The ancient harbor city of Priene was founded on the Ionian coast by inhabitants of an abandoned Ionian city in c. 350 BC. Today it is located in Güllübahçe at a distance of 15 km from Söke. It participated in the Battle of Lade with 12 ships in 494 BC. Alexander the Great assigned the city to watch the unreliable city of Miletus. He also lived in the city and paid for the construction of the Athena Temple.

The temple of Athena Polias was rebuilt in 334 BC as a gift from Alexander the Great.
The architect of the Athena Temple was Pytheos who also built the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

After flourishing during the Hellenistic and passing through the Pergamene Kingdom periods the city declined under Roman rule and was later abandoned.