v36_0168 - IONIA - COLOPHON Tétradrachme

IONIA - KOLOPHON

(3rd - 2nd century BC)

Colophon was located on the banks of the Halès and the Calaon, set back from the sea, equidistant between Teos and Ephesus. The city was said to have been founded by Andremon de Pylos, whose tomb was nearby. Gyges, king of Lydia, seized Colophon in the 6th century BC. It then came under Persian rule, was part of the Ionian revolt and was ravaged by the Persians. She entered the league of Delos under the Athenian domination from its foundation. It seems to have suffered the fate of the cities of Ionia which were tossed between Athens and Sparta between 413 and 387 BC. The city of Colophon was destroyed by Lysimachus in 299 BC and the inhabitants settled then to Notion, the port of Colophon.