Madurai is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Indian peninsula, situated on the banks of the River Vaigai in Madurai district.

     The city is widely known as the Temple City, and is often also referred to as City of four junctions (Koodal Maanagar), Cultural capital of Tamil Nadu (Kalaachaara thalainagar), City of Jasmine (Malligai Maanagar), Sleepless city (Thoonga Nagaram), Athens of the East and The City of Festivals (Thiruvizha nagaram).It is the third largest (was second largest from its origin till 2001) city in Tamil Nadu.


     Madurai's cultural heritage goes back 2,500 years, and the city has been an important commercial center and has conducted trade as far as Rome and Greece since as early as 550 B.C.

     Many theories have been suggested for the name Madurai. Prominent among them is the one which traces the name to the Sanskrit word Mathura (lit. Sweetness). Another popular theory is that the name is the derivation of the word Marutham - which refers to both a type of trees that grew in the banks of river Vaigai and a type of landscape in the Sangam age. According to legend, the original city of Madurai, called Then Madurai (lit. Madurai of South) was destroyed by a tsunami in ancient Kumari Kandam. Then the city was moved inland to the current day Madurai. The different names by which the city has been referred to historically are listed in the 17th Century poem Thiruvilayaadal puraanam (Thiruvalavai Maanmiyam) written by the poet Paranjothi Munivar.


     Madurai has a long recorded history. As early as the 3rd century BC, Megasthenes visited Madurai. The city is referred to as "Methora" in his accounts. The city is also mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra. Madurai has been described as the seat of the Pandyan Dynasty in Sangam literature (especially in Maturaikkanchi). The city is also described extensively in the Second century CE epic Silapathikaram. The city was home to the third and last Tamil Sangam (between 300 BC and 200 BC). Madurai finds mention in the works of Roman historians Pliny the Younger and Ptolemy and those of the Greek geographer Strabo. It is also mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

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