The oldest Athena Temple in Anatolia was built in Smyrna. All the architectural elements and the monumental human and lion statues of the Athena Temple were made of tuff stone. The architectural elements especially the column capitals were genuine pieces of art, they may be labeled as the oldest and most beautiful examples of Aeolian architecture.

The Temple passed through four building phases. The remains excavated belong to the era between the Late Geometric Period and the Persian attacks.

1. The Late Geometric Temple 725- 675 BC.
2. The SubGeometric Temple 675 – 640 BC
3. The Early Archaic Temple 640 - 610 BC.
4. The Mature Archaic Temple 600 – 546 BC.