Ionia
Ionia was the chain of Greek cities on the central Aegean coast: Miletus, Ephesus, Priene, Didyma, Samos and others. The Ionian League shared sanctuaries and festivals, but the cities were fierce rivals. Ionia is central to the history of philosophy and science: Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes in Miletus, Heraclitus in Ephesus, and later physicians and astronomers. The temples of Artemis at Ephesus and Apollo at Didyma were among the largest in the Greek world. Persian rule, the Ionian Revolt and the Persian Wars reshaped the region; Alexander and his successors, then Rome, rebuilt its cities. Ephesus became a major Roman metropolis, with the Library of Celsus, terraced houses and a theatre for 24,000 people.
Related civilizations
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