Ruins of Heracleia at Latmus
In ancient times, this region was known by the name Latmus because of the Mother Goddess Lada. The Hellenes changed the name Lada to Latmus. They named their city after it. Ruins of Heracleia at Latmus remained under the rule of Pleistarchus from the Ptolemaic dynasty for ten years at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. It was named Pleistarcheia during that period, and later renamed by Lysimachus to Alexandreia on the coast of Latmus. However, these names were not permanent. It was mentioned in the Battle of Miletos–Magnesia in the 2nd century BC. Nonetheless, it is not certain exactly when the city was built.
Its importance grew after being independent during the Roman period. In the 7th-9th centuries in which it became an episcopal centre, many churches and monasteries were built. Heracleia at Latmus experienced its peak in the Hellenistic period. The city walls were enlarged by Lysimachos in 287 BCE and its length reached 6.5 km.Upon the abandonment of Heracleia, monasteries and churches were built in the first half of the CE 8th century. 170 of the rock paintings symbolizing the transition from Paleotic to Neolithic time have been found in the excavations.
