Ancient Coin Stories

Teos was one of the twelve Ionian cities and was founded by settlers from Orchomenos in Boeotia. It was later joined by more Ionians and settlers from Athens and Boeotia.

When the Persians invaded the area, the inhabitants chose to leave the city and most when to Abdera. Strabo mentions that some returned shortly afterwards, but the city was strengthened by Antigonos I Monophthalmos.

Strabo mentions that the city sat on a peninsula and had a harbor. He also lists a few famous people from Teos that included Apellikon and the historian Hekataios. Apellikon was a wealthy book collector who was responsible for preserving the works of Aristotle. He also owned perhaps the oldest copy of the Iliad. Sulla eventually ordered his entire library transported to Rome, where copies were made of many of his books.

Hekataios visited Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter and wrote a history of Egypt in eight books. His works have been lost, but he is cited several times by Diodorus Siculus. Some of these quotes are important observations on religion at the time.

Teos was also the birthplace of the poet Anakreon, who was on the canonical list of Nine Greek Lyric Poets along with Sappho. At the time when he lived in the 6th century BCE he was among the most famous poets alive. He had a reputation after his death for being portrayed as a drunkard. There exists an ancient story that he choked on a grape seed.

In the 3rd to 2nd centuries BCE, Teos had the largest temple to Dionysos in the Greek world. It was built by the architect Hermogenes. Some ruins survive of the city.