Alexandreion (Priene)

Alexandreion (Sanctuary/House of Alexander the Great, in ancient Greek: Ἀλεξανδρεῖον) was a sanctuary dedicated to Alexander the Great in antiquity, possibly a private house converted into a sanctuary, in Priene in Western Asia, present-day Turkey.

The building, which is usually interpreted as the Alexandreion, was located in the western part of the city, in the third block from the West Gate. It was built at the end of the Classical period or the Hellenistic period, between 350 and 150 BC approximately. The oldest phase of the building may date to the Classical period, in the year 300 BC, and it is possible that it was a private house later converted into a sanctuary. The building was modified in the decade of the 100s BC.

The interpretation of the building is based not only on the findings made in it, but also on an inscription found in Priene, which dates to approximately the year 130 BC, in which a sanctuary dedicated to Alexander the Great in the city is mentioned. The building is possibly the same in which Alexander lived in the year 334 BC, when he was in Priene and besieging Miletus. Later it was dedicated to his cult. It is possible that the cult was private.

The building resembled a private house and consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by rooms on the north, east and south sides. The entrance was from the street on the west side. The whole building measured approximately 20.5 × 35.4 m. The north hall had two wings and was accessed through a pronaos with columns. The size of the hall was about 19 × 9.2 m. There were three small rooms on the east side of the central courtyard and two rooms on the south side.

In the building the following inscription has been found, dated to around 200-130 BC:

In the lower hall there was a sacrificial table and a pit of offerings. Also a marble bust and a herm of Alexander the Great and terracotta images of Cybele and Eros have been found in the hall.