Erythrae was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, located near present-day Ildiri in Izmir Province, Turkey. Situated 13.6 miles northeast of the port of Cyssus, Erythrae was founded by Erythrus with a body of Cretans, Carians, and Rhodians. In the 7th century BC, Erythrae joined the Ionian League, but, as Erythrae was a small city, it sent only eight ships to the Battle of Lade in 494 BC. Erythrae was loyal to Athens until late in the Peloponnesian War, when it broke free of the Delian League, formally seceding in 453 BC and 412 BC. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great captured the city, and the oracle of Erythrae declared that Alexander was the son of Zeus. Erythrae later allied with Pergamon and Rome and became a free city of Roman Asia in 133 BC, but the city declined due to earthquakes in the 1st century AD.
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