Colophon is an ancient city in Ionia.

Founded around the turn of the first millennium BCE, it is likely one of the oldest of the twelve cities of the Ionian League.

In ancient times it is located between Lebedos (120 stadia to the west) and Ephesus (70 stadia to its south).

Today the ruins of the city can be found south of the town Değirmendere Fev in the Menderes district of Izmir Province, Turkey.The city's name comes from the Greek word for summit", which is also the origin of the bibliographic term "colophon", in the metaphorical sense of a 'crowning touch', as it is sited along a ridgeline.

The term "colophony" for rosin comes from the term colophonia resina, that is, resin from the pine trees of Colophon, which is highly valued for the strings of musical instruments.