Ephesus
We know about Ephesus from numerous written and other archaeological sources of ancient times. Despite this, there is not much information about the founding of the city. The ancestor of the geographers Strabo believed that the city was founded by the Amazons and consisted mainly of Carians and Lelegs. The Father of History Herodotus wrote that the Carians considered themselves the oldest people of Anatolia and originally lived in the region of Caria with the main city of Halicarnassus. The Lelegs moved to Anatolia from Thrace and the Aegean Islands.
There are many legends about the Amazons in the sources about the founding of Ephesus. Maybe that's why Strabo called Ephesus-Amazon in his works. From the notes of the poet Kalinos, who lived in Ephesus in the 7th-6th century. in. BC e. we learn that the Amazons who captured Ephesus renamed the city Smyrna (Izmir). And driven out of Ephesus in the 5th c. BC e. the poet Hipponax wrote that only one of the parts of Ephesus was called Smyrna.
And again Strabo mentions that after that, the inhabitants of Smyrna left Ephesus and founded a new city on the site of present-day Izmir.
Throughout its history, the city was distinguished by an increased interest in the Amazons, so in the 5th century. BC e. a competition was held between famous sculptors of that time for the best sculpture of the Amazon to be installed in the temple of Artemis. Found near the church of St. John's sarcophagi of Mycenaean origin are the earliest finds on the territory of Ephesus, they date back to 1300-1400. BC e. By this time it is customary to attribute the time of the foundation of the city. The remains of Mycenaean burials are found throughout the coastal territory of the Aegean Sea from Troy to Halicarnassus. The oldest of them is considered to be sarcophagi in the city of Miletus nearby Ephesus, they are attributed to 1600. BC e.
From the records on the Hittite tablets, we know that in the 13-14th centuries.
near the city of Miletus, there was the city of Apassos, in which refugees from Mycenae lived. If in Ephesus they find evidence of residence of the Mekenian character, then it will be proved that when the Hittites described Apassos, they meant Ephesus. In the 13th-10th centuries. Anatolia, Syria, Egypt experienced an unstable situation. Middle Anatolia belonged to the Hittites, who were forced to constantly settle differences between the peoples of their lands.
After the fall of Troy, mass migrations from Thrace to Anatolia began, a little later refugees from the Aegean Islands (Dorians; Hellenes; Ionians) appeared. In Egyptian sources with soots, burning cities and refugees of that time are described. The area with the Hellenes and Ions living there is also mentioned by Jews, Syrians, Persians. The settlers settled mainly on the coast or nearby islands of the Aegean Sea. Ephesus, like other Ionian colonies, finally took place in the 10th century. BC e.
Strabo and Pausanias tell about it this way: "...the son of the king of Athens, Condoros, before searching for new lands for his people, turned to the Delphic oracle for help. The oracle predicted that a boar and a fish would indicate the place for founding a new city. One evening, Androkolus and his companions were roasting a frightened boar ran out of the bushes, they chased after the beast, and having caught it, they killed it. It was decided that the prediction of the arkul came true, and a place for a new colony was found. at that time became the inner port of the city).
At the very place where the beast was killed, a temple was built in honor of the goddess Athena. But this temple has not yet been found. Androkol's father was the king of Athens, Kodros, who is known in history as a hero. So before another war with neighbors, he decided to ask the oracle about the outcome of the war. The oracle predicted that the army of the one whose king would die first would win.
King Kodros, believing this, specifically at the beginning of the battle allowed one of the enemy soldiers to kill himself ...After his death, the struggle for the throne in Athens Androkale began with his half-brother.
At this time, Androcal's campaign in search of new lands also falls. Apparently he was forced to leave Athens. The city stood on the site where Androkol was founded for 400 years. During this time, Androkol and his descendants ruled in the city, Androkol himself died in one of the wars with the local Carians and was buried at the Magnesian Gate, where a heroon was built for him.
