According to an ancient Greek epigram, the famous poet Homer, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, was born in one of seven different cities. No, one is not named Springfield.
Volcanic rock used as building material at Old Smyrna. Photo © Kayt Armstrong, used with permission.
But one strong possibility is that of Old Smyrna, a site located in the modern town of Izmir on the Gulf of Smyrna in what is today Turkey and occupied more or less continuously from ca 1,000 BC through ca 330 BC, when it was moved across the bay. Parked beneath a now-extinct volcano, the port city's residents had access to luxury goods from throughout the Aegean, exposure to both natural hot springs and earthquakes, and a source for beautiful building material, exemplified by these lovely blocks in the photo above.
- Read more about Old Smyrna
- See more photos of the site from Kayt Armstrong
- Archaeology of the Iliad
- Ancient History's Guide to Homer
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