Located 20 km northeast of Çeşme, the ancient name of the village Ildırı was Erythrai. It is assumed that the word “Erythrai” derives from Greek word “Erythros” which means “red” and that this word, Erythrai was used to describe the city as “Red City” because its soil was red. According to another assumption, the city took its name from Erythro, the son of the founder of the city, Cretan Rhadamanthes.

The findings obtained in the ancient city show that there was a settlement here since the First Bronze Age. During the Second Colonization period, the city was under the rule of Knopos, who was a descendant of Kadros, King of Athens. The city, which was ruled by the kingdom first, started to be ruled by Vasileids thererafter, who were also descendants of king but were elected by the people. The Panionion, founded by the Ionian cities, joined the religious and political unity. The city experienced a short period of tyranny with Payhagoras, and in this period it gained importance with the mill stones it produced and exported. Erythrai is captured by Lydia and later by the Persians. The city, which joined the uprising of other Ionian cities against the Persian oppression, has been rendered independent by Alexander the Great in 334 BC together with all other Ionian cities. Passing through the hands of many rulers as a result of the turmoil after Alexander's death, Erythrai later became a part of Pergamon (Bergama) Kingdom. In 133 BC, it gained the status of a free city in the Roman Empire. In this period its wine, goats, mill stones and women oracles Sibyl and Herophile became famous. The region, which had suffered great destruction due to earthquakes, wars and looting of Roman commanders in the 1st century BC, lost its importance in the Byzantine period. After entering the Türkiye domination in 1366, it had been known with different names such as Erythre, Rhtyrai, Lythri; the city was called as Ilderen and Ildiri after the 16th century.

In the city, excavations were carried out between 1963-1966 by Prof. Hakkı Gültekin and later by Prof.Dr. Ekrem Akurgal. First, the ancient theater on the northern slopes of the Acropolis was unearthed; it seems possible that the theater was built in the 3rd century BC. The remnants of the temple of Athena were also found in the research conducted at the highest level of the acropolis. It is understood that the city was surrounded by a 5 km long wall. The theater was partially unearthed. In the researches, pottery, stone and clay figures from the 6th and 7th centuries BC were also found in the acropolis.