Miletus (/maɪˈliːtəs/; Greek: Μῑ́λητος, romanized: Mī́lētos; Hittite: 𒈪𒅋𒆷𒉿𒀭𒁕Mīllawānda or 𒈪𒆷𒉿𒋫 Milawata (exonyms); Latin: Mīlētus; Turkish: Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Ionia.[3][4][5] Its ruins are located near the modern village of Balat in Aydın Province, Turkey. Before the Persian rule that started in the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered among the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.[6][7]
Evidence of first settlement at the site has been made inaccessible by the rise of sea level and deposition of sediments from the Maeander. The first available evidence is of the Neolithic. In the early and middle Bronze Age the settlement came under Minoan influence. Recorded history at Miletus begins with the records of the Hittite Empire, and the Mycenaean records of Pylos and Knossos, in the Late Bronze Age. Miletus was a Mycenaean stronghold on the coast of Asia Minor from c. 1450 to 1100 BC.
The 13th century BC saw the arrival of Luwian language speakers from south central Anatolia calling themselves the Carians. Later in that century other Greeks arrived. The city at that time rebelled against the Hittite Empire. After the fall of that empire the city was destroyed in the 12th century BC and starting about 1000 BC was resettled extensively by the Ionian Greeks. Legend offers an Ionian foundation event sponsored by a founder named Neleus from the Peloponnesus.
The Greek Dark Ages were a time of Ionian settlement and consolidation in an alliance called the Ionian League. The Archaic Period of Greece began with a sudden and brilliant flash of art and philosophy on the coast of Anatolia. In the 6th century BC, Miletus was the site of origin of the Greek philosophical (and scientific) tradition, when Thales, followed by Anaximander and Anaximenes (known collectively, to modern scholars, as the Milesian school), began to speculate about the material constitution of the world, and to propose speculative naturalistic (as opposed to traditional, supernatural) explanations for various natural phenomena.
^Alice Mouton; Ian Rutherford; Ilya Yakubovich (7 June 2013). Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean. BRILL. pp. 435–. ISBN 978-90-04-25341-4.
^Alan M. Greaves (25 April 2002). Miletos: A History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-0-203-99393-4. The political history of Miletos/Millawanda, as it can be reconstructed from limited sources, shows that despite having a material culture dominated by Aegean influences it was more often associated with Anatolian powers such as Arzawa and the Hittites than it was with the presumed Aegean power of Ahhijawa
^ abSharon R. Steadman; Gregory McMahon; John Gregory McMahon (15 September 2011). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE). Oxford University Press. p. 369 and 608. ISBN 978-0-19-537614-2. They had certainly been familiar with the territory earlier, in the Late Bronze Age, by way of commercial and political interests, and perhaps even trading posts, but now they came to stay. In the case of such settlements as Miletus and Ephesus, as implied, the Greeks chose the sites of former Anatolian cities of prominence.
^Luc-Normand Tellier, Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective, p. 79:
“The neighboring Greek city of Miletus, located on the Meander river was another terminal of the same route; it exerted certain hegemony over the Black sea trade and created about fifty commercial entrepôts in the Aegean sea and Black sea region...”
^Carlos Ramirez-Faria (1 January 2007). Concise Encyclopeida Of World History. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 305–. ISBN 978-81-269-0775-5.
^A Short History of Greek Philosophy By John Marshall page 11
“For several centuries prior to the great Persian invasion of Greece, perhaps the very greatest and wealthiest city of the Greek world was Miletus”
^Ancient Greek civilization By David Sansone page 79
“In the seventh and sixth centuries BC the city of Miletus was among the most prosperous and powerful of Greek poleis.”
Thales of Miletus (/ˈθeɪliːz/ THAY-leez; Greek: Θαλῆς; c. 626/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia...
Weisstein, Eric Wolfgang (ed.). "Anaximander of Miletus (610-ca. 546 BC)". ScienceWorld. Anaximander of Miletus Life and Work - Fragments and Testimonies by...
historical works. When Aristagoras, acting tyrant of Miletus, held a council of leading Ionians at Miletus to organize a revolt against Persian rule, Hecataeus...
Isidore of Miletus (Greek: Ἰσίδωρος ὁ Μιλήσιος; Medieval Greek pronunciation: [iˈsiðoros o miˈlisios]; Latin: Isidorus Miletus) was one of the two main...
of Miletus (/ˌænækˈsɪməˌniːz/; Greek: Ἀναξιμένης ὁ Μιλήσιος; c. 586/585 – c. 526/525 BC) was an Ancient Greek, Pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in...
9 Gaugamela 8 Alexandria 7 Gaza 6 Tyre 5 Issus 4 Miletus 3 Granicus 2 Pella 1 The siege of Miletus was Alexander the Great's first siege and naval encounter...
Dionysius of Miletus (Greek: Διονύσιος, romanized: Dionýsios) was an ancient Greek ethnographer and historian. He may have lived in the 5th century BC...
Epicurus has also been said to have denied the existence of Leucippus. Miletus, Elea, and Abdera have all been suggested as places where Leucippus lived...
Hippodamus of Miletus (/hɪˈpɒdəməs/; Greek: Ἱππόδαμος ὁ Μιλήσιος, Hippodamos ho Milesios; c.480–408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect, urban planner...
Timotheus of Miletus (Ancient Greek: Τιμόθεος ὁ Μιλήσιος; c. 446 – 357 BC) was a Greek musician and dithyrambic poet, an exponent of the "new music."...
(Greek: Θρασύβουλος ὁ Μιλήσιος) was the tyrant of Miletus in the 7th century BC. Under his rule, Miletus fought a lengthy war against Lydia. This war ended...
made straight for the epicentre of the rebellion at Miletus. The Ionian fleet sought to defend Miletus by sea, but was decisively beaten at the Battle of...
Phocaea in the north near the mouth of the river Hermus (now the Gediz), to Miletus in the south near the mouth of the river Maeander, and included the islands...
Miletus ancon is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Southeast Asia. Miletus ancon ancon (Burma: Shan States, Karen Hills, Tavoy) Miletus...
studied in ancient Greece or spoke Greek. Ancient Greek philosophy began in Miletus with the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales and lasted through Late Antiquity...
Meletus (Ancient Greek: Μέλητος; fl. 5th–4th century BCE), a citizen of Athens in the Classical Era, came from the Pithus deme and has become known for...
Arctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius (Ancient Greek: Ἀρκτῖνος Μιλήσιος) was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his...
of Miletus the Younger or simply Isidore the Younger (fl. c. 510 – 563) was a Byzantine architect and a nephew of the architect Isidore of Miletus. Like...
Greek ruler of Miletus in the late 6th century BC. Histiaeus was tyrant of Miletus under Darius I, king of Persia, who had subjugated Miletus and the other...
colours used for the decoration. Blue and white Miletus ware. Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Green Miletus ware. Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Jar, excavated...
Miletus mallus is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Asia. Miletus mallus mallus (Burma, Thailand, Laos, southern Vietnam) Miletus mallus...
Cadmus of Miletus (Ancient Greek: Κάδμος ὁ Μιλήσιος, Kádmos ho Milésios) was according to some ancient authorities, the oldest of the logographi. Scholars...
c. 470 – after 428 BC) was a metic woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles...
these cities, in particular Miletus, went on to found numerous colonies of their own on the coasts of the Black Sea. Miletus was also home to the Ionian...
Philiscus of Miletus (in Greek: Φιλίσκος ο Μιλήσιος) was an ancient Greek rhetoric teacher in the 4th century BC and a student of Isocrates. Before his...
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