Athene of Assesos

The name of a temple dedicated to Athene (Athena) in the small town of Assesos in Asia Minor near the city of Miletus.

The ruler of Sardis, Alyattes, was continuing a war of attrition against the people of Miletus by burning their crops each year at harvest time; the Milesians were no match for the powerful army of Alyattes and suffered year after year of deprivation; in the twelfth year of the war, the army of Alyattes accidentally set fire to the temple of Athene at Assesos and it was utterly destroyed.

The barbarians gave little thought to the destruction of the temple until Alyattes was afflicted with a lingering illness; he sent an emissary to the oracle at Delphi seeking a cure for his illness; he was told that unless he rebuilt the temple of Athene at Assesos he would suffer ill health indefinitely.

The prince of Miletus, Thrasybulus, heard what the oracle had told Alyattes and contrived a way to end the yearly invasion of his country; when Alyattes sent a herald to Miletus seeking a truce so that the temple could be rebuilt, Thrasybulus had the people of Miletus gather all their meager stores of food and wine and stage a mock celebration; the herald of Alyattes saw the display of affluence and dutifully reported the scene to his master.

Alyattes was convinced that the years of war against Miletus were in vain and negotiated a permanent truce that included the construction of two temples for Athene.

• Histories, book 1, chapters 18-23