Miletos, on the coast of Asia Minor, was one of the most important Greek cities - a key economic power as well as a centre of philosophy and learning. Yet with historical sources scarce, and the mass of archaeological work done in over a century of excavations not published in English, studying the city has not always been straightforward.


Alan Greaves provides a survey of the origins and development of this crucial city from prehistory to its medieval decline. He examines Miletos' famous archaic period, when it was at its most prosperous and influential, through an exploration of its landscape and its earliest origins. Archaeological evidence is accessibly presented throughout, and useful case-studies explore a wide range of issues including Miletos in the Bronze Age, Miletos' archaic period colonisation, its economy, and the city as a centre of philosophy and learning.


The text challenges past assumptions about the site and its archaeology, brought update date in this new edition. It develops the two key themes that run throughout the city's history - its relationship to its landscape, and its role as a bridging point for cultural interaction between the Aegean, Anatolia, the Near East and the Black Sea.


With fifty photographs, plans and drawings, and with an updated and expanded text and bibliography, this study is the essential guide to a major city of the ancient world.