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{{Short description|Ancient Greek city in Asia-Minor}}
{{Redirect|Milet|the Japanese singer|Milet (singer)}}
{{About|the ancient city of Anatolia}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Miletus
  |native_name = Μῑ́λητος<br>Milet
  |alternate_name =
  |image = Miletus_-_Ancient_Greek_theatre_02.jpg
  |image_size = 280px
  |alt =Miletus Ancient Greek theatre
  |caption = 
  |map_type = Turkey
  |map_alt =
  |relief=yes
  |map_size = 270
  |coordinates = {{coord|37|31|49|N|27|16|42|E|display=inline,title}}
  |location = [[Balat, Didim|Balat]], [[Didim]], [[Aydın Province]], [[Turkey]]
  |region = [[Aegean Region]]
  |type = Settlement
  |part_of =
  |length =
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  |area = {{convert|90|ha|abbr=on}}
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  |builder = [[Minoan civilization|Minoans]] (later [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaeans]]) and then [[Ionians]] (the later on a former Anatolian site)<ref name="MoutonRutherford2013">{{cite book|author1=Alice Mouton|author2=Ian Rutherford|author3=Ilya Yakubovich|title=Luwian Identities: Culture, Language and Religion Between Anatolia and the Aegean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_B8VOPZlYIC&pg=PA435|date=7 June 2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25341-4|pages=435–}}</ref><ref name="Greaves2002">{{cite book|author=Alan M. Greaves|title=Miletos: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njwzReO4PWkC&pg=PA71|date=25 April 2002|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-99393-4|pages=71–|quote=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}}</ref><ref name="SteadmanMcMahon2011">{{cite book|author1=Sharon R. Steadman|author2=Gregory McMahon|author3=John Gregory McMahon|title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ND_CE9If3kC|date=15 September 2011|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-537614-2|page=369 and 608 | quote=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.}}</ref>
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  |public_access = Yes
  |website = [https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=MLT01&DistId=MLT Miletus Archaeological Site]
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}}
{{History of Greece}}

'''Miletus''' ({{langx|grc|Μίλητος|Mílētos|engvar=gb}}) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of [[Anatolia]], near the mouth of the [[Maeander River]] in present day [[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]] through the [[Roman period]]. The city played a foundational role in the development of early [[Greek philosophy]] and science, serving as the home of the [[Milesian school]] with thinkers such as [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]], and [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]].

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 Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Black Sea]], significantly shaping the [[Ancient Greece|Greek world]]’s expansion.

Archaeological investigations have revealed a rich material culture, including the sanctuary of [[Apollo]] at [[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 [[Greeks|Greek]], [[Anatolians|Anatolian]], and later [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] spheres. The city’s enduring legacy is reflected in its contributions to philosophy, urban planning, and the spread of Greek civilization.

== History ==
[[File:Map of Lydia ancient times.jpg|thumb|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]] population in 3500–3000 BC.<ref name=crouch183>Crouch (2004) page 183.</ref> Pollen in core samples from Lake Bafa in the [[Latmus#Prehistory|Latmus]] region inland of Miletus suggests that a lightly grazed climax forest prevailed in the [[Maeander]] valley, otherwise untenanted. Sparse Neolithic settlements were made at [[Spring (hydrology)|springs]], numerous and sometimes [[Geothermal activity|geothermal]] 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 [[escarpment]]s. The [[Pastoralism|graziers]] in the valley may have belonged to them, but the location looked to the sea.

=== Middle Bronze Age ===
The prehistoric archaeology of the Early 67 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steadman |first1=Sharon R. |last2=McMahon |first2=Gregory |title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE) |date=15 September 2011 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0-19-537614-2 |page=369 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TY3t4y_L5SQC |language=en}}</ref> Beginning at about 1900 BC artifacts of the [[Minoan civilization]] acquired by trade arrived at the site.<ref name=crouch183/> 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]]. According to [[Strabo]]:<ref>Book 14 Section 1.6.</ref><blockquote>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]].</blockquote>According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], however, Miletus was a friend of Sarpedon from [[Crete]], after whom the city was named.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7, chapter 2, section 5 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D5 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Miletus had a son named Kelados, and the [[Heroön|heroon]] of Kelados has been found at Panormos, a port of Miletus near [[Didyma]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Herda |first=Alexander |title=Burying A Sage: The Heroon Of Thales In The Agora Of Miletos |date=2013 |work=Le Mort dans la ville |pages=67–122 |url=https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifeagd.2156 |access-date=2025-03-08 |place=İstanbul |publisher=Institut français d’études anatoliennes |doi=10.4000/books.ifeagd.2156 |isbn=978-2-36245-009-9}}</ref>

The legends recounted as history by the ancient historians and geographers are perhaps the strongest; the late mythographers have nothing historically significant to relate.<ref>The late fantasy fiction of [[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 (hero)|Miletus]] fleeing [[Crete]] to avoid being forced to become the [[eromenos]] of King [[Minos]]. He founds the city only after slaying a giant named Asterius, son of [[Anax (mythology)|Anax]], after whom the region known as Miletus was called 'Anactoria', "place of Anax". [[Anax]] in Greek means "the king" and [[Asterius (mythology)|Asterius]] is "starry".</ref>
{{wide image|The Theater of Milet (48879177211).jpg|700px|align-cap=center|A panoramic view of The Theatre of [[Miletus (mythology)|Miletus]], [[Didim]]}}

=== Late Bronze Age ===

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.

====Mycenaean period====
Miletus was a [[Mycenae]]an stronghold on the coast of Asia Minor from {{Circa|1450}} to 1100 BC.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hajnal|first=Ivo|title=Graeco-Anatolian Contacts in the Mycenaean Period|url=https://www.academia.edu/1822403|publisher=University of Innsbruck|access-date=22 September 2013}}</ref> In {{Circa|1320 BC}}, the city supported an anti-Hittite rebellion of [[Uhha-Ziti]] of nearby [[Arzawa]]. [[Muršili II|Muršili]] ordered his generals [[Mala-Ziti]] and [[Gulla]] to raid Millawanda, and they proceeded to burn parts of it; damage from [[Helladic period|LHIIIA]] found on-site has been associated with this raid.<ref>Christopher Mee, ''Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age'', p.&nbsp;142</ref> In addition the town was fortified according to a Hittite plan.<ref>Mee, ''Anatolia and the Aegean'', p.&nbsp;139</ref>

Miletus is then mentioned in the "[[Tawagalawa letter]]", part of a series including the [[Manapa-Tarhunta letter]] and the [[Milawata letter]], all of which are less securely dated. The Tawagalawa letter notes that Milawata had a governor, [[Atpa]], who was under the jurisdiction of ''[[Achaeans (Homer)#Hittite documents|Ahhiyawa]]'' (a growing state probably in [[Helladic period|LHIIIB]] [[Mycenaean Greece]]); and that the town of [[Atriya]] was under Milesian jurisdiction. The Manapa-Tarhunta letter also mentions Atpa. Together the two letters tell that the adventurer [[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 [[Hittite empire|Hatti]].

The Milawata letter mentions a joint expedition by the Hittite king and a [[Luwian]] vassal (probably [[Kupanta-Kurunta]] of Mira) against Miletus, and notes that the city (together with Atriya) was now under Hittite control.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}

[[Homer]] mentions that during the time of the [[Trojan War]], Miletus was an ally of Troy and was city of the [[Carians]], under Nastes and [[Amphimachus]].<ref>https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad2.php#BkII811, Iliad, book II</ref>

In the last stage of LHIIIB, the citadel of Bronze Age [[Pylos]] counted among its female slaves a '' mi-ra-ti-ja'', [[Mycenaean Greek]] for "women from Miletus", written in [[Linear B]] syllabic script.<ref>[http://www.palaeolexicon.com/default.aspx?static=12&wid=329 Palaeolexicon], Word study tool of ancient languages</ref>

====Fall of Miletus====

During the collapse of Bronze Age civilization, Miletus was burnt again, presumably by the [[Sea Peoples]].

===Dark Age===
Mythographers told that Neleus, a son of [[Codrus]] the last [[King of Athens]], had come to Miletus after the "[[Return of the Heraclids]]" (so, during the [[Greek Dark Ages]]). A [[Heroön|heroon]] for Neleus was allegedly located outside of the city wall of Roman Miletus, which probably marks the former city center contemporary to Neleus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, Book 7, chapter 2, section 6 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus+7.2.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0154 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The Ionians killed the men of Miletus and married their [[Carians|Carian]] widows. This is the mythical commencement of the enduring alliance between Athens and Miletus, which played an important role in the subsequent [[Persian Wars]].

===Archaic period===
[[File:The_Ionic_Stoa_of_Miletus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way in Miletus]]

The city of Miletus became one of the twelve [[Ionia]]n city-states of [[Asia Minor]] to form the [[Ionian League]].

Miletus was one of the cities involved in the [[Lelantine War]] of the 8th century BC.

====Ties with Megara====

Miletus is known to have early ties with [[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.<ref name="Alexander Herda research">Alexander Herda (2015), [https://www.academia.edu/12530869 Megara and Miletos: Colonising with Apollo. A Structural Comparison of Religious and Political Institutions in Two Archaic Greek Polis States]; see Abstract at [https://hu-berlin.academia.edu/AlexanderHerda Alexander Herda research]</ref>

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 350

 | image1 = Didymaion_front_AvL.JPG
 | caption1 = Temple of Apollo in [[Didyma]]

 | image2 = Arch-Museum-Istanbul-66.jpg
 | caption2 = Apollo statue found in Miletus
}}

Both cities acted under the leadership and sanction of an [[Apollo]] oracle. Megara cooperated with that of [[Delphi]]. Miletus had her own oracle of Apollo ''Didymeus Milesios'' in [[Didyma]]. Also, there are many parallels in the political organisation of both cities.<ref name="Alexander Herda research"/>

According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], the Megarians said that their town owed its origin to [[Car (Greek mythology)|Car]], the son of [[Phoroneus]], who built the city citadel called 'Caria'.<ref>Paus. i. 39. § 5, i. 40. § 6</ref> This 'Car of Megara' may or may not be one and the same as the 'Car of the Carians', also known as [[Car (King of Caria)]].

In the late 7th century BC, the tyrant [[Thrasybulus (tyrant)|Thrasybulus]] preserved the independence of Miletus during a 12-year war fought against the [[Lydian Empire]].<ref>''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</ref> Thrasybulus was an ally of the famous [[Corinth]]ian tyrant [[Periander]].

Miletus was an important center of philosophy and science, producing such men as [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]] and [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]]. Referring to this period, [[religious studies]] professor [[F. E. Peters]] described ''[[pan-deism]]'' as "the legacy of the Milesians".<ref>{{cite book
|title= Greek Philosophical Terms: A Historical Lexicon
|url= https://archive.org/details/greekphilosophic0000pete
|url-access= registration
|author = Francis Edward Peters
|author-link = Francis Edward Peters
|year = 1967
|isbn = 0814765521
|publisher = NYU Press
|page = [https://archive.org/details/greekphilosophic0000pete/page/169 169]
}}</ref> As well as being a philosopher, [[Thales of Miletus|Thales]] was also suggested to have initiated the famous grid plan of the city.<ref name=":0" /> An archaic orthogonal street system at Miletus has been confirmed by archaeological survey, but this system would not cover the entire urban center of Miletus until the classical period.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Weber |first=B |title=Frühes Ionien. Eine Bestandsaufnahme |year=2007 |editor-last=Cobet |editor-first=J |location=Mainz am Rhein |pages=327–362 |chapter=Der Stadtplan von Milet |editor-last2=von Graeve |editor-first2=V |editor-last3=Niemeier |editor-first3=W.D. |editor-last4=Zimmermann |editor-first4=A}}</ref> 

By the 6th century BC, Miletus had earned a maritime empire with many colonies, mainly scattered around the [[Black Sea]]. Miletus and its numerous colonies were culturally tied by, for example, the cult of [[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 [[Ancient Athenian Empire|Athens]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Miletos: a history |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-99393-4 |editor-last=Greaves |editor-first=Alan M. |location=London New York}}</ref>

===First Achaemenid period===
{{multiple image
 | align = right | direction = vertical
 | image1 = IONIA, Miletos. Circa 600-550 BC.jpg
 | image2 = IONIA, Miletos. Late 6th-early 5th century BC. AR Obol (9mm, 1.07 g). Forepart of lion left, head right Stellate and floral design within incuse square.jpg
 | footer = Top: [[Electrum]] coinage of Miletus {{Circa}} 600–550 BC; Bottom: coinage {{c.}} 550–450 BC
}}

When [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] of Persia defeated [[Croesus]] of Lydia in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus fell under [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] rule. In 499 BC, Miletus's [[tyrant]] [[Aristagoras]] became the leader of the [[Ionian Revolt]] against the Persians, who, under [[Darius the Great]], quashed this rebellion in the [[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, [[Phrynichus (tragic poet)|Phrynicus]] produced the tragedy ''The Capture of Miletus'' in Athens. The Athenians fined him for reminding them of their loss.<ref>{{Citation |last=Herodotus |editor-first1=Robin |editor-first2=Carolyn |editor-last1=Waterfield |editor-last2=Dewald |title=Histories |date=1998-03-05 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00271233 |work=Oxford World's Classics: Herodotus: The Histories |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oseo/instance.00271233 |isbn=978-0-19-953566-8 |access-date=2022-05-04|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

===Classical Greek period===
[[File:Miletos stadsplan 400.jpg|thumb|right|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]], 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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Herda |first=Alexander |title=Copy and paste? Miletos before and after the Persian Wars |work=Reconstruire les villes |pages=91–120 |publication-date=2019 |url=https://doi.org/10.1484/m.supsec-eb.5.118517 |access-date=2025-03-08 |place=Turnhout, Belgium |publisher=Brepols Publishers |doi=10.1484/m.supsec-eb.5.118517 |isbn=978-2-503-58631-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The city's gridlike layout was also constructed across all the area within the city wall, designed by [[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 [[ancient Rome|Roman]] cities.<ref name=":1" />

===Second Achaemenid period===

In 387 BC, the [[Peace of Antalcidas]] gave the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]] under king [[Artaxerxes II]] control of the Greek city-states of [[Ionia]], including Miletus.

In 358 BC, Artaxerxes II died and was succeeded by his son [[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|date=October 2021}}

===Macedonian period===

In 334 BC, the [[Siege of Miletus]] by the forces of [[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 {{convert|90|ha}}.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Chant|editor1-first=Colin|editor2-last=Goodman|editor2-first=David|last=Chant|first=Colin|title=Pre-industrial Cities and Technology|year=1999|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9780415200752|page=61|chapter=Greece|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MAhVazSIKM8C&pg=PA61}}</ref>

When Alexander died in 323 BC, Miletus came under the control of Ptolemy, governor of [[Caria]], and his satrap of Lydia, [[Asander]], who had become autonomous.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0dsLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA89 'The Life of Alexander the Great' by John Williams, Henry Ketcham, p. 89]</ref> In 312 BC, Macedonian general [[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]]  by the coalition of [[Lysimachus]], [[Cassander]], and [[Seleucus I Nicator]], founder of the [[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]] was the eponymous archon (stephanephorus) in the city, which allied with [[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]]. In 280/279 BC the Milesians adopted a new chronological system based on the Seleucids.
[[File:Rilievo_egizio_di_dea_madre,_da_santuario_di_atena_a_mileto,_VII_sec_ac.JPG|150px|thumb|Egyptian artefact found in Miletus]]

===Egyptian period===

In 279 BC, the city was taken from Seleucid king [[Antiochus II]] by Egyptian king [[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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/elinistiki.php?menu_id=5 |title=Hellenistic Period |website=www.fhw.gr |author=Foundation of the Hellenic World}}{{unreliable source?|date=May 2019}}</ref>

[[Aristides of Miletus]], founder of the bawdy [[Milesian tale|Miletian school of literature]], 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]] mentions Miletus as the site where the Apostle [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] in 57 AD met the elders of the [[Mother Church|church]] of [[Ephesus]] near the close of his Third Missionary Journey, as recorded in [[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]], one of his travelling companions, to recover from an illness ([[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]] resulted in the evangelization of the entire province of Asia (see Acts 19:10, 20; [[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]] rebuilt the walls but it had become a small town.

===Byzantine period===
[[File:Palation Castle.jpg|thumb|Byzantine Palation Castle]]
During the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] age the [[see of Miletus]] was raised to an archbishopric and later a [[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 bonis|curator]].<ref>The Byzantine aristocracy and its military function, Volume 859 of the Variorum collected studies series, Jean-Claude Cheynet, Ashgate Pub., 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-7546-5902-0}}</ref><ref>Studies in Byzantine Sigillography, Volume 10, Jean-Claude Cheynet, Claudia Sode, published by Walter de Gruyter, 2010. {{ISBN|978-3-11-022704-8}}</ref>

===Turkish period===
[[File:İlyas_Bey.jpg|thumb|The Ottoman [[İlyas Bey Mosque|Ilyas Bey mosque]] from the Turkish period at the Miletus site]]
[[Seljuk Turks]] conquered the city in the 14th century and used Miletus as a port to trade with [[Venice]].

In the 15th century, the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]] utilized the city as a harbour during their rule in [[Anatolia]]. As the harbour became silted up, the city was abandoned. Due to ancient and subsequent [[deforestation]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miletus (Site) |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Miletus&object=Site |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> [[overgrazing]] (mostly by goat herds), [[erosion]] and [[soil degradation]], the ruins of the city lie some {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the sea with [[sediment]]s filling the plain and bare hill ridges without soils and trees, a [[maquis shrubland]] remaining.

The [[İlyas Bey Mosque|Ilyas Bey Complex]] from 1403 with its mosque is a [[Europa Nostra]] awarded cultural heritage site in Miletus.
{{clear}}

=== Archaeological excavations ===
[[File:Markttor zu Milet-Pergamonmuseum-2018.jpg|thumb|The [[Market Gate of Miletus]] at the [[Pergamon Museum]] in Berlin]] 
The first excavations in Miletus were conducted by the French archaeologist [[Olivier Rayet]] in 1873, followed by the German archaeologists [[Julius Hülsen]] and [[Theodor Wiegand]]<ref>Olivier Rayet and Thomas, Milet Et Le Golfe Latmique, Fouilles Et Explorations Archeologiques Publ, 1877 (reprint Nabu Press 2010 {{ISBN|1-141-62992-5}}</ref><ref>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</ref><ref>Theodor Wiegand et al., Der Latmos, Milet III, vol. 1, G. Reimer, 1913</ref> 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.<ref>Carl Weickert, Grabungen in Milet 1938, Bericht über den VI internationalen Kongress für Archäologie, pp. 325-332, 1940</ref><ref>Carl Weickert, Die Ausgrabung beim Athena-Tempel in Milet 1955, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, Deutsche Archaeologische Institut, vol. 7, pp.102-132, 1957</ref><ref>Carl Weickert, Neue Ausgrabungen in Milet,
Neue deutsche Ausgrabungen im Mittelmeergebiet und im Vorderen Orient, pp. 181-96, 1959</ref>
He was followed by Gerhard Kleiner and then by Wolfgang Muller-Wiener.
Today, excavations are organized by the [[Ruhr University]] of [[Bochum]], [[Germany]].

One remarkable artifact recovered from the city during the first excavations of the 19th century, the [[Market Gate of Miletus]], was transported piece by piece to Germany and reassembled. It is currently exhibited at the [[Pergamon Museum]] in [[Berlin]]. The main collection of artifacts resides in the ''Miletus Museum'' in [[Didim]], [[Aydın]], 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]].<ref>[https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/photo-sacred-cave-in-ancient-miletos-awaits-visitors-168323#photo-1 'Sacred Cave' in ancient Miletos awaits visitors]</ref><ref>[https://arkeonews.net/the-ancient-city-of-miletoss-sacred-cave-opened-to-visitors/ The Ancient City of Miletos’s “Sacred Cave” Opened to Visitors]</ref>

=== Examples of the Milesian Vase ===
<gallery class="center" caption="Artifacts" widths="220px" heights="150px">
File:Fragment_of_a_terracotta_oinochoe_(jug)_MET_DP114676.jpg|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.
File:Fragment_of_a_terracotta_oinochoe_(jug)_MET_DP121651.jpg|
File:Terracotta_amphoriskos_(oil_flask)_MET_DP114678.jpg|Milesian Vase
File:Greek_-_Fikellura_Amphora_-_Walters_482114.jpg|Milesian Vase
File:Terracotta_amphoriskos_(oil_flask)_MET_DP114695.jpg|Milesian Vase
File:Terracotta_oinochoe_(jug)_MET_DP1864.jpg|Milesian Vase
</gallery>

== Geography ==
[[File:Miletus Bay silting evolution map-en.svg|thumb|right|250px|Location of Miletus at the [[Büyük Menderes River|Maeander River]]'s mouth]]
The ruins appear on satellite maps at 37°31.8'N 27°16.7'E, about 3&nbsp;km north of [[Balat, Didim|Balat]] and 3&nbsp;km east of [[Batıköy, Didim|Batıköy]] in [[Aydın Province]], [[Turkey]].

In antiquity the city possessed a [[harbor]] at the southern entry of a large bay, on which two more of the traditional twelve Ionian cities stood: [[Priene]] and [[Myus]]. The harbor of Miletus was additionally protected by the nearby small island of Lade. Over the centuries the gulf silted up with [[alluvium]] carried by the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander]] 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]] epoch the Miletus region was submerged in the [[Aegean Sea]]. It subsequently emerged slowly, the sea reaching a low level of about {{convert|130|m|sp=us}} below present level at about 18,000&nbsp;[[Before Present|BP]]. The site of Miletus was part of the mainland.

A gradual rise brought a level of about {{convert|1.75|m|sp=us}} below present at about 5500&nbsp;BP, creating several [[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&nbsp;m but the peninsula has been surrounded by sediment from the [[Maeander]] river and is now land-locked. Sedimentation of the harbor began at about 1000 BC, and by 300 AD [[Lake Bafa]] had been created.<ref>Crouch (2004) page 180.</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130">
Miletus_Museum_04.jpg|Sculpture from Baths of Faustina
File:Milet_2013-03-25t.jpg|Faustina Baths in Miletus
File:Didyma sacred way.jpg|The Sacred Way from Miletus with the remains of the stoa
File:Miletus-_Temple_-_panoramio.jpg|The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way
File:Remains_of_the_stoa_connecting_the_main_Bath_of_Faustina_to_the_Palaestra_(Miletus).jpg|Remains of the stoa connecting the main Bath of Faustina to the Palaestra 
File:Miletus, Illustration for La Terre-Sainte et les lieux illustrés par les apôtres, by Adrien Egron, 1837 (39).jpg|Illustration of Miletus
File:Miletus - Ancient Greek theatre 03.jpg|Right entrance of the ancient Greek theatre 
File:The_Theater_of_Miletus.jpg|Ancient Greek theatre
</gallery>

== Economy and Land Use ==
The economic prosperity of Miletus during the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] and [[Classical Greece|Classical]] 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]].<ref>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.</ref>

[[Herodotus]], describing the tactics of [[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."<ref>Herodotus. ''Histories'' 1.17.</ref>

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 [[Crete|Cretan]] animal husbandry techniques adopted in early Miletus.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 31.</ref>

[[Strabo]], citing [[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]] conducted thither settlers from the Miletus in Crete, and gave it the same name; that [[Leleges]] were the former occupiers of the country, and that afterwards [[Neleus]] built the present city."<ref>Strabo, ''Geography'' 14.1.6.</ref>

Farmsteads, oil presses, cisterns, and possible pastoral installations such as shepherding stations have been identified in the countryside, suggesting a decentralized but productive economy.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 23.</ref>

In addition to grain and wool, Miletus likely exported surplus olive oil during favorable years. Archaic Milesian [[Amphora|amphorae]], widely distributed and characterized by thickened rims, may have been used for oil transport.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 27.</ref>

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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 30.</ref>

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 ==
[[File:Colonies of Miletus.svg|360px|thumb|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]] (''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', 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 [[Polis|poleis]], 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]]. Political factors, such as [[Stasis (political history)|stasis]] (internal conflict) and the impact of foreign powers like [[Lydia]] and [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]], 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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.</ref><ref>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.</ref><ref>Sacks, David. ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World''. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.</ref>

The Black Sea region became a primary focus of Milesian colonial expansion from the seventh century BCE onward. Milesian foundations such as [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]], [[Pontic Olbia|Olbia]], and [[Panticapaeum]] quickly grew into major trading hubs and centers 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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.</ref><ref>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.</ref><ref>Sacks, David. ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World''. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.</ref>

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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.</ref>

Olbia, on the northwestern Black Sea coast, likewise became a major economic center, especially for grain exports to the Greek world.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 104–107.</ref><ref>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.</ref>

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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.</ref><ref>Sacks, David. ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World''. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.</ref>

While some Milesian colonies ultimately declined or were absorbed by neighboring powers, many—such as Sinope and Olbia—remained prominent centers of trade and [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenic culture]] well into the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] 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.<ref>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.</ref><ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 74–78.</ref><ref>Sacks, David. ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World''. Facts on File, 2005, p. 97.</ref>

Some colonies founded include:{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Abydos (Hellespont)|Abydos]]
*[[Amisos]]
*[[Sozopol|Apollonia Pontica]]
*[[Berezan Island|Borysthenites]] (Berezan)
*[[Cardia (Thrace)|Cardia]]
*[[Cius]]
*[[Colonae (Hellespont)|Colonae]]
*[[Cotyora]]
*[[Cyzicus]]
*[[Dioscurias]]
*[[Hermonassa (Pontus)|Hermonassa]]
*[[Histria (Sinoe)|Histria]]
*[[Kepoi]]
*[[Kerasous]]
*[[Lampsacus]]
*[[Leros]]
*[[Limnae (Bithynia)|Limnae]]
*[[Miletopolis]]
*[[Myrmekion]] (?)
*[[Nymphaion (Crimea)|Nymphaion]]
*[[Varna, Bulgaria|Odessos]]
*[[Olbia, Ukraine|Olbia]]
*[[Paesus]]
*[[Panticapaeum]]
*[[Parium]]
*[[Patraeus (city)|Patraeus]]
*[[Phanagoria]]
*[[Phasis (town)|Phasis]]
*[[Pityus]]
*[[Karabiga|Priapus]]
*[[Proconnesus (city)|Proconnesus]]
*[[Cius|Prusias]] (?)
*[[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]]
*[[Scepsis]]
*[[Tanais]]
*[[Feodosiya|Theodosia]]
*[[Tium|Tieion]]
*[[Constanța|Tomis]]
*[[Tyras]]
*[[Tyritake]]
*[[Trapezunt]]
{{div col end}}

== Philosophy ==
Miletus played a foundational role in the origins of Western philosophical inquiry. In the 6th century BCE, thinkers such as [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]], and [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]]—collectively known as the [[Milesian school]]—began to investigate the material basis of the cosmos through rational, systematic inquiry rather than mythological narrative.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, pp. 4–5.</ref>

[[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.”<ref>Aristotle. ''Metaphysics''. 983b6–27.</ref> 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.”<ref>Aristotle. ''Metaphysics''. 983b6–27.</ref>

Thales’ student Anaximander introduced the concept of the [[apeiron]] (the infinite or indefinite) as a more abstract source of existence. According to Aristotle (via [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]]): “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.”<ref>Simplicius, in Aristotle. ''Physics''. 24.13–21.</ref> Aristotle also states that for Anaximander, the apeiron “is deathless and indestructible…for it is divine.”<ref>Aristotle. ''Physics''. 203b10–15.</ref>

[[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]], 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.”<ref>Simplicius, in Aristotle. ''Physics''. 24.26–25.1.</ref>

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]].<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 117.</ref> 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]] at [[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 (Miletus)|Sacred Way]], which served as a route for ritual processions and pilgrimage festivals.<ref>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.</ref>

Didyma was renowned for its oracle, second in prestige only to that of [[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.<ref>Greaves, Alan M. ''Miletos: A History''. Routledge, 2002, p. 118.</ref>

The sanctuary was a hub for both religion and politics, reinforcing Miletus’ influence within [[Ionia]] and the wider [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. 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 ==
[[File:Milète sanctuaire d'Apollon.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gorman |first=Vanessa B. |year=2004 |title=Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia: A History of the City to 400 B.C. |publisher=University of Michigan Press |pages=168–171}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gorman |first=Vanessa B. |year=2004 |title=Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia |pages=170–171}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Faraone |first=Christopher A. |year=2018 |title=Seaside Altars of Apollo Delphinios, Embedded Hymns, and the Tripartite Structure of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=15–33}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bachvarova |first=Mary R. |year=2022 |title=Greco-Anatolian Identity-Making in the Milesian Molpoi-Procession |editor=Da Riva, Arroyo & Debourse |chapter=Ceremonies, Feasts and Festivities in Ancient Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean World |publisher=Zaphon Verlag |pages=51–56}}</ref>

[[File:Delphinion Miletus 3D Reconstruction.png|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bachvarova |first=Mary R. |year=2022 |pages=52–53}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Delphinion of Miletus |url=https://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/delfinio.php?mp=map6a |website=Foundation of the Hellenic World}}</ref>

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 ==

[[File:Illustrerad_Verldshistoria_band_I_Ill_107.jpg|thumb|[[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]] (775 BC – 741 BC), epic poet
*[[Thales]] (c. 624 BC – c. 546 BC), [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Pre-Socratic]] philosopher
*[[Anaximander]] (c. 610 BC – c. 546 BC), Pre-Socratic philosopher and geographer
*[[Cadmus of Miletus|Cadmus]] (fl. c. 550 BC), writer
*[[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]] (c. 585 BC – c. 525 BC), Pre-Socratic philosopher
*[[Aristagoras]] (fl. 6th-5th century BC), Tyrant of Miletus
*[[Phocylides]] (born c. 560 BC), Greek gnomic poet 
*[[Hecataeus of Miletus|Hecataeus]] (c. 550 BC – c. 476 BC), Greek historian
*[[Histiaeus]] (died 493 BC), ruler of Miletus
*[[Leucippus]] (fl. first half of 5th century BC), philosopher and originator of Atomism (his association with Miletus is traditional, but disputed)
*[[Hippodamus of Miletus|Hippodamus]] (c. 498 – 408 BC), urban planner
*[[Aspasia]] (c. 470 – 400 BC) courtesan, and mistress of [[Pericles]], was born in Miletus
*[[Aristides of Miletus|Aristides]] (fl. 2nd century BC), writer<!--doesn't really have an article, but an explanation of his writings-->
*[[Monime]] (died 72/71 BC), a Greek noblewoman and one of the wives of [[Mithridates VI Eupator]]
*[[Alexander Polyhistor]] (fl. 1st century AD), Greek scholar, born in Miletus before being taken as a slave to Rome
*[[Aeschines of Miletus]] (fl. 1st century AD), a distinguished orator in the Asiatic style 
*[[Isidore of Miletus|Isidore]] (fl. 6th century AD), Greek architect
*[[Hesychius of Miletus|Hesychius]] (fl. 6th century AD), Greek chronicler and biographer
*Timagenes or Timogenes, historian and rhetor<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/240#tau.590 Suda, tau, 590]</ref>
*Philiscus of Miletus, rhetor. Teacher of [[Neanthes of Cyzicus]]<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/nu/114 Suda, nu, 114]</ref>
*Hellanicus, historian<ref>[http://www.stoa.org/sol-entries/epsilon/738 Suda, epsilon, 738]</ref>
*Dionysicles ({{langx|grc|Διονυσικλῆς}}) of Miletus, sculptor. One of his famous works was a statue, at [[Leonidaion]], of Democrates of [[Tenedos]] who was an [[Ancient Olympic Games|ancient Olympic]] winner at wrestling <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:6.17.1 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.17.1]</ref>
*[[Baccheius of Miletus|Baccheius or Bacchius of Miletus]] (Βακχεῖος), a writer. He wrote a work on agriculture.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dbaccheius-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Baccheius]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Cities of the ancient Near East]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References and sources==
;References
{{Reflist|2}}
;Sources
*{{cite book|first=Dora P.|last=Crouch|title=Geology and Settlement: Greco-Roman Patterns|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|year=2004|isbn=9780195083248}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Greaves|first=Alan M.|title=Miletos: A History|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9780415238465}}
*{{cite book|last=Gorman|first=Vanessa B. |title=Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia: A History of the City to 400 B.C.E.  |year=2001|publisher=Michigan University Press|location=Ann Arbor, MI|isbn=9780472111992}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131020162924/http://www.muze.gov.tr/miletus-en Official website]
*[http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/milet/ Ausgrabungen in Milet] official site of the excavations in Miletus by Ruhr-Universität Bochum {{in lang|de}}
*[http://rjohara.net/coins/ Ancient Coins of Miletus]
*[https://www.livius.org/articles/place/miletus/? Livius picture archive: Miletus]
*[https://pbase.com/dosseman/miletus Some 250 pictures of site and museum]
*[http://www.attalus.org/docs/search.html#Miletos Greek Inscriptions of Miletus] in English translation
*[http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/miletus/miletus.htm The Theatre at Miletus, The Ancient Theatre Archive, Theatre specifications and virtual reality tour of theatre]
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Miletus}}
*[http://www.fhw.gr/choros/miletus/en/index.php Details about most of the monuments]
*[http://turkishtravelblog.com/sacred-path-miletus-turkey-ancient/ Walking the sacred pagan path from Ancient Miletus to Didim]

{{History of Anatolia}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Third Journey of Paul of Tarsus}}
{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia}}
{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Ionian League}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

[[Category:Miletus| ]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Turkey]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in the Aegean region]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Turkey]]
[[Category:History of Aydın Province]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Aydın Province]]
[[Category:Ionian League]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Aydın Province]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Greek city-states]]
[[Category:Late Bronze Age collapse]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Caria]]
[[Category:New Testament cities]]
[[Category:Didim]]