# Miletus

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miletus
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miletus.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miletus
> Source revision: 1356296919
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Ancient Greek city in Asia-Minor

"Milet" redirects here. For the Japanese singer, see [Milet (singer)](/source/Milet_(singer)).

This article is about the ancient city of Anatolia. For other uses, see [Miletus (disambiguation)](/source/Miletus_(disambiguation)).

Miletus Μῑ́λητος Milet Interactive map of Miletus 37°31′49″N 27°16′42″E / 37.53028°N 27.27833°E / 37.53028; 27.27833 Type Settlement Location Balat, Didim, Aydın Province, Turkey Region Aegean Region History Built by Minoans (later Mycenaeans) and then Ionians (the later on a former Anatolian site)[1][2][3] Site notes Area 90 ha (220 acres) Public access Yes Website Miletus Archaeological Site

Part of a series on the History of Greece Neolithic Greece Pelasgians Greek Bronze Age Helladic chronology Cycladic (c. 3100–1000 BC) Minoan (c. 3100–1100 BC) Mycenean (c. 1750–1050 BC) Ancient Greece Greek Dark Ages (1100 BC–750 BC) Archaic Greece (800 BC–480 BC) Classical Greece (500 BC–323 BC) Hellenistic Greece (323 BC–31 BC) Roman Greece (146 BC–395 AD) Medieval Greece Byzantine Greece (395–1204) Frankish and Latin states (1204-1579) Early modern Greece Venetian Crete (1205-1667) Venetian Ionian Islands (1363-1797) Ottoman Greece (1371-1822) Modern Greece Septinsular Republic (1800-1807) War of Independence (1821-1829) First Hellenic Republic (1822-1832) Kingdom of Greece (1832-1924, 1935-1973) National Schism (1914/15-1917) Second Hellenic Republic (1924-1935) 4th of August Regime (1936-1941) Axis occupation (Collaborationist regime, Free Greece) (1941-1944) Civil War (1946-1949) Military Junta (1967-1974) Third Hellenic Republic (1974-) History by topic Agriculture Alphabet Art Church Constitution Economy Ethnonyms Language Music Military Greece portal v t e

**Miletus** ([Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek_language): Μίλητος, [romanised](/source/Romanization_of_Ancient_Greek): *Mílētos*) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia), near the mouth of the [Maeander River](/source/Maeander_River) in present day [Turkey](/source/Turkey). Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and extensive network of colonies, Miletus was a major center of trade, culture, and innovation from the [Bronze Age](/source/Bronze_Age) through the [Roman period](/source/Roman_period). The city played a foundational role in the development of early [Greek philosophy](/source/Greek_philosophy) and science, serving as the home of the [Milesian school](/source/Milesian_school) with thinkers such as [Thales](/source/Thales), [Anaximander](/source/Anaximander), and [Anaximenes](/source/Anaximenes_of_Miletus).

Miletus's prosperity was closely linked to its strategic coastal location and the productivity of its surrounding rural hinterland, which supported thriving agriculture and facilitated wide-ranging commercial activity. The city established dozens of colonies around the [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean_Sea) and [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea), significantly shaping the [Greek world](/source/Ancient_Greece)’s expansion.

Archaeological investigations have revealed a rich material culture, including the sanctuary of [Apollo](/source/Apollo) at [Didyma](/source/Didyma), remnants of the city's distinctive grid plan, and evidence of long-term agricultural and rural management. Throughout its history, Miletus experienced periods of autonomy and foreign rule, serving as a cultural crossroads between [Greek](/source/Greeks), [Anatolian](/source/Anatolians), and later [Persian](/source/Achaemenid_Empire) and [Roman](/source/Roman_Empire) spheres. The city’s enduring legacy is reflected in its contributions to philosophy, urban planning, and the spread of Greek civilization.

## History

Map of Miletus and other cities within the Lydian Empire

### Neolithic

The earliest available archaeological evidence indicates that the islands on which Miletus was originally placed were inhabited by a [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) population in 3500–3000 BC.[4] Pollen in core samples from Lake Bafa in the [Latmus](/source/Latmus#Prehistory) region inland of Miletus suggests that a lightly grazed climax forest prevailed in the [Maeander](/source/Maeander) valley, otherwise untenanted. Sparse Neolithic settlements were made at [springs](/source/Spring_(hydrology)), numerous and sometimes [geothermal](/source/Geothermal_activity) in this karst, rift valley topography. The islands offshore were settled perhaps for their strategic significance at the mouth of the Maeander, a route inland protected by [escarpments](/source/Escarpment). The [graziers](/source/Pastoralism) in the valley may have belonged to them, but the location looked to the sea.

### Middle Bronze Age

The prehistoric archaeology of the Early and Middle Bronze Age portrays a city heavily influenced by society and events elsewhere in the Aegean, rather than inland.

#### Minoan period

The earliest Minoan settlement of Miletus dates to 2000 BC.[5] Beginning at about 1900 BC artifacts of the [Minoan civilization](/source/Minoan_civilization) acquired by trade arrived at the site.[4] For some centuries the location received a strong impulse from that civilization, an archaeological fact that tends to support but not necessarily confirm the founding legend—that is, a population influx from [Crete](/source/Crete). According to [Strabo](/source/Strabo):[6]

Ephorus says: Miletus was first founded and fortified above the sea by Cretans, where the Miletus of olden times is now situated, being settled by Sarpedon, who brought colonists from the Cretan Miletus and named the city after that Miletus, the place formerly being in possession of the [Leleges](/source/Leleges).

According to [Pausanias](/source/Pausanias_(geographer)), however, Miletus was a friend of Sarpedon from [Crete](/source/Crete), after whom the city was named.[7] Miletus had a son named Kelados, and the [heroon](/source/Hero%C3%B6n) of Kelados has been found at Panormos, a port of Miletus near [Didyma](/source/Didyma).[8]

The legends recounted as history by the ancient historians and geographers are perhaps the strongest; the late mythographers have nothing historically significant to relate.[9]

A panoramic view of The Theatre of [Miletus](/source/Miletus_(mythology)), [Didim](/source/Didim)

### Late Bronze Age

Recorded history at Miletus begins with the records of the [Hittite Empire](/source/Hittite_Empire) and the Mycenaean records of [Pylos](/source/Pylos) and [Knossos](/source/Knossos), in the Late Bronze Age.

#### Mycenaean period

Miletus was a [Mycenaean](/source/Mycenae) stronghold on the coast of Asia Minor from c. 1450 to 1100 BC.[10] In c. 1320 BC, the city supported an anti-Hittite rebellion of [Uhha-Ziti](/source/Uhha-Ziti) of nearby [Arzawa](/source/Arzawa). [Muršili](/source/Mur%C5%A1ili_II) ordered his generals [Mala-Ziti](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mala-Ziti&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Gulla](/source/Gulla) to raid Millawanda, and they proceeded to burn parts of it; damage from [LHIIIA](/source/Helladic_period) found on-site has been associated with this raid.[11] In addition the town was fortified according to a Hittite plan.[12]

Miletus is then mentioned in the "[Tawagalawa letter](/source/Tawagalawa_letter)", part of a series including the [Manapa-Tarhunta letter](/source/Manapa-Tarhunta_letter) and the [Milawata letter](/source/Milawata_letter), all of which are less securely dated. The Tawagalawa letter notes that Milawata had a governor, [Atpa](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atpa&action=edit&redlink=1), who was under the jurisdiction of *[Ahhiyawa](/source/Achaeans_(Homer)#Hittite_documents)* (a growing state probably in [LHIIIB](/source/Helladic_period) [Mycenaean Greece](/source/Mycenaean_Greece)); and that the town of [Atriya](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atriya&action=edit&redlink=1) was under Milesian jurisdiction. The Manapa-Tarhunta letter also mentions Atpa. Together the two letters tell that the adventurer [Piyama-Radu](/source/Piyama-Radu) had humiliated Manapa-Tarhunta before Atpa (in addition to other misadventures); a Hittite king then chased Piyama-Radu into Millawanda and, in the Tawagalawa letter, requested Piyama-Radu's extradition to [Hatti](/source/Hittite_empire).

The Milawata letter mentions a joint expedition by the Hittite king and a [Luwian](/source/Luwian) vassal (probably [Kupanta-Kurunta](/source/Kupanta-Kurunta) of Mira) against Miletus, and notes that the city (together with Atriya) was now under Hittite control.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

[Homer](/source/Homer) mentions that during the time of the [Trojan War](/source/Trojan_War), Miletus was an ally of Troy and was city of the [Carians](/source/Carians), under Nastes and [Amphimachus](/source/Amphimachus).[13]

In the last stage of LHIIIB, the citadel of Bronze Age [Pylos](/source/Pylos) counted among its female slaves a *mi-ra-ti-ja*, [Mycenaean Greek](/source/Mycenaean_Greek) for "women from Miletus", written in [Linear B](/source/Linear_B) syllabic script.[14]

#### Fall of Miletus

During the collapse of Bronze Age civilization, Miletus was burnt again, presumably by the [Sea Peoples](/source/Sea_Peoples).

### Dark Age

Mythographers told that Neleus, a son of [Codrus](/source/Codrus) the last [King of Athens](/source/King_of_Athens), had come to Miletus after the "[Return of the Heraclids](/source/Return_of_the_Heraclids)" (so, during the [Greek Dark Ages](/source/Greek_Dark_Ages)). A [heroon](/source/Hero%C3%B6n) for Neleus was allegedly located outside of the city wall of Roman Miletus, which probably marks the former city center contemporary to Neleus.[15][8] The Ionians killed the men of Miletus and married their [Carian](/source/Carians) widows. This is the mythical commencement of the enduring alliance between Athens and Miletus, which played an important role in the subsequent [Persian Wars](/source/Persian_Wars).

### Archaic period

The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way in Miletus

The city of Miletus became one of the twelve [Ionian](/source/Ionia) city-states of [Asia Minor](/source/Asia_Minor) to form the [Ionian League](/source/Ionian_League).

Miletus was one of the cities involved in the [Lelantine War](/source/Lelantine_War) of the 8th century BC.

#### Ties with Megara

Miletus is known to have early ties with [Megara](/source/Megara) in Greece. According to some scholars, these two cities had built up a "colonisation alliance". In the 7th/6th century BC, they acted in accordance with each other.[16]

Temple of Apollo in [Didyma](/source/Didyma)

Apollo statue found in Miletus

Both cities acted under the leadership and sanction of an [Apollo](/source/Apollo) oracle. Megara cooperated with that of [Delphi](/source/Delphi). Miletus had her own oracle of Apollo *Didymeus Milesios* in [Didyma](/source/Didyma). Also, there are many parallels in the political organization of both cities.[16]

According to [Pausanias](/source/Pausanias_(geographer)), the Megarians said that their town owed its origin to [Car](/source/Car_(Greek_mythology)), the son of [Phoroneus](/source/Phoroneus), who built the city citadel called 'Caria'.[17] This 'Car of Megara' may or may not be the same as the 'Car of the Carians,' also known as [Car (King of Caria)](/source/Car_(King_of_Caria)).

In the late 7th century BC, the tyrant [Thrasybulus](/source/Thrasybulus_(tyrant)) preserved the independence of Miletus during a 12-year war fought against the [Lydian Empire](/source/Lydian_Empire).[18] Thrasybulus was an ally of the famous [Corinthian](/source/Ancient_Corinth) tyrant [Periander](/source/Periander).

Miletus was an important centre of philosophy and science, producing such men as [Thales](/source/Thales), [Anaximander](/source/Anaximander), and [Anaximenes](/source/Anaximenes_of_Miletus). Referring to this period, [religious studies](/source/Religious_studies) professor [F. E. Peters](/source/F._E._Peters) described *[pan-deism](/source/Pan-deism)* as "the legacy of the Milesians".[19] As well as being a philosopher, [Thales](/source/Thales_of_Miletus) was also suggested to have initiated the famous grid plan of the city.[8] An archaic orthogonal street system at Miletus has been confirmed by archaeological survey, but this system would not cover the entire urban centre of Miletus until the classical period.[20]

By the 6th century BC, Miletus had earned a maritime empire with many colonies, mainly scattered around the [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea). Miletus and its numerous colonies were culturally tied by, for example, the cult of [Aphrodite](/source/Aphrodite), a deity associated with seafaring in the cultural context of Miletus. However, its maritime hegemony declined as a result of the Persian occupation in the early fourth century BC, and the vacuum of power was later filled by [Athens](/source/Ancient_Athenian_Empire).[21]

### First Achaemenid period

Top: [Electrum](/source/Electrum) coinage of Miletus c. 600–550 BC; Bottom: coinage c. 550–450 BC

When [Cyrus](/source/Cyrus_the_Great) of Persia defeated [Croesus](/source/Croesus) of Lydia in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus fell under [Persian](/source/Achaemenid_Empire) rule. In 499 BC, Miletus's [tyrant](/source/Tyrant) [Aristagoras](/source/Aristagoras) became the leader of the [Ionian Revolt](/source/Ionian_Revolt) against the Persians, who, under [Darius the Great](/source/Darius_the_Great), quashed this rebellion in the [Battle of Lade](/source/Battle_of_Lade) in 494 BC and punished Miletus by selling all of the women and children into slavery, killing the men, and expelling all of the young men as eunuchs, thereby assuring that no Miletus citizen would ever be born again. A year afterward, [Phrynicus](/source/Phrynichus_(tragic_poet)) produced the tragedy *The Capture of Miletus* in Athens. The Athenians fined him for reminding them of their loss.[22]

### Classical Greek period

The plan of Milet in the Classical period

In 479 BC, the Greeks decisively defeated the Persians on the Greek mainland at the [Battle of Plataea](/source/Battle_of_Plataea), and Miletus was freed from Persian rule. Although many sanctuaries of Miletus had been destroyed by the Persians, the restoration of them was prohibited by the "Oath of the Ionians", which aimed to retain the ruins as memorials. However, this oath was only partially observed by the Milesians, with some sanctuaries being restored back to their Archaic appearances.[23] The city's gridlike layout was also constructed across all the area within the city wall, designed by [Hippodamus of Miletus](/source/Hippodamus_of_Miletus). It later became famous and was known as the "Hippodamian plan", serving as the basic layout for the new foundations of Hellenistic and [Roman](/source/Ancient_Rome) cities.[20]

### Second Achaemenid period

In 387 BC, the [Peace of Antalcidas](/source/Peace_of_Antalcidas) gave the Persian [Achaemenid Empire](/source/Achaemenid_Empire) under king [Artaxerxes II](/source/Artaxerxes_II) control of the Greek city-states of [Ionia](/source/Ionia), including Miletus.

In 358 BC, Artaxerxes II died and was succeeded by his son [Artaxerxes III](/source/Artaxerxes_III), who, in 355 BC, forced Athens to conclude a peace, which required its forces to leave Asia Minor (Anatolia) and acknowledge the independence of its rebellious allies.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Macedonian period

In 334 BC, the [Siege of Miletus](/source/Siege_of_Miletus) by the forces of [Alexander the Great](/source/Alexander_the_Great) of Macedonia conquered the city. The conquest of most of the rest of Asia Minor soon followed. In this period, the city reached its greatest extent, occupying within its walls an area of approximately 90 hectares (220 acres).[24]

When Alexander died in 323 BC, Miletus came under the control of Ptolemy, governor of [Caria](/source/Caria), and his satrap of Lydia, [Asander](/source/Asander), who had become autonomous.[25] In 312 BC, Macedonian general [Antigonus I Monophthalmus](/source/Antigonus_I_Monophthalmus) sent Docimus and Medeius to free the city and grant autonomy, restoring the democratic patrimonial regime. In 301 BC, after Antigonus I was killed in the [Battle of Ipsus](/source/Battle_of_Ipsus) by the coalition of [Lysimachus](/source/Lysimachus), [Cassander](/source/Cassander), and [Seleucus I Nicator](/source/Seleucus_I_Nicator), founder of the [Seleucid Empire](/source/Seleucid_Empire), Miletus maintained good relations with all the successors after Seleucus I Nicator made substantial donations to the sanctuary of Didyma and returned the statue of Apollo that had been stolen by the Persians in 494 BC.

In 295 BC, Antigonus I's son [Demetrius Poliorcetes](/source/Demetrius_Poliorcetes) was the eponymous archon (stephanephorus) in the city, which allied with [Ptolemy I Soter](/source/Ptolemy_I_Soter) of Egypt, while Lysimachus assumed power in the region, enforcing a strict policy towards the Greek cities by imposing high taxes, forcing Miletus to resort to lending.

### Seleucid period

Around 287/286 BC Demetrius Poliorcetes returned, but failed to maintain his possessions and was imprisoned in Syria. Nicocles of Sidon, the commander of Demetrius' fleet surrendered the city. Lysimachus dominated until 281 BC, when he was defeated by the Seleucids at the [Battle of Corupedium](/source/Battle_of_Corupedium). In 280/279 BC the Milesians adopted a new chronological system based on the Seleucids.

Egyptian artefact found in Miletus

### Egyptian period

In 279 BC, the city was taken from Seleucid king [Antiochus II](/source/Antiochus_II) by Egyptian king [Ptolemy II Philadelphus](/source/Ptolemy_II_Philadelphus), who donated a large area of land to cement their friendship, and it remained under Egyptian sway until the end of the century.[26]

[Aristides of Miletus](/source/Aristides_of_Miletus), founder of the bawdy [Miletian school of literature](/source/Milesian_tale), flourished in the 2nd century BC.

### Roman period

After an alliance with Rome, in 133 BC the city became part of the province of Asia.

Miletus benefited from Roman rule and most of the present monuments date to this period.

The [New Testament](/source/New_Testament) mentions Miletus as the site where the Apostle [Paul](/source/Paul_of_Tarsus) in 57 AD met the elders of the [church](/source/Mother_Church) of [Ephesus](/source/Ephesus) near the close of his Third Missionary Journey, as recorded in [Acts of the Apostles](/source/Acts_of_the_Apostles) (Acts 20:15–38). It is believed that Paul stopped by the Great Harbour Monument and sat on its steps. He might have met the Ephesian elders there and then bade them farewell on the nearby beach. Miletus is also the city where Paul left [Trophimus](/source/Trophimus), one of his travelling companions, to recover from an illness ([2 Timothy](/source/2_Timothy) 4:20). Because this cannot be the same visit as Acts 20 (in which Trophimus accompanied Paul all the way to Jerusalem, according to Acts 21:29), Paul must have made at least one additional visit to Miletus, perhaps as late as 65 or 66 AD. Paul's previous successful three-year ministry in nearby [Ephesus](/source/Ephesus) resulted in the evangelization of the entire province of Asia (see Acts 19:10, 20; [1 Corinthians](/source/1_Corinthians) 16:9). It is safe to assume that at least by the time of the apostle's second visit to Miletus, a fledgling Christian community was established in Miletus.

In 262 new city walls were built.

However the harbour was silting up and the economy was in decline. In 538 emperor [Justinian](/source/Justinian) rebuilt the walls but it had become a small town.

### Byzantine period

Byzantine Palation Castle

During the [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine_Empire) age the [see of Miletus](/source/See_of_Miletus) was raised to an [archbishopric](/source/Diocese) and later a [metropolitan bishopric](/source/Metropolitan_bishopric). The small Byzantine castle called Palation located on the hill beside the city, was built at this time. Miletus was headed by a [curator](/source/Curator_bonis).[27][28] In 1369, the archbishopric of Miletus, along with the one of [Antioch on the Meander](/source/Antioch_on_the_Maeander), were assumed by [Stauropolis](/source/Stauropolis_(diocese)) due to their decline, as a result of the threat posed by the [Anatolian Beyliks](/source/Anatolian_beyliks).[29]

### Turkish rule

The Ottoman [Ilyas Bey mosque](/source/%C4%B0lyas_Bey_Mosque) from the Turkish period at the Miletus site

[Seljuk Turks](/source/Seljuk_Turks) conquered the city in the 14th century and used Miletus as a port to trade with [Venice](/source/Venice).

In the 15th century, the [Ottomans](/source/Ottoman_Turks) utilized the city as a harbour during their rule in [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia). As the harbour became silted up, the city was abandoned. Due to ancient and subsequent [deforestation](/source/Deforestation),[30] [overgrazing](/source/Overgrazing) (mostly by goat herds), [erosion](/source/Erosion) and [soil degradation](/source/Soil_degradation), the ruins of the city lie some 10 km (6.2 mi) from the sea with [sediments](/source/Sediment) filling the plain and bare hill ridges without soils and trees, a [maquis shrubland](/source/Maquis_shrubland) remaining.

The [Ilyas Bey Complex](/source/%C4%B0lyas_Bey_Mosque) from 1403 with its mosque is a [Europa Nostra](/source/Europa_Nostra) awarded cultural heritage site in Miletus.

### Archaeological excavations

The [Market Gate of Miletus](/source/Market_Gate_of_Miletus) at the [Pergamon Museum](/source/Pergamon_Museum) in Berlin

The first excavations in Miletus were conducted by the French archaeologist [Olivier Rayet](/source/Olivier_Rayet) in 1873, followed by the German archaeologists [Julius Hülsen](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_H%C3%BClsen&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Theodor Wiegand](/source/Theodor_Wiegand)[31][32][33] between 1899 and 1931. Excavations, however, were interrupted several times by wars and various other events. Carl Weickart excavated for a short season in 1938 and again between 1955 and 1957.[34][35][36] He was followed by Gerhard Kleiner and then by Wolfgang Muller-Wiener. Today, excavations are organized by the [Ruhr University](/source/Ruhr_University) of [Bochum](/source/Bochum), [Germany](/source/Germany).

One remarkable artifact recovered from the city during the first excavations of the 19th century, the [Market Gate of Miletus](/source/Market_Gate_of_Miletus), was transported piece by piece to Germany and reassembled. It is currently exhibited at the [Pergamon Museum](/source/Pergamon_Museum) in [Berlin](/source/Berlin). The main collection of artifacts resides in the *Miletus Museum* in [Didim](/source/Didim), [Aydın](/source/Ayd%C4%B1n), serving since 1973.

Archaeologists discovered a cave under the city's theatre and believe that it is a "sacred" cave which belonged to the cult of [Asklepius](/source/Asklepius).[37][38]

### Examples of the Milesian Vase

	- Artifacts

		- The name Fikellura derives from a site on the island of Rhodes to which this fabric has been attributed. It is now established that the center of production was Miletus.

		- Milesian Vase

		- Milesian Vase

		- Milesian Vase

		- Milesian Vase

## Geography

Location of Miletus at the [Maeander River](/source/B%C3%BCy%C3%BCk_Menderes_River)'s mouth

The ruins appear on satellite maps at 37°31.8'N 27°16.7'E, about 3 km north of [Balat](/source/Balat%2C_Didim) and 3 km east of [Batıköy](/source/Bat%C4%B1k%C3%B6y%2C_Didim) in [Aydın Province](/source/Ayd%C4%B1n_Province), [Turkey](/source/Turkey).

In antiquity the city possessed a [harbor](/source/Harbor) at the southern entry of a large bay, on which two more of the traditional twelve Ionian cities stood: [Priene](/source/Priene) and [Myus](/source/Myus). The harbor of Miletus was additionally protected by the nearby small island of Lade. Over the centuries the gulf silted up with [alluvium](/source/Alluvium) carried by the [Meander](/source/B%C3%BCy%C3%BCk_Menderes_River) River. Priene and Myus had lost their harbors by the Roman era, and Miletus itself became an inland town in the early Christian era; all three were abandoned to ruin as their economies were strangled by the lack of access to the sea. There is a Great Harbor Monument where, according to the New Testament account, the apostle Paul stopped on his way back to Jerusalem by boat. He met the Ephesian Elders and then headed out to the beach to bid them farewell, recorded in the book of Acts 20:17-38.

### Geology

During the [Pleistocene](/source/Pleistocene) epoch the Miletus region was submerged in the [Aegean Sea](/source/Aegean_Sea). It subsequently emerged slowly, the sea reaching a low level of about 130 meters (430 ft) below present level at about 18,000 [BP](/source/Before_Present). The site of Miletus was part of the mainland.

A gradual rise brought a level of about 1.75 meters (5 ft 9 in) below present at about 5500 BP, creating several [karst](/source/Karst) block islands of limestone, the location of the first settlements at Miletus. At about 1500 BC the karst shifted due to small crustal movements and the islands consolidated into a peninsula. Since then the sea has risen 1.75 m but the peninsula has been surrounded by sediment from the [Maeander](/source/Maeander) river and is now land-locked. Sedimentation of the harbor began at about 1000 BC, and by 300 AD [Lake Bafa](/source/Lake_Bafa) had been created.[39]

## Gallery

		- Sculpture from Baths of Faustina

		- Faustina Baths in Miletus

		- The Sacred Way from Miletus with the remains of the stoa

		- The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way

		- Remains of the stoa connecting the main Bath of Faustina to the Palaestra

		- Illustration of Miletus

		- Right entrance of the ancient Greek theatre

		- Ancient Greek theatre

## Economy and Land Use

The economic prosperity of Miletus during the [Archaic](/source/Archaic_Greece) and [Classical](/source/Classical_Greece) periods depended heavily on its rural hinterland. Archaeological surveys and remote sensing analyses have revealed systems of terraces, field boundaries, and enclosures across the Milesian peninsula. These are interpreted as evidence of long-standing agro-pastoral activity, possibly dating as far back as the Archaic period and extending into [Late Antiquity](/source/Late_Antiquity).[40]

[Herodotus](/source/Herodotus), describing the tactics of [Alyattes](/source/Alyattes) against the Milesian countryside, writes: "He sent his army, marching to the sound of pipes and harps and bass and treble flutes, to invade when the crops in the land were ripe; and whenever he came to the Milesian territory, he neither demolished nor burnt nor tore the doors off the country dwellings, but let them stand unharmed; but he destroyed the trees and the crops of the land, and so returned to where he came from; for as the Milesians had command of the sea, it was of no use for his army to besiege their city. The reason that the Lydian did not destroy the houses was this: that the Milesians might have homes from which to plant and cultivate their land, and that there might be the fruit of their toil for his invading army to lay waste."[41]

These rural systems supported olive cultivation, animal herding, and small-scale farming. Faunal remains suggest that herding was a major component of the rural economy. Excavations have shown a predominance of goat bones over sheep, possibly reflecting the influence of [Cretan](/source/Crete) animal husbandry techniques adopted in early Miletus.[42]

[Strabo](/source/Strabo), citing [Ephorus](/source/Ephorus), relates: "Miletus was first founded and fortified by the Cretans on the spot above the sea-coast where at present the ancient Miletus is situated, and that [Sarpedon](/source/Sarpedon) conducted thither settlers from the Miletus in Crete, and gave it the same name; that [Leleges](/source/Leleges) were the former occupiers of the country, and that afterwards [Neleus](/source/Neleus) built the present city."[43]

Farmsteads, oil presses, cisterns, and possible pastoral installations such as shepherding stations have been identified in the countryside, suggesting a decentralized but productive economy.[44] The northern plains and Maeander valley, both under Milesian control, were especially fertile, providing grain and supporting livestock crucial to the city’s sustenance and export economy.[45]

In addition to grain and wool, Miletus likely exported surplus olive oil during favorable years. Archaic Milesian [amphorae](/source/Amphora), widely distributed and characterized by thickened rims, may have been used for oil transport.[46]

Botanical evidence from the Milesian countryside also reveals the cultivation of figs and lentils. Carbonized fig remains have been found in large numbers, and fig trees were likely common along field margins, significantly influencing the diet in the region.[47]

Both literary and archaeological evidence demonstrate that Miletus’ agricultural base was essential for sustaining its urban population, supporting rural life, and providing the surpluses that underpinned Milesian colonization and trade.

## Colonies

Map of the Black Sea, featuring the chronological phasing of major Milesian colonial foundations

Miletus became known for the great number of colonies it founded. It was considered the greatest Greek metropolis and founded more colonies than any other Greek city. [Pliny the Elder](/source/Pliny_the_Elder) (*[Natural History](/source/Natural_History_(Pliny))*, 5.31) says that Miletus founded over 90 colonies.

The extent of Milesian colonization was shaped by a convergence of economic, social, and political factors. Like other Greek [poleis](/source/Polis), Miletus faced pressures from population growth and competition for arable land, which drove many citizens to seek new opportunities overseas. Economic motivations included expanding trade networks and accessing new resources, especially along the Black Sea coast, which offered grain, fish, and raw materials not easily available in [Ionia](/source/Ionia). Political factors, such as [stasis](/source/Stasis_(political_history)) (internal conflict) and the impact of foreign powers like [Lydia](/source/Lydia) and [Persia](/source/Achaemenid_Empire), also contributed, sometimes prompting groups or exiles to establish new settlements abroad. Scholars note that Milesian colonization was characterized both by “proactive” ventures seeking commercial gain and “reactive” migrations resulting from disruptions at home.[48][49][50]

The Black Sea region became a primary focus of Milesian colonial expansion from the seventh century BCE onward. Milesian foundations such as [Sinope](/source/Sinop%2C_Turkey), [Olbia](/source/Pontic_Olbia), and [Panticapaeum](/source/Panticapaeum) quickly grew into major trading hubs and centres for the exchange of goods between Greeks and indigenous populations. These colonies enabled Miletus to dominate regional commerce in grain, fish, and slaves, contributing significantly to the city’s wealth. The choice of the Black Sea also reflected both strategies to exploit new resources and responses to population and political pressures in Ionia.[51][52][53]

Sinope, located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, was one of the earliest and most prosperous Milesian colonies, traditionally founded in the late seventh century BCE.[54]

Olbia, on the northwestern Black Sea coast, likewise became a major economic centre, especially for grain exports to the Greek world.[55][56]

Milesian colonization not only expanded the city’s economic and political reach but also established enduring cultural connections across the Mediterranean and Black Sea, with many settlements continuing to thrive and influence local societies for centuries.[57][58]

While some Milesian colonies ultimately declined or were absorbed by neighbouring powers, many—such as Sinope and Olbia—remained prominent centres of trade and [Hellenic culture](/source/Hellenistic_civilization) well into the [Hellenistic](/source/Hellenistic_period) and Roman periods. The archaeological remains and historical records of these colonies continue to shed light on the reach and legacy of Milesian influence throughout antiquity.[59][60][61]

Some colonies founded include:

- [Abydos](/source/Abydos_(Hellespont))

- [Amisos](/source/Amisos)

- [Apollonia Pontica](/source/Sozopol)

- [Borysthenites](/source/Berezan_Island) (Berezan)

- [Cardia](/source/Cardia_(Thrace))

- [Cius](/source/Cius)

- [Colonae](/source/Colonae_(Hellespont))

- [Cotyora](/source/Cotyora)

- [Cyzicus](/source/Cyzicus)

- [Dioscurias](/source/Dioscurias)

- [Hermonassa](/source/Hermonassa_(Pontus))

- [Histria](/source/Histria_(Sinoe))

- [Kepoi](/source/Kepoi)

- [Kerasous](/source/Kerasous)

- [Lampsacus](/source/Lampsacus)

- [Leros](/source/Leros)

- [Limnae](/source/Limnae_(Bithynia))

- [Miletopolis](/source/Miletopolis)

- [Myrmekion](/source/Myrmekion) (?)

- [Nymphaion](/source/Nymphaion_(Crimea))

- [Odessos](/source/Varna%2C_Bulgaria)

- [Olbia](/source/Olbia%2C_Ukraine)

- [Paesus](/source/Paesus)

- [Panticapaeum](/source/Panticapaeum)

- [Parium](/source/Parium)

- [Patraeus](/source/Patraeus_(city))

- [Phanagoria](/source/Phanagoria)

- [Phasis](/source/Phasis_(town))

- [Pityus](/source/Pityus)

- [Priapus](/source/Karabiga)

- [Proconnesus](/source/Proconnesus_(city))

- [Prusias](/source/Cius) (?)

- [Sinope](/source/Sinop%2C_Turkey)

- [Scepsis](/source/Scepsis)

- [Tanais](/source/Tanais)

- [Theodosia](/source/Feodosiya)

- [Tieion](/source/Tium)

- [Tomis](/source/Constan%C8%9Ba)

- [Tyras](/source/Tyras)

- [Tyritake](/source/Tyritake)

- [Trapezunt](/source/Trapezunt)

## Philosophy

Miletus played a foundational role in the origins of Western philosophical inquiry. In the 6th century BCE, thinkers such as [Thales](/source/Thales), [Anaximander](/source/Anaximander), and [Anaximenes](/source/Anaximenes_of_Miletus)—collectively known as the [Milesian school](/source/Milesian_school)—began to investigate the material basis of the cosmos through rational, systematic inquiry rather than mythological narrative.[62]

[Aristotle](/source/Aristotle) records that, “Thales, the founder of this kind of philosophy, stated it to be water. (This is why he declared that the earth rests on water.) …water is the principle of the nature of moist things.”[63] Aristotle further notes, “Some say [the earth] rests on water. This is the oldest account that we have inherited, and they say that Thales of Miletus said this. It rests because it floats like wood or some other such thing…for nothing is by nature such as to rest on air, but on water.”[64]

Thales’ student Anaximander introduced the concept of the [apeiron](/source/Apeiron) (the infinite or indefinite) as a more abstract source of existence. According to Aristotle (via [Simplicius](/source/Simplicius_of_Cilicia)): “Anaximander… said that the apeiron was the arkhē and element of things that are, and he was the first to introduce this name for the arkhē. …He says that the arkhē is neither water nor any of the other things called elements, but some other nature which is apeiron, out of which come to be all the heavens and the worlds in them. The things that are perish into the things from which they come to be, according to necessity, for they pay penalty and retribution to each other for their injustice in accordance with the ordering of time, as he says in rather poetical language.”[65] Aristotle also states that for Anaximander, the apeiron “is deathless and indestructible…for it is divine.”[66]

[Anaximenes](/source/Anaximenes_of_Miletus), in turn, posited air (*aēr*) as the basic element, suggesting it could transform into other forms of matter through rarefaction and condensation: “Anaximenes… declared that air is the underlying principle and that all the rest come to be from it by rarefaction and condensation. Fire, when air is rarefied; wind, then cloud, when condensed; water, then earth, then stones, and the rest come into being from these.”[67]

The emergence of this rational mode of thinking was likely influenced by Miletus’s cosmopolitanism and its contact with the ancient cultures of the [Near East](/source/Near_East).[68] These intellectual foundations laid the groundwork for later developments in Greek philosophy and science.

## Religion and the Sacred Way

Miletus had several significant religious institutions, the most important of which was the sanctuary of [Apollo](/source/Apollo) at [Didyma](/source/Didyma), located roughly 18 kilometers south of the city. The sanctuary was connected to the city by a ceremonial road known as the [Sacred Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sacred_Way_(Miletus)&action=edit&redlink=1), which served as a route for ritual processions and pilgrimage festivals.[69]

Didyma was renowned for its oracle, second in prestige only to that of [Delphi](/source/Delphi). Prophecies were delivered by a priestess within a richly adorned temple complex. Archaeological discoveries along the Sacred Way have uncovered rows of consecrated statues and inscriptions, often commissioned by Milesian elites and foreign notables.[70]

The sanctuary was a hub for both religion and politics, reinforcing Miletus’ influence within [Ionia](/source/Ionia) and the wider [Aegean](/source/Aegean_Sea). Religious practices at Didyma, including oracular consultation and ritual dedication, reflected and shaped the city’s cultural identity and its connections with other Ionian communities.

## Apollo Delphinion

Sanctuary of Apollo

The Delphinion, sanctuary of Apollo Delphinios, was one of the most important civic–religious institutions of ancient Miletus. Constructed along the eastern edge of the Lions’ Harbour, the sanctuary originated in the 6th century BCE and remained in use through the Roman period. Its Archaic form was destroyed in the Persian sack of 494 BCE but was rebuilt swiftly, highlighting its importance in Milesian political and ritual life.[71]

The sanctuary functioned both as a religious center and a civic archive. Inscriptions recording citizenship scrutiny, ephebic oaths, lists of eponymous officials, decrees, and treaties attest to its administrative role.[72] Ritual duties of the Molpoi, the guild responsible for musical and ceremonial functions, were administered from the site. Their responsibilities included offerings at designated stations along the Sacred Way, the ca. 18 km processional route leading from the Delphinion to the oracle of Apollo at Didyma.[73] The sanctuary’s shoreline placement, the presence of Kosmoi magistrates (a Cretan institutional title), and cultic implements described in inscriptions reflect its Cretan-linked origins within Milesian identity formation.[74]

3D reconstruction of the Apollo Delphinion at Miletus

Architecturally, the Delphinion consisted of a large rectangular peristyle courtyard lined with colonnades and enclosed by exterior masonry walls, partially roofed with fired-clay imbrex and tegula tiles. Excavation reports and inscriptions indicate the presence of internal altars, statue bases, and cult installations distributed across the courtyard.[75] The complex measured approximately 60 × 50 m. A published plan by the Foundation of the Hellenic World documents the arrangement of columns, entrances, and interior monuments.[76]

Modern archaeological understanding of the Delphinion derives primarily from late 19th-century French excavations and early 20th-century German investigations. Contemporary digital reconstructions, informed by these excavation plans and inscriptions, illustrate the sanctuary’s architectural organization and its role as a central institution in Milesian civic and ritual practices.

## Notable people

[Thales of Miletus](/source/Thales_of_Miletus) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic philosopher from the city. He is otherwise historically recognized as the first individual known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy.

- [Arctinus of Miletus](/source/Arctinus_of_Miletus) (775 BC – 741 BC), epic poet

- [Thales](/source/Thales) (c. 624 BC – c. 546 BC), [Pre-Socratic](/source/Pre-Socratic_philosophy) philosopher

- [Anaximander](/source/Anaximander) (c. 610 BC – c. 546 BC), Pre-Socratic philosopher and geographer

- [Cadmus](/source/Cadmus_of_Miletus) (fl. c. 550 BC), writer

- [Anaximenes](/source/Anaximenes_of_Miletus) (c. 585 BC – c. 525 BC), Pre-Socratic philosopher

- [Aristagoras](/source/Aristagoras) (fl. 6th-5th century BC), Tyrant of Miletus

- [Phocylides](/source/Phocylides) (born c. 560 BC), Greek gnomic poet

- [Hecataeus](/source/Hecataeus_of_Miletus) (c. 550 BC – c. 476 BC), Greek historian

- [Histiaeus](/source/Histiaeus) (died 493 BC), ruler of Miletus

- [Leucippus](/source/Leucippus) (fl. first half of 5th century BC), philosopher and originator of Atomism (his association with Miletus is traditional, but disputed)

- [Hippodamus](/source/Hippodamus_of_Miletus) (c. 498 – 408 BC), urban planner

- [Aspasia](/source/Aspasia) (c. 470 – 400 BC) courtesan, and mistress of [Pericles](/source/Pericles), was born in Miletus

- [Aristides](/source/Aristides_of_Miletus) (fl. 2nd century BC), writer

- [Monime](/source/Monime) (died 72/71 BC), a Greek noblewoman and one of the wives of [Mithridates VI Eupator](/source/Mithridates_VI_Eupator)

- [Alexander Polyhistor](/source/Alexander_Polyhistor) (fl. 1st century AD), Greek scholar, born in Miletus before being taken as a slave to Rome

- [Aeschines of Miletus](/source/Aeschines_of_Miletus) (fl. 1st century AD), a distinguished orator in the Asiatic style

- [Isidore](/source/Isidore_of_Miletus) (fl. 6th century AD), Greek architect

- [Hesychius](/source/Hesychius_of_Miletus) (fl. 6th century AD), Greek chronicler and biographer

- Timagenes or Timogenes, historian and rhetor[77]

- Philiscus of Miletus, rhetor. Teacher of [Neanthes of Cyzicus](/source/Neanthes_of_Cyzicus)[78]

- Hellanicus, historian[79]

- Dionysicles ([Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek_language): Διονυσικλῆς) of Miletus, sculptor. One of his famous works was a statue, at [Leonidaion](/source/Leonidaion), of Democrates of [Tenedos](/source/Tenedos) who was an [ancient Olympic](/source/Ancient_Olympic_Games) winner at wrestling [80]

- [Demodamas](/source/Demodamas), Explorer, general and Satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana

- [Baccheius or Bacchius of Miletus](/source/Baccheius_of_Miletus) (Βακχεῖος), a writer. He wrote a work on agriculture.[81]

## See also

- [Cities of the ancient Near East](/source/Cities_of_the_ancient_Near_East)

## Notes

## References and sources

**References**

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MoutonRutherford2013_1-0)** Alice Mouton; Ian Rutherford; Ilya Yakubovich (7 June 2013). [*Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean*](https://books.google.com/books?id=a_B8VOPZlYIC&pg=PA435). BRILL. pp. 435–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-25341-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-25341-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Greaves2002_2-0)** Alan M. Greaves (25 April 2002). [*Miletos: A History*](https://books.google.com/books?id=njwzReO4PWkC&pg=PA71). Taylor & Francis. pp. 71–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-203-99393-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/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

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SteadmanMcMahon2011_3-0)** Sharon R. Steadman; Gregory McMahon; John Gregory McMahon (15 September 2011). [*The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE)*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7ND_CE9If3kC). [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). p. 369 and 608. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-537614-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/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.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-crouch183_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-crouch183_4-1) Crouch (2004) page 183.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Steadman, Sharon R.; McMahon, Gregory (15 September 2011). [*The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE)*](https://books.google.com/books?id=TY3t4y_L5SQC). OUP USA. p. 369. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-537614-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-537614-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Book 14 Section 1.6.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7, chapter 2, section 5"](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D5). *www.perseus.tufts.edu*. Retrieved 8 March 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_8-2) Herda, Alexander (2013), ["Burying A Sage: The Heroon Of Thales In The Agora Of Miletos"](https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifeagd.2156), *Le Mort dans la ville*, İstanbul: Institut français d’études anatoliennes, pp. 67–122, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4000/books.ifeagd.2156](https://doi.org/10.4000%2Fbooks.ifeagd.2156), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2-36245-009-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2-36245-009-9), retrieved 8 March 2025{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_work_parameter_with_ISBN))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** The late fantasy fiction of [Antoninus Liberalis](/source/Antoninus_Liberalis), *Metamorphoses* XXX 1–2 after Nicander, can be safely disregarded as being in any way history. His entertaining tales have the imaginary character named [Miletus](/source/Miletus_(hero)) fleeing [Crete](/source/Crete) to avoid being forced to become the [eromenos](/source/Eromenos) of King [Minos](/source/Minos). He founds the city only after slaying a giant named Asterius, son of [Anax](/source/Anax_(mythology)), after whom the region known as Miletus was called 'Anactoria', "place of Anax". [Anax](/source/Anax) in Greek means "the king" and [Asterius](/source/Asterius_(mythology)) is "starry".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Hajnal, Ivo. ["Graeco-Anatolian Contacts in the Mycenaean Period"](https://www.academia.edu/1822403). University of Innsbruck. Retrieved 22 September 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Christopher Mee, *Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age*, p. 142

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Mee, *Anatolia and the Aegean*, p. 139

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad2.php#BkII811](https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad2.php#BkII811), Iliad, book II

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Palaeolexicon](http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=329), Word study tool of ancient languages

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7, chapter 2, section 6"](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus+7.2.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0154). *www.perseus.tufts.edu*. Retrieved 8 March 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Alexander_Herda_research_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Alexander_Herda_research_16-1) Alexander Herda (2015), [Megara and Miletos: Colonising with Apollo. A Structural Comparison of Religious and Political Institutions in Two Archaic Greek Polis States](https://www.academia.edu/12530869); see Abstract at [Alexander Herda research](https://hu-berlin.academia.edu/AlexanderHerda)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Paus. i. 39. § 5, i. 40. § 6

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** *Miletos, the ornament of Ionia: history of the city to 400 B.C.E* by Vanessa B. Gorman (University of Michigan Press) 2001 – pg 123

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** [Francis Edward Peters](/source/Francis_Edward_Peters) (1967). [*Greek Philosophical Terms: A Historical Lexicon*](https://archive.org/details/greekphilosophic0000pete). NYU Press. p. [169](https://archive.org/details/greekphilosophic0000pete/page/169). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0814765521](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0814765521).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_20-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_20-1) Weber, B (2007). "Der Stadtplan von Milet". In Cobet, J; von Graeve, V; Niemeier, W.D.; Zimmermann, A (eds.). *Frühes Ionien. Eine Bestandsaufnahme*. Mainz am Rhein. pp. 327–362.{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Greaves, Alan M., ed. (2002). *Miletos: a history*. London New York: Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-203-99393-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-203-99393-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** Herodotus (5 March 1998), Waterfield, Robin; Dewald, Carolyn (eds.), ["Histories"](https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00271233), *Oxford World's Classics: Herodotus: The Histories*, Oxford University Press, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/oseo/instance.00271233](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foseo%2Finstance.00271233), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-953566-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-953566-8), retrieved 4 May 2022{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_work_parameter_with_ISBN))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Herda, Alexander (2019), ["Copy and paste? Miletos before and after the Persian Wars"](https://doi.org/10.1484/m.supsec-eb.5.118517), *Reconstruire les villes*, Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, pp. 91–120, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1484/m.supsec-eb.5.118517](https://doi.org/10.1484%2Fm.supsec-eb.5.118517), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-2-503-58631-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-2-503-58631-1), retrieved 8 March 2025{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_work_parameter_with_ISBN))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Chant, Colin (1999). ["Greece"](https://books.google.com/books?id=MAhVazSIKM8C&pg=PA61). In Chant, Colin; Goodman, David (eds.). *Pre-industrial Cities and Technology*. London: Routledge. p. 61. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780415200752](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780415200752).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ['The Life of Alexander the Great' by John Williams, Henry Ketcham, p. 89](https://books.google.com/books?id=0dsLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA89)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** Foundation of the Hellenic World. ["Hellenistic Period"](http://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/elinistiki.php?menu_id=5). *www.fhw.gr*.[*[unreliable source?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** The Byzantine aristocracy and its military function, Volume 859 of the Variorum collected studies series, Jean-Claude Cheynet, Ashgate Pub., 2006. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7546-5902-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7546-5902-0)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Studies in Byzantine Sigillography, Volume 10, Jean-Claude Cheynet, Claudia Sode, published by Walter de Gruyter, 2010. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-11-022704-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-11-022704-8)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** [Vryonis, Speros](/source/Speros_Vryonis) (1971). [The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press.](https://archive.org/details/declineofmedieva0000vryo) p. 296

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** ["Miletus (Site)"](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Miletus&object=Site). *www.perseus.tufts.edu*. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Olivier Rayet and Thomas, Milet Et Le Golfe Latmique, Fouilles Et Explorations Archeologiques Publ, 1877 (reprint Nabu Press 2010 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-141-62992-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-141-62992-5)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** Theodor Wiegand and Julius Hülsen [Das Nymphaeum von Milet, Museen zu Berlin 1919] and Kurt Krausem, Die Milesische Landschaft, Milet II, vol. 2, Schoetz, 1929

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Theodor Wiegand et al., Der Latmos, Milet III, vol. 1, G. Reimer, 1913

1. **[^](#cite_ref-34)** Carl Weickert, Grabungen in Milet 1938, Bericht über den VI internationalen Kongress für Archäologie, pp. 325-332, 1940

1. **[^](#cite_ref-35)** Carl Weickert, Die Ausgrabung beim Athena-Tempel in Milet 1955, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, Deutsche Archaeologische Institut, vol. 7, pp.102-132, 1957

1. **[^](#cite_ref-36)** Carl Weickert, Neue Ausgrabungen in Milet, Neue deutsche Ausgrabungen im Mittelmeergebiet und im Vorderen Orient, pp. 181-96, 1959

1. **[^](#cite_ref-37)** ['Sacred Cave' in ancient Miletos awaits visitors](https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/photo-sacred-cave-in-ancient-miletos-awaits-visitors-168323#photo-1)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-38)** [The Ancient City of Miletos’s “Sacred Cave” Opened to Visitors](https://arkeonews.net/the-ancient-city-of-miletoss-sacred-cave-opened-to-visitors/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-39)** Crouch (2004) page 180.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-40)** Wilkinson, Toby C., and Anja Slawisch. "An Agro-Pastoral Palimpsest: New Insights into the Historical Rural Economy of the Milesian Peninsula." *Anatolian Studies*, vol. 70, 2020, p. 15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-41)** Herodotus. *Histories* 1.17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-42)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 31.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-43)** Strabo, *Geography* 14.1.6.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-44)** Wilkinson, Toby C., and Anja Slawisch. "An Agro-Pastoral Palimpsest: New Insights into the Historical Rural Economy of the Milesian Peninsula." *Anatolian Studies*, vol. 70, 2020, pp. 2–3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-45)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-46)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-47)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-48)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-49)** Knight, John Brendan. *The proactive and reactive stimuli of Archaic Milesian colonization in the Black Sea before 494 B.C.E.* The Open University, 2012, pp. 27–43.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-50)** Sacks, David. *Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World*. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-51)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-52)** Knight, John Brendan. *The proactive and reactive stimuli of Archaic Milesian colonisation in the Black Sea before 494 B.C.E.* The Open University, 2012, pp. 27–43.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-53)** Sacks, David. *Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World*. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-54)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-55)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-56)** Knight, John Brendan. *The proactive and reactive stimuli of Archaic Milesian colonisation in the Black Sea before 494 B.C.E.* The Open University, 2012, pp. 27–43.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-57)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-58)** Sacks, David. *Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World*. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-59)** Wilkinson, Toby C., and Anja Slawisch. "An Agro-Pastoral Palimpsest: New Insights into the Historical Rural Economy of the Milesian Peninsula." *Anatolian Studies*, vol. 70, 2020, pp. 1–26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-60)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-61)** Sacks, David. *Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World*. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-62)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, pp. 4–5.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-63)** Aristotle. *Metaphysics*. 983b6–27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-64)** Aristotle. *Metaphysics*. 983b6–27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-65)** Simplicius, in Aristotle. *Physics*. 24.13–21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-66)** Aristotle. *Physics*. 203b10–15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-67)** Simplicius, in Aristotle. *Physics*. 24.26–25.1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-68)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 117.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-69)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 118; Loy, Michael S., and Anja Slawisch. "Shedding Light on the Matter: Dedications and Ritual Change in Ionia during the Ionian Revolt." *Journal of Greek Archaeology*, vol. 6, 2021, p. 117.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-70)** Greaves, Alan M. *Miletos: A History*. Routledge, 2002, p. 118.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-71)** Gorman, Vanessa B. (2004). *Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia: A History of the City to 400 B.C*. University of Michigan Press. pp. 168–171.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-72)** Gorman, Vanessa B. (2004). *Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia*. pp. 170–171.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-73)** Faraone, Christopher A. (2018). "Seaside Altars of Apollo Delphinios, Embedded Hymns, and the Tripartite Structure of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo". *Greece & Rome*. **65** (1): 15–33.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-74)** Bachvarova, Mary R. (2022). "Ceremonies, Feasts and Festivities in Ancient Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean World". In Da Riva, Arroyo & Debourse (ed.). *Greco-Anatolian Identity-Making in the Milesian Molpoi-Procession*. Zaphon Verlag. pp. 51–56.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-75)** Bachvarova, Mary R. (2022). pp. 52–53. {{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: Missing or empty |title= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#citation_missing_title))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-76)** ["Delphinion of Miletus"](https://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/delfinio.php?mp=map6a). *Foundation of the Hellenic World*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-77)** [Suda, tau, 590](https://topostext.org/work/240#tau.590)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-78)** [Suda, nu, 114](https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/nu/114)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-79)** [Suda, epsilon, 738](http://www.stoa.org/sol-entries/epsilon/738)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-80)** [Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.17.1](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:6.17.1)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-81)** [A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Baccheius](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dbaccheius-bio-1)

**Sources**

- Crouch, Dora P. (2004). *Geology and Settlement: Greco-Roman Patterns*. New York: Oxford University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780195083248](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780195083248).

## Further reading

- Greaves, Alan M. (2002). *Miletos: A History*. London: Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780415238465](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780415238465).

- Gorman, Vanessa B. (2001). *Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia: A History of the City to 400 B.C.E*. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780472111992](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780472111992).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Miletus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Miletus).

- [Official website](https://web.archive.org/web/20131020162924/http://www.muze.gov.tr/miletus-en)

- [Ausgrabungen in Milet](http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/milet/) official site of the excavations in Miletus by Ruhr-Universität Bochum (in German)

- [Ancient Coins of Miletus](http://rjohara.net/coins/)

- [Livius picture archive: Miletus](https://www.livius.org/articles/place/miletus/?)

- [Some 250 pictures of site and museum](https://pbase.com/dosseman/miletus)

- [Greek Inscriptions of Miletus](http://www.attalus.org/docs/search.html#Miletos) in English translation

- [The Theatre at Miletus, The Ancient Theatre Archive, Theatre specifications and virtual reality tour of theatre](http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/miletus/miletus.htm)

- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). ["Miletus"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Miletus). *[Catholic Encyclopedia](/source/Catholic_Encyclopedia)*. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

- [Details about most of the monuments](http://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/index.php)

- [Walking the sacred pagan path from Ancient Miletus to Didim](http://turkishtravelblog.com/sacred-path-miletus-turkey-ancient/)

v t e History of Anatolia

v t e Ancient Greece Timeline History Geography Periods Cycladic civilization Minoan civilization Mycenaean Greece Greek Dark Ages Archaic Greece Classical Greece Hellenistic Greece Roman Greece Geography Aegean Sea Aeolis Crete Cyrenaica Cyprus Doris Epirus Hellespont Ionia Ionian Sea Macedonia Magna Graecia Peloponnesus Pontus Taurica Ancient Greek colonies City states Politics Military City states Argos Athens Byzantion Chalcis Corinth Ephesus Miletus Pergamon Eretria Kerkyra Larissa Megalopolis Thebes Megara Rhodes Samos Sparta Lissus (Crete) Kingdoms Bithynia Cappadocia Epirus Greco-Bactrian Kingdom Indo-Greek Kingdom Macedonia Pergamon Pontus Ptolemaic Kingdom Seleucid Empire Federations/ Confederations Doric Hexapolis (c. 1100 – c. 560 BC) Italiote League (c. 800–389 BC) Ionian League (c. 650–404 BC) Peloponnesian League (c. 550–366 BC) Amphictyonic League (c. 595–279 BC) Acarnanian League (c. 500–31 BC) Hellenic League (499–449 BC) Delian League (478–404 BC) Chalcidian League (430–348 BC) Boeotian League (c. 424–c. 395 BC) Aetolian League (c. 400–188 BC) Second Athenian League (378–355 BC) Thessalian League (374–196 BC) Arcadian League (370–c. 230 BC) Epirote League (370–168 BC) League of Corinth (338–322 BC) Euboean League (c. 300 BC–c. 300 AD) Achaean League (280–146 BC) Politics Boule Free city Koinon Proxeny Stasis Tagus Tyrant Athenian Agora Areopagus Dikasterion Ecclesia Graphe paranomon Heliaia Ostracism Spartan Ekklesia Ephor Gerousia Macedon Synedrion Koinon Military Wars Athenian military Scythian archers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite Hetairoi Macedonian phalanx Military of Mycenaean Greece Phalanx Peltast Pezhetairos Sarissa Sacred Band of Thebes Sciritae Seleucid army Spartan army Strategos Toxotai Xiphos Xyston People List of ancient Greeks Rulers Kings of Argos Archons of Athens Kings of Athens Kings of Commagene Diadochi Kings of Macedonia Kings of Paionia Attalid kings of Pergamon Kings of Pontus Ptolemaic dynasty Seleucid dynasty Kings of Sparta Tyrants of Syracuse Artists & scholars Astronomers Geographers Historians Mathematicians Philosophers Playwrights Poets Seven Sages Writers Philosophers Anaxagoras Anaximander Anaximenes Antisthenes Aristippus Aristotle Democritus Diogenes of Sinope Empedocles Epicurus Gorgias Heraclitus Hypatia Leucippus Parmenides Plato Protagoras Pythagoras Socrates Thales Zeno Authors Aeschylus Aesop Alcaeus Archilochus Aristophanes Bacchylides Diodorus Siculus Euripides Herodotus Hesiod Hipponax Homer Ibycus Lucian Menander Mimnermus Panyassis Philocles Pindar Plutarch Polybius Sappho Simonides Sophocles Stesichorus Theognis Thucydides Timocreon Tyrtaeus Xenophon Others Athenian statesmen Lawgivers Olympic victors Tyrants By culture Ancient Greek tribes Thracian Greeks Ancient Macedonians Society Culture Society Agriculture Animals Calendar Clothing Coinage Cuisine Economy Education Emporium Euergetism Festivals Folklore Homosexuality Law Olympic Games Pederasty Philosophy Prostitution Religion Slavery Warfare Wedding customs Wine Arts and science Architecture Greek Revival architecture Astronomy Literature Mathematics Medicine Music Musical system Pottery Sculpture Technology Theatre Religion Funeral and burial practices Mythology Deities Temple Twelve Olympians Underworld Sacred places Eleusis Delphi Delos Dion Dodona Mount Olympus Olympia Structures Athenian Treasury Lion Gate Long Walls Philippeion Theatre of Dionysus Tunnel of Eupalinos Temples Aphaea Artemis Athena Nike Erechtheion Hephaestus Hera, Olympia Parthenon Samothrace Zeus, Olympia Language Proto-Greek Mycenaean Homeric Dialects Aeolic Arcadocypriot Attic Doric Epirote Ionic Locrian Macedonian Pamphylian Koine Writing Linear A Linear B Cypriot syllabary Greek alphabet Greek numerals Attic numerals Greek colonisation Magna Graecia Mainland Italy Alision Ankṓn Brentesion Caulonia Chone Croton Cumae Elea Heraclea Lucania Hipponion Hydrus Krimisa Laüs Locri Medma Metauros Metapontion Neápolis Pandosia (Lucania) Poseidonia Pixous Rhegion Scylletium Siris Sybaris Sybaris on the Traeis Taras Terina Thurii Sicily Akragas Akrai Akrillai Apollonia Calacte Casmenae Catana Gela Helorus Henna Heraclea Minoa Himera Hybla Gereatis Hybla Heraea Kamarina Leontinoi Megara Hyblaea Messana Naxos Segesta Selinous Syracuse Tauromenion Thermae Tyndaris Aeolian Islands Didyme Euonymos Ereikousa Hycesia Lipara/Meligounis Phoenicusa Strongyle Therassía Cyrenaica Balagrae Barca Berenice Cyrene (Apollonia) Ptolemais Iberian Peninsula Akra Leuke Alonis Emporion Helike Hemeroscopion Kalathousa Kypsela Mainake Menestheus's Limin Illicitanus Limin/Portus Illicitanus Rhode Salauris Zacynthos Illyria Aspalathos Apollonia Aulon Epidamnos Epidauros Issa Melaina Korkyra Nymphaion Orikon Pharos Tragurion Thronion Black Sea basin North coast Akra Borysthenes Charax Chersonesus Dioscurias Gorgippia Hermonassa Kalos Limen Kepoi Kerkinitis Kimmerikon Myrmekion Nikonion Nymphaion Olbia Pantikapaion Phanagoria Pityus Tanais Theodosia Tyras Tyritake South coast Abonoteichos Amisos Anchialos Apollonia Athina Bathus Dionysopolis Cotyora Cytorus Eupatoria Heraclea Kerasous Mesambria Odessos Oinòe Phasis Polemonion Rhizos Salmydessus Sesamus Sinope Thèrmae Tium Trapezous Tripolis Zaliche Lists Cities in Epirus People Place names Stoae Temples Theatres Category Portal Outline

v t e Journeys of Paul the Apostle First journey 1. Antioch 2. Seleucia 3. Cyprus 3a. Salamis 3b. Paphos 4. Perga 5. Antioch of Pisidia 6. Iconium 7. Derbe 8. Lystra 9. Attalea 10. Antioch (returns to beginning of journey) Second journey 1. Cilicia 2. Derbe 3. Lystra 4. Phrygia 5. Galatia 6. Mysia (Alexandria Troas) 7. Samothrace 8. Neapolis 9. Philippi 9. Amphipolis 10. Apollonia 11. Thessalonica 12. Beroea 13. Athens 14. Corinth 15. Cenchreae 16. Ephesus 17. Syria 18. Caesarea 19. Jerusalem 20. Antioch Third journey 1. Galatia 2. Phrygia 3. Ephesus 4. Macedonia 5. Corinth 6. Cenchreae 7. Macedonia (again) 8. Troas 9. Assos 10. Mytilene 11. Chios 12. Samos 13. Miletus 14. Cos 15. Rhodes 16. Patara 17. Tyre 18. Ptolemais 19. Caesarea 20. Jerusalem

v t e Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia Bronze Age Ahhiyawa Arzawa Assuwa League Carchemish Hapalla Hatti Hayasa-Azzi Hittite Empire Hurrian States (Isuwa, Kizzuwatna, Mitanni) Kalašma Kaskia Kussara Lukka Luwia Miletus Mira Mysia Nairi Pala Pisidia/Sagalassos Purushanda Seha Shupria Urshu Urumu Wilusa/Troy Zalpuwa Iron Age Aeolia Caria Cimmerians Colchis Diauehi Doris Etiuni Ionia Lycia Lydia Mushki Neo-Hittites (Atuna, Carchemish, Gurgum, Ḫilakku, Ḫiyawa, Kammanu, Kummuh, Tabal) Phrygia Urartu Classical Age Antigonids Bithynia Cappadocia Cilicia Commagene Galatia Paphlagonia Pergamon Pontus Sophene Turkey portal

v t e Ancient settlements in Turkey Aegean Abbassus Abrostola Achaion Limen Acharaca Acmonia Acrassus Adramyttium Agatheira Aegae Airai Aizanoi Alabanda Alia Alinda Allianoi Almura Amnista Amorium Amos Amynanda Amyzon Anaua Anineta Annaea Antandrus Antioch on the Maeander Apamea in Phrygia Aphrodisias Apollonia in Mysia Apollonia Salbaces Apollonis Apollonos Hieron Appia Appolena Aragokome Araukome Arcadiopolis Arilla Aroma Aspaneus Astragon Astyra near Adramyttium Astyra near Pergamon Astyria Atarneus Atarneus sub Pitanem Attea Attuda Augustopolis Aulae Aurelia Neapolis Aureliopolis in Lydia Aurokra Bageis Bargasa Bargasa in northern Caria Bargylia Beudos Beycesultan Birgena Blaundus Bonitai Boukolion Boutheia Briula Bruzus Bybassus Cadi Callipolis Caloe Canae Carene Carmylessus Carura Caryanda Castabus Casystes Cedreae Celaenae Ceramus Chalcetor Choria Chrysaoris Chytrium Cidramus Cindye Cisthene Clannuda Claros Colophon Colossae Conium Coryphas Cybeleia Cyllandus Cyme Daldis Dareioukome Dideiphyta Didyma Digda Dioclea Dionysiopolis Dios Hieron in Ionia Dios Hieron in Lydia Dioskome Docimium Doroukome Eibeos Eiokome Elaea Eluza Embatum Emoddi Ephesus Erines Erythrae Erythras Etsyena Euaza Eukarpia Euhippe Eumeneia Euromus Euthenae Euxine Gambrium Gerga Gergitha Gerriadai Glauke Gryneium Halicarnassus Halisarna Harpasa Helos Heraclea at Latmus Heraclea in Aeolis Heraclea in Lydia Heraclea Salbace Hermocapelia Hierapolis Hieropolis Hierocaesarea Homadena Hydai Hydas Hydissus Hygassos Hyllarima Hypaepa Hypokremnos Hyrcanis Iasos Iaza Idyma Ioniapolis Ioudda Ipsus Isinda in Ionia Iskome Kadyie Kaira Kalabantia Kasara Kasossos Kaualena Kaunos Kaymakçı Tepe Kilaraza Kildara Klazomenai Kleimaka Kleros Politike Knidos Koddinou Petra Koraia Korakoe Koresa Kouara Kyllene Kymnissa Kys Labraunda Lagina Lalandos Lamyana Lankena Laodicea on the Lycus Larisa in Caria Larisa in Ionia Larisa in Lydia Larissa Phrikonis Larymna Lasnedda Latmus Lebedus Leimon Leucae Leucophrys Limantepe Lobolda Loryma Lunda Lydae Lyrna Lysimachia Madnasa Maeandropolis Magnesia ad Sipylum Magnesia on the Maeander Maiboza Maionia in Lydia Malene Marathesium Mastaura Meiros Meiros Megale Melampagos Meloukome Metropolis in Lydia Metropolis in southern Phrygia Miletus Mylasa Mobolla Mokolda Mossyna Mostene Motella Myloukome Myndus Myrina Myus Nais Nasos Naulochon Naulochus Naxia Neapolis Neonteichos Nisyra Notion Nymphaeum Nysa on the Maeander Odon Oenoanda Olaeis Olymos Oroanna Orthoisa Ortygia Otrus Palaemyndus Palaeopolis Panasion Panormus near Miletus Panormus near Halicarnassus Parsada Parthenium Passala Passanda Pedasa Peltae Pepuza Pergamon Perperene Philadelphia in Lydia Phocaea Phoenix in Caria Physcus Phyteia Pidasa Pinara Pisilis Pisye Pitane Pladasa Plarasa Polichna in Ionia Polichne in Ionia Polybotus Pordoselene Priene Prymnessus Pteleum Pydnae Pygela Pyrnus Pyrrha Saouenda Sardis Satala in Lydia Sebaste in Phrygia Sebastopolis in Caria Setae Side in Caria Sidussa Silandus Sillyos Sion Skolopoeis Smyrna Soa Spore Stadia Stectorium Stratonicea in Lydia Stratonicea in Caria Strobilos Syangela Symbra Synaus Syneta Synnada Syrna Tabae Tabala Tateikome Taza Teichiussa Telandrus Temenothyra Temnos Tempsis Tendeba Teos Termera Teuthrania Thasthara Theangela Thebe Hypoplakia Thebes Thera Thyaira Thyatira Thymbrara Thyssanus Tisna Tlos in Caria Tomara Traianopolis Trapezopolis Trarium Triopium Tripolis on the Meander Troketta Tyanollos Tymion Tymnos Ula Uranium Zemmeana Zingotos Kome Black Sea Abonoteichos Aegialus Aiginetes Alaca Höyük Amasia Amastris Ancon Anticinolis Argyria Armene Athenae Berissa Bonita Boon Cabira Cales Callistratia Carambis Carissa Carussa Cerasus Chadisia Cinolis Cizari Colonia in Armenia Colussa Comana in the Pontus Coralla Cordyle Cratia Crenides Cromen Cromna Cyptasia Cytorus Dia Diacopa Elaeus Endeira Erythini Euchaita Eusene Gadilon Garius Garzoubanthon Gaziura Gozalena Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia Hattusa Heraclea Pontica Heracleium Hermonassa Hieron Oros Hüseyindede Tepe Hyssus Ibora Ischopolis Karza Kelesa Kimista Laodicea Pontica Libiopolis Lillium Metroon Mokata Naustathmus Nerik Nicopolis Ophis Oxinas Patara Pharnacia Phazemon Philocaleia Pida Pimolisa Polemonium Pompeiopolis Potami Prusias ad Hypium Pteria in Paphlagonia Salatiwara Samuha Sandaraca Sapinuwa Satala Saurania Sebastopolis in Pontus Stephane Syderos Themiscyra Thymena Timolaeum Tium Tripolis Virasia Yazılıkaya Zagorus Zaliche Zephyrium in Paphlagonia Ziporea Central Anatolia Abouadeineita Alişar Hüyük Amblada Anadynata Anastasiopolis Andabalis Anisa Anniaca Antoniopolis Anzoulada Aquae Saravenae Aralla Arasaxa Araunia Archalla Ardistama Ariaramneia Ariarathia Armaxa Artiknos Aspenzinsos Astra Atenia Balbissa Balgatia Barate Bathys Rhyax Binbirkilise Blucium Borissos Campae Camuliana Candara Carus Vicus Çatalhöyük Cimiata Ciscissus Cinna Claneus Comitanassus Congustus Corna Corniaspa Coropassus Cotenna Cybistra Cyzistra Dadastana Dasmenda Derbe Diocaesarea Doara Dometiopolis Dorylaeum Ecdaumava Ecobriga Ergobrotis Euaissa Eudocia (Cappadocia) Eudocia (Phrygia) Eulepa Faustinopolis Germa Gorbeus Gordium Hadrianopolis in Phrygia Heraclea Cybistra Herpha Hieropotamon Homana Hyde Ilistra Irenopolis Isauropolis Juliopolis Kaman-Kalehöyük Kanotala Karbala Keissia Kerkenes Kilistra Kindyria Kobara Kodylessos Korama Koron Kültepe (Kanesh) Lageina Lamatorma Laodicea Combusta Laroumada Lauzadus Limnae Lystra Malandasa Malus in Galatia Malus in Phrygia Meloë Metropolis in northern Phrygia Midaeium Mistea Mnizus Mokissos Mourisa Moutalaske Musbanda Myrika Nakoleia Nazianzus Nitazi Nora Nyssa Ochras Olosada Orcistus Papirion Parnassus Pedachtoë Pedaia Peium Perta Pessinus Pharax Phlara Pillitokome Pissia Pithoi Pontanena Posala Pteria Purushanda Pyrgoi Sadagolthina Salamboreia Salarama Sasima Savatra Sbida Sedasa Senzousa Sereana Sibora Sidamaria Skandos Soanda Soandos Sora Takourtha Tavium Thebasa Thouththourbia Tiberiopolis Trocmades Tyana Tynna Tyriaeum Vasada Verinopolis Zeita Zizima Eastern Anatolia Altıntepe Ani Arsamosata Cafer Höyük Camachus Citharizum Dadima Justinianopolis Melid Sugunia Theodosiopolis Tushpa Marmara Abarnis Abydos Achaiion Achilleion Ad Statuas Adrasteia Aegospotami Agora Aianteion in Thrace Aianteion in the Troad Ainos Alexandria Troas Alopeconnesus Ammoi Amycus Anaplous Apamea Myrlea Aphrodisias Apollonia on the Rhyndacus Aprus Apsoda Arbeila Argiza Argyria Argyronion Argyropolis Arisba Artace Artaiouteichos Artanes Assos Astacus Astyra in Troad Athyras Aureliane Aureliopolis Baradendromia Baris Basilica Therma Basilinopolis Bathonea Bathys Limen Beodizo Bergule Birytis Bisanthe Bitenas Bithynium Blachernae Bolos Boradion Brunca Burtudizon Bythias Byzantium Byzapena Caenophrurium Callum Calpe Canopus Cardia Cebrene Cenchreae Cenon Gallicanon Chalcaea Chalcedon Charax Charmidea Chelae on the Black Sea Chelae on the Asian coast of the Bosphorus Chelae on the European coast of the Bosphorus Choiragria Chryse Chrysopolis Cius Clitae Cobrys Cocylium Colla Colonae Cremaste Crenides Cressa Crithote Cypasis Cypsela Cyzicus Dadokome Dacibyza Damalis Daphne Mainomene Daphnus Dardanus Dascylium Dascylium in Bithynia Dekaton in Bithynia Dekaton in Thrace Delkos Delphin Deris Desa Didymateiche Diolkides Drabus Drizipara/Drusipara Eirakla Elaea in Bithynia Elaeus Elekosmioi Embolos Ergasteria Eribolum Gargara Gentinos Gergis Germa Germanicopolis Hadriani ad Olympum Hadriania Hadrianotherae Halone Hamaxitus Harpagion Hebdomon Helenopolis/Drepanum Heracleium Hermaion Hieria Hierion Iasonion Ide Ilieon Kome Kabia Kalamos Kalasyrta Kale Peuke Kalos Agros Kampos Kassa Katapaspanas Kepos Kizoura Koila Kolonai Kosilaos Koubaita Kyparodes Kypra Lamponeia Lampsacus Larisa in Troad Lasthenes Leptoia Liada Libum Libyssa Limnae in Bithynia Limnae in Thrace Linus Lupadium Lygos Lysimachia Madytus Mantineion Marpessos Miletopolis Mocasura Mochadion Modra Morzapena Mossynea Moukaporis Myrileion Narco Nassete Nausikleia Nausimachion Neandreia Neapolis on the Bosphorus Neapolis on the Thracian Chersonese Neonteichos Nerola Nicomedia Oka Ontoraita Ophryneion Orestias Orni Ostreodes Pactya Paeon Paesus Palodes Panion Pantichium Parabolos Parium Paulines Pegae in Mysia Pegae in Thrace Pege Pentephyle Percote Pericharaxis Perinthus Petrozetoi Pharmakia Phidalia Petra Phiela Philia Phosphorus Pionia Pitheci Portus Placia Ploketta Poemanenum Poleatikon Polychron Polymedium Potamoi Potamonion Praenetus Pratomysia Prepa Priapus Prindea Proconnesus Proochthoi Prusa Psarela Psyllium Pyrrhias Cyon Pytheion Rhebas Rhegion Rhesion Rhoiteion Rouphinianai Salmydessus Sangarus Scamandria Scamandrus Scepsis Scylace Scylla Selymbria Serrion Teichos Sestos Sigeion Sirkanos Smintheion Soka Strobilos Sykai Syllanta Tarpodizo Tarsus in Bithynia Tattaios Tenba Terbos Tesderamoska Tetrakomia Tipaso Tragasai Thynias Traron Tricomia in Bithynia Troy (Hisarlik) Tyrodiza Tzurulum Urisio Utsurgae Zeleia Mediterranean Acalissus Acarassus Adada Adrasus Aegae Agrae Alalakh Amelas Anabura in Pisidia Anazarbus Anchiale Andeda Andriaca Anemurium Ano Kotradis Antigoneia Antioch on the Orontes Antioch of Pisidia Antiochia Lamotis Antioch on the Cragus Antioch on the Pyramis Antiphellus Aperlae Aphrodisias of Cilicia Apollonia in Lycia Arabissus Araxa Ariassus Arima Arnabanda Arneae Arsada Arsinoe Artanada Arycanda Aspendos Augai Augusta Aulae Aunesis Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing Balbura Baris Bindaios Bubon Cabassus Cadrema Cadyanda Callimache Calynda Carallia Carmylessus Casae Castabala Ceretapa Cestrus Charadrus Choma Cibyra Mikra Claudiopolis Colybrassus Comama Comana in Cappadocia Comba Conana Coracesium Corycium Antrum Corycus (Kızkalesi) Corydala Cremna Cretopolis Crya Cyaneae Cyrrhus Daedala Dalisandus in Isauria Dalisandus in Pamphylia Damasei Dias Diocaesarea Domuztepe Elaiussa Sebaste Elbessos Emirzeli Epiphania Erymna Etenna Eudocia (Lycia) Eudocias (Pamphylia) Flaviopolis Gagae Gözlükule Hacilar Hadrianopolis in Pisidia Halae Hamaxia Hierapolis Hippucome Holmi Hyia Idebessos Idyros Iotape Irenopolis Isaura Nea Isaura Palaea Isba Isinda in Lycia Isinda in Pisidia Issus Istlada Juliosebaste Kalanthia Kalelibelen Kandyba Kanytelis Karakabaklı Karatepe Karkabo Kastellon Kendema Keraia Kibyra Kiphisos Kirkota Kitanaura Kodroula Kolbasa Korasion Korma Kynosarion Laertes Lagbe Lamos Lebessus Legeita Limnae in Pamphylia Limnae in Pisidia Limyra Lissa Lycae Lyrbe Lysinia Magarsa Magastara Magydus Mallus Malus in Pisidia Mampsoukrenai Mamure Castle Manava Mandane Marciana Marmara (Mnara) Mastaura Meloë Melanippe Meriana Mezgitkale Moatra Mopsucrene Mopsuestia Morka Moron Hydor Moumoustra Mylae Mylios Myra Myriandus Nagidos Nauloi Neapolis in Pisidia Nephelis Nisa Octapolis Olba Olbasa Olbia Olympus Öküzlü Onobara Orokenda Otanada Ouerbe Padyandus Palaeopolis Panemotichus Panhormus Pargais Parlais Patara Pednelissus Perga Perminounda Phaselis Phellus Philadelphia in Cilicia Philaea Phoenicus Phoenix in Lycia Pisarissos Pisurgia Placoma Platanus Podalia Pogla Prostanna Pseudokorasion Ptolemais Rhodiapolis Rhoscopus Rhosus Rygmanoi Sabandus Sagalassos Sandalium Saraganda Sebeda Seleucia in Pamphylia Seleucia Pieria Seleucia Sidera Selge Selinus Seroiata Serraepolis Sia Sibidounda Sibyla Side Siderus Sidyma Sillyon Simena Sinda Siricae Soli Solyma Sozopolis Sura Syca Syedra Takina Tapureli Tardequeia Tarsus Teimiussa Tell Judaidah Tell Tayinat Telmessos Telmessos (Caria) Tenedos Termessos Tetrapyrgia in Cappadocia Tetrapyrgia in Pamphylia Titiopolis Tityassus Tlos Toriaeum Tragalassus Trebendae Trebenna Trysa Tyberissus Tyinda Tymandus Tynada Typallia Xanthos Yanıkhan Yumuktepe Zenopolis in Isauria Zenopolis in Lycia Zephyrium on the Calycadnus Southeastern Anatolia Amida Antioch in the Taurus Antioch in Mesopotamia (Constantia) Apamea on the Euphrates Carcathiocerta Carchemish Çayönü Dabanas Dara Doliche Edessa Göbekli Tepe Hallan Çemi Tepesi Harran Khashshum Kussara Matiate Nevalı Çori Nicopolis in Cilicia Nisibis Sakçagözü Sam'al Samosata Sareisa Seleucia at the Zeugma Sitai Sultantepe Tille Tushhan Urima Urshu Zeugma

v t e Ionian League Chios Clazomenae Colophon Ephesus Erythrae Lebedus Miletus Myus Phocaea Priene Samos Teos

Authority control databases International VIAF GND National Czech Republic Geographic MusicBrainz area Pleiades Other Kulturenvanteri monument Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Miletus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miletus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miletus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
