbours. The outer harbour was simply the open roadstead of the gulf, and the inner was a small basin with a narrow entrance partially filled up by [[Tamerlane]] in 1402.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smyrna, Asia Minor |url=https://www.1902encyclopedia.com/S/SMY/smyrna.html |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=www.1902encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

The streets were broad, well paved and laid out at right angles; many were named after temples: the main street, called the Golden, ran across the city from west to east, beginning probably from the temple of Zeus Akraios on the west slope of Pagus, and running round the lower slopes of Pagus (like a necklace on the statue, to use the favorite terms of Aristides the orator) towards Tepecik outside the city on the east, where probably stood the temple of [[Cybele]], worshipped under the name of Meter Sipylene, the city's patroness. The name is from nearby Mount Sipylus, which bounds the valley of the city's backlands. The plain towards the sea was too low to be properly drained, and in rainy weather, the lower town's streets were deep with mud and water.<ref name=":1" />

At the end of the Hellenistic period, in 197&nbsp;BC, the city suddenly cut its ties with King [[Eumenes of Pergamum]] and appealed to Rome for help. Because Rome and Smyrna had no ties until then, Smyrna created a cult of Rome to establish a bond, and the cult eventually became widespread throughout the Roman Empire. As of 195&nbsp;BC, the city of Rome started to be deified, in the cult to the goddess [[Roma (mythology)|Roma]]. In this sense, the Smyrneans can be considered as the creators of the goddess Roma.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Başağaç |first=Özge |date=2020-12-15 |title=Feeling at Home: Notes of a Journey by a Roman Traveller in the 2nd Century Pergamon |url=http://www.meltemizmeda.org/YuklenenDosyalar/Dergi/28122020_0218_Basagac.pdf |journal=Meltem Izmir Akdeniz Akademisi Dergisi |language=en |issue=8 |pages=35–45 |doi=10.32325/iaad.2020.16 |issn=2602-2508}}</ref>

In 133&nbsp;BC, when the last Attalid king, Attalus III, died without an heir, his will conferred his entire kingdom, including Smyrna, to the Romans. They organized it into the Roman [[Asia (Roman province)|province of Asia]], making [[Pergamum]] the capital. As a major seaport, Smyrna became a leading city in the newly constituted province.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snowdon |first=Michael |url=https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/bitstream/11375/10321/1/fulltext.pdf |title=An Unexpected Province: The History of the Roman Province of Asia from 133 B.C. to 128 B.C. |publisher=McMaster University |year=2005 |location=Hamilton, Ontario |type=Master of Arts Thesis (Classics)}}</ref>