Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, now modern-day Turkey. It was one of the most important and prosperous cities in the Ionian League during the Archaic and Classical periods of Ancient Greece. Miletus was a centre of colonisation and flourished as a site of Greek thought and culture.

Coordinates: 37°31’49.3″N 27°16’45.9″E

Miletus was inhabited since the Neolithic age, but its early history as a significant city began in the early and middle Bronze Age when the settlement came under the Minoan influence (the word Miletus is of Cretan origin). An important Mycenaean colony existed at Miletus from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC before passing into Carian control by the end of the Late Bronze Age. Miletus was the only Ionian city mentioned by Homer, who records in the Iliad that the Carian-led Miletians fought against the Greeks at Troy.

Ionian Greek settlers, known for their skilled seafarers and explorers, arrived in Miletus from 1000 BC and, from about 650 BC onwards, established colonies in various parts of the Mediterranean, on the shores of the Black Sea, and as far as Egypt. Miletus became a leading centre of Greek thought and culture over the following centuries; most significantly, the Milesian School of Philosophy featured such great thinkers as Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes.

Along with the other Greek cities of Anatolia, Miletus was later ruled by the Lydians and the Persians. About 499 BC, the Milesians participated in the Greco-Persian Wars and took an active part in the Ionian revolt of 500-494 BC and, in retaliation, the Persians captured and destroyed Miletus. After the Persian defeat by the Greeks in 479 BC, Miletus joined the Athenian-dominated Delian League. Its fortunes soon revived, and the Milesians set about rebuilding their city on a new grid plan following the urban development ideas described by Hippodamus, a native of Miletus.

Like the other coastal cities in the region, Miletus was taken in 334 BC by Alexander the Great, who ushered in the city’s golden age. The city reached its greatest extent during the Hellenistic period, occupying an area of approximately 90 hectares. It then passed under Roman control and received special attention from Augustus, who visited the city in 19 BC. The city was also visited by Trajan (114 AD), who inaugurated several new projects, including the Nymphaeum. It participated in the Panhellenion, the league of the Greek cities established by Hadrian. Numerous dedications for Trajan and Hadrian come from the South Agora.

Caligula and his wife were worshipped in Miletus, but the city quickly lost its title of neokoros (temple-warden) due to the damnatio memoriae of the emperor. However, Miletus recovered the title of neokoros during the reign of Commodus (AD 180-192). Elagabalus (AD 218-222) awarded the second official title of neokoros to the city, which Miletus lost again due to the damnatio memoriae of the emperor during the reign of Alexander Severus.

The main benefactor of the city was Annia Galeria Faustina, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius, who visited the city and stayed there in AD 164. Among her donations were the construction of the magnificent baths named after her and the completion of the Roman theatre.

The city’s fortunes declined over the centuries due to political unrest and changing trade routes. Over time, the harbour silted up, leading to economic difficulties. The decline continued into the Byzantine era, and the city was eventually abandoned in the Middle Ages.

Today, Miletus is an archaeological site showcasing the ruins of this once-great city, including a well-preserved theatre, agora, and other structures that offer a glimpse into its ancient glory.

PORTFOLIO

The Theatre at Miletus is one of the largest theatres in Anatolia

The Theatre was built into a hill in the Hellenistic period to seat 5,300 spectators and significantly enlarged during the Roman period to extend its seating capacity to ca. 15,000.

The front face of the theatre today is 140m in width, and the present-day auditorium reaches a height of 30m. In the Roman period, the auditorium was 40m high with three tiers of 20 rows each.

The theatre benches are decorated with lion paws along the aisles.

Decorative relief from the theatre depicting a cupid fighting a wild boar.

The North Agora, the main agora of Miletus, is the oldest of the three agoras, dating back to the 5th century BC.

The re-erected Ionic colonnade on the eastern side of the Sacred Way. It originally included 35 columns.

The Bouleuterion (Council House) situated on the west side of the Agora, it was built at the bequest of King Antiochus Epiphanes IV between 175 and 164 BC.

The Hellenistic Bouleuterion (Council House), featuring 18 rows of benches divided into three parts by two staircases, could accommodate 800 to 1200 people.

The courtyard of the Bouleuterion (Council House). At the centre of the courtyard stood an altar dedicated to the cult of Hadrian.

Dedication of an altar to the emperor Hadrian, Milet VI,3 1324, Hadrian is called Zeus Olympios, Savior and Founder (of the city). Miletus Museum.
Αὐτοκράτορι
Καίσαρι ∙
Τραιανῶι
Ἁδριανῶι
Σεβαστῶι
Σωτῆρι καὶ
Οἰκιστῆι.
❦

The Large Storehouse was built in the middle of the 2nd century BC along the western wing of the South Agora. The hall was 163 m long and 13 m wide and occupied three insulae. It was enclosed by walls on all four sides, and a series of forty-two marble pillars along its axis divided the building into two long sections.

The Delphinion, a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Delphinios, patron of sailors and ships, was built in the 6th century BC and enlarged in the Hellenistic period.

The Stoa of the Lion Harbour. A long L-shaped Doric stoa (32 m), was built in the Hellenistic period on the waterfront of the Lion Harbour, accommodated shops and storehouses.

The Roman harbour monument with triton relief.

Paved street (dated to the time of Trajan) with Byzantine city walls.

The Faustina Baths, the largest baths of Miletus, were erected by Faustina the Younger (the wife of Marcus Aurelius).

The Hall of the Muses and the Apodyterium (dressing room) of the Faustina Baths, a long hall leading off the palaestra. The statues of the Muses that occupied the niches of the apodyterium are now housed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.

The Apodyterium (dressing room) of the Faustina Baths.

The Frigidarium (cold bath) of the Faustina Baths. Copies of the river god Maeander at the front side and the lion are placed in their original locations. The originals are in the Miletus Museum.

The statue of river god Maeander in the Miletus Museum.

The Temple of Serapis (Serapeion), a temple dedicated to the Graeco-Egyptian God Serapis, with a nave flanked by two aisles and preceded by a four-columned propylon.

The pediment of the propylon of the Temple of Serapis (Serapeion) dates from the Severan period (early 3rd century AD). The pediment is decorated with a relief bust of Serapis with radiating beams of light.

November 16, 2023November 18, 2025 by followinghadrian Categories: Ionia, Turkey 4 Comments

Olba, later Diocaesarea, is an ancient Seleucid city in Rough Cilicia in Turkey’s rugged Eastern Mediterranean coastline. In the Hellenistic period, the city was the centre of worship of Zeus Olbios, whose sanctuary was located about 4 km to the west.

Coordinates: 36°35’10.5″N 33°57’48.7″E

Erected during the reign of the Seleucids, the temple, Corinthian in style, is the oldest peripteral temple (6×12 columns) in Asia Minor. Other monuments from the Hellenistic period include a 22m-high tower and a mausoleum. The Roman city of Diocaesarea later developed in the 1st century AD around the temple devoted to Zeus Olbios. Its ruins today lie partly within the grounds of the village of Uzuncaburç (Turkish for ‘high tower,’ referring to the Hellenistic tower) and its immediate surroundings.

The most important Roman buildings on the site date from the 1st to the 3rd century AD and include a theatre, a nymphaeum, an aqueduct, and many tombs dug in the rock. The city is entered through a monumental gate, of which five columns have survived. Then a colonnaded street runs alongside the temple of Zeus Olbios and leads to the temple of Tyche. To the northwest, a three-arched Roman gate leads out of town.