Heliopolis (ancient Egypt) from him the true length of the year and month, upon which he formed his octaeterid, or period of 8 years or 99 months. Ptolemy II had Manetho, the chief priest of Heliopolis, collect his history of the ancient kings of Egypt from its archives. The later Ptolemies probably took little interest in their "father" Ra, and Alexandria had eclipsed the learning of Heliopolis; thus with the withdrawal of royal favour Heliopolis quickly dwindled, and the students of native lore deserted it for other temples supported by a wealthy population of pious citizens. By the 1st century BC, in fact,
Fortifications of ancient Smyrna simply keep out bandits and keep in the animals. Such massive fortifications as seen at Smyrna were rare, and the sheer size of the walls (15 meters thick is extremely large) and the presence of bastions by one of the gates in the second phase of fortifications shows that these were more than just for show. As most armies at the time were not professional standing armies, the existence of such substantial fortifications demonstrates that the rulers of Smyrna expected a fight, and spent their resources in anticipation of that fight. Fortifications of ancient Smyrna Smyrna (modern day Izmir in