  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Aydın Province, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°52′24″N 28°34′27″E / 37.873435°N 28.574239°E |
Antioch on the Maeander or Antiochia on the Maeander (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια τοῦ Μαιάνδρου; Latin: Antiochia ad Maeandrum), earlier Pythopolis, was a city of ancient Caria, in Anatolia. The city was situated between the Maeander and Orsinus rivers near their confluence. Though it was the site of a bridge over the Maeander, it had "little or no individual history".[1] The scanty ruins are located on a hill (named, in Turkish, Yenişer) a few km southeast of Kuyucak, Aydın Province, Turkey, near the modern city of Başaran, or the village of Aliağaçiftliği.[2] The city already existed when Antiochus I enlarged and renamed it. It was home to the sophist Diotrephes.[3]
The Venus de Milo is believed to have been sculpted by a citizen of Antioch named [...]andros (possibly Alexandros).[4]
In 1148 the army of the Second Crusade forced a passage of the Maeander at Antioch in the face of determined Turkish resistance in the Battle of the Meander.[5] In 1211 the city was the site of the Battle of Antioch on the Meander between the Byzantine rump Empire of Nicaea and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.
The town has not been excavated,[citation needed] although Christopher Ratté and others visited the site in 1994 and produced a sketch plan. They observed a well-fortified Byzantine site, occupying some 60 to 70 hectares (150 to 170 acres). The remains of a Roman stadium 200 metres (660 ft) in length are also visible.[6]
