Clazomenae (Greek: Κλαζομεναί/Klazomenai, modern-day Kilizman near İzmir in Turkey) was an ancient Greek city of Ionia and a member of the Ionian Dodecapolis (Confederation of Twelve Cities), it was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage.
Location
Located on the western coast of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Smyrna, about 20 miles west of that city. The city was originally located on the mainland, but probably during the early fifth-century Ionian Revolt from the Persians it was moved to an island just off the coast, which Alexander the Great eventually connected to the mainland with a causeway.
Mythology
The principal god of the city was Apollo. According to myth, swans drew the chariot in which Apollo every year flew south from his winter home in the land of the Hyperboreans. But Klazomenai was also home to large numbers of swans, and it is thought that the verb klazo was used to describe the call of the wild birds. The swan on the obverse is both an attribute of Apollo and a pun on the name Klazomenai.
Ancient Times
Though not in existence before the arrival of the Ionians in Asia, its original founders were largely settlers from Phlius and Cleonae. It stood originally on the isthmus connecting the mainland with the peninsula on which Erythrae stood; but the inhabitants, alarmed by the encroachments of the Persians, removed to one of the small islands of the bay, and there established their city. This island was connected with the mainland by Alexander the Great by means of a pier, the remains of which are still visible.
During the 5th century it was for some time subject to the Athenians, but about the middle of the Peloponnesian War (412 BC) it revolted. After a brief resistance, however, it again acknowledged the Athenian supremacy, and repelled a Lacedaemonian attack. In 387 BC Klazomenai and other cities in Asia were taken over by
Under the Romans Clazomenae was included in the province of Asia, and enjoyed an immunity from taxation. The site can still be made out, in the neighbourhood of Vourla, but nearly every portion of its ruins has been removed. It is famous for its painted terracotta sarcophagi, which are the finest monuments of Ionian painting in the 6th century BC. It is perhaps today most well-known as the birthplace of the philosopher Anaxagoras, often styled "Anaxagoras of Clazomenae".
Trivia
Klazomenai is also where oldest attested olive oil production installations were recently discovered. The traces indicate first exports of olive oil by way of sea as well. A local enterprise based in Urla town started producing olive oil following the same methods as in antiquity, which turned out to be quite a success in business terms.
