Miletus

Miletus (mīlē`təs), ancient seaport of W Asia Minor, in Caria, on the mainland not far from Sámos. It was occupied by Greeks in the settlement of the E Aegean (c.1000 B.C.) and became one of the principal cities of Ionia. From the 8th cent. B.C. it led in colonization, especially on the Black Sea. The Milesians were strong enough to resist the Lydian kings and were not molested by the Persians. In 499 B.C., however, they stirred up the revolt of Ionian Greeks against Persia; the Persians sacked the city (494 B.C.). Although less flourishing, Miletus remained an important seaport until the harbor silted up early in the Christian era. Miletus produced some of the earliest Greek philosophers, including Thales and Anaximander. The site was excavated by German archaeologists.

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Miletus

Ancient Greek city of western Anatolia. Before 500 BC it was the greatest Greek city in the east. Distinguished as a commercial and colonial power, it was also known for its intellectual figures, including Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Hecataeus. Ruled by Greek tyrants, it later passed successively under the control of Lydia and the Persian Achaemenian dynasty. About 499 BC Miletus led the Ionian revolt that sparked the Persian Wars, and it was destroyed by the Persians in 494 BC. After the Greeks defeated the Persians, it joined the Delian League. It fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC but retained its commercial importance. By the 6th century AD its two harbours had silted up, and it was eventually abandoned. Now an archaeological site, it is located near the mouth of the Menderes River.