Miletus
Ionian city where Western philosophy and science began with Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes.
The Story of Miletus
Miletus on the coast of Asia Minor was the birthplace of Western philosophy. Here in the 6th century BCE, Thales proposed that water was the fundamental substance of the universe — the first recorded attempt to explain nature without recourse to myth. His successors Anaximander and Anaximenes continued the inquiry, creating the Milesian school. The city was also a commercial powerhouse, founding more colonies than any other Greek city — over 70 settlements around the Black Sea alone.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Every philosophy department in the world traces its intellectual lineage to this single city — Miletus is where asking "what is everything made of?" replaced "which god did it."
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