MILETUS (mod. Palatia), an ancient city of Asia Minor, on the southern shore of the Latmic Gulf near the mouth of the Mae ander. Before the Ionic migration it was inhabited by Carians (Iliad ii. 867; Herod. i. 546), and pottery found on the spot proves that the site was inhabited, and had relations with the Aegean world, in Minoan times. The Greek settlers from Pylos under Neleus are said to have destroyed the old city and to have built a new one on the coast. Miletus occupied a very favour able situation at the mouth of the rich valley of the Maeander, and was the natural outlet for the trade of southern Phrygia (Hip ponax, Fr. 45). It had four harbours, one of considerable size, and its power extended inland for some distance up the valley of the Maeander, and along the coast to the south, where it founded the city of Iasus. Its enterprise extended to Egypt, where it had much to do with the settlement of Naukratis (q.v.). Very little "Naucratitic" pottery, however, was found on the site, and only in the Athena temple. The Black Sea trade, however, was the greatest source of wealth to the Ionian cities. Miletus, like the rest, turned its attention chiefly to the north, and succeeded in almost monopolizing the traffic. Along the Hellespont, the Propontis and the Black Sea coasts it founded more than sixty cities—among them Abydus, Cyzicus, Sinope, Dioscurias, Panti capaeum and Olbia. All these cities were founded before the middle of the 7th century; and before 500 B.C. Miletus was de cidedly the greatest Greek city. Miletus was equally distinguished at this time as a seat of literature. Thales, Anaximander, Anaxi menes and Hecataeus all belonged to this city. The three Ionian cities of Caria—Miletus, Myus and Priene—spoke a peculiar dialect of Ionic.
The Mermnad kings of Lydia found in Miletus their strongest adversary. War was carried on for many years, till Alyattes III. concluded a peace with Thrasybulus, of Miletus ; the Milesians afterwards seem to have acknowledged the rule of Croesus. On the Persian conquest Miletus passed under a new master; it headed the Ionian revolt of 50o B.C., and was taken by storm after the battle of Lade. (See IoNIA.) Darius gave up the city to the Carians. The Persians were expelled from the coast in 479 B.c., Miletus became a member of the Delian League (q.v.),
revolted to Sparta in 412, passed into Carian hands, and opposed Alexander on his southward march, succumbing to a siege (334 B.c.). It was a town of commercial importance throughout the Graeco-Roman period, and received special attention from Trajan. Its harbours, once protected by Lade and the other Tragasaean islands, were gradually silted up by the Maeander, and Lade is now a hill some miles from the coast. Ephesus took its place as the great Ionian harbour in Hellenistic and Roman times. Miletus became the seat of a Christian bishopric and was strengthened by a Byzantine castle Kitarpov HaXariwv, built above the theatre.
Excavation has revealed on the north of the ruins a well preserved Roman theatre on the site of an older Greek building. Cyriac of Ancona described the building as practically complete in his day (1446). East of this was the ancient north harbour, now silted up, and on the hillside above it stood a large heroon of Hellenistic time. South of the harbour head lies the Hellen istic agora with ruins of large magazines of Doric style. South of these again lie a nymphaeum of the age of Titus, and a senate house of theatral form. On the east opens a great hall sur rounded by porticoes and enclosing a high altar of Artemis, once richly adorned with reliefs. The Roman agora lies beyond this again. A straight street leads south-west from the north harbour to the Didyma Gate in the wall, which runs across the neck of the peninsula and was rebuilt by Trajan, when he undertook to raise the level of the outer quarters of the city ; and streets cross this at right angles in the geometric Hellenistic manner. A Sacred Way lined with tombs led to Didymi. Two temples have been dis covered, one, on the south-east, being a sanctuary of Apollo Delphinius. This seems to have been the chief temple of the city. The other temple, an archaic sanctuary of Athena, lies west of the stadium.
See 0. Rayet and A. Thomas, Milet et le golfe Latmique (1877) ; Th. Wiegand, "Vorlaufige Berichte fiber die Ausgrabungen in Milet," in Sitzungsberichte of the Berlin Academy (1900, foll.) ; A. von Salis, "Die Ausgrabungen in Milet and Didyma" in Neue Jahrb. f. d. k. Alt., XxV. 2, 1910.