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 The
history of Miletos can be traced back to the 2
nd. millennium B.C. settlers from Crete arrived
here in 1500 B.C., to be followed by the
Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, who fortified
the city. According to ancient Greek authors,
the first inhabitants were the Carians and
Lelegians. After the capture of the city by the
Ionians under their leader Neileus in 1000 B.C.,
the conquerors killed the Milesian men and
married their wives thus forming the new
population of the city. Legend has it that the
women of Miletus expressed their resentment and
punished their new husbands by refusing to sit
at table with them. The city was ruled for a
time by kings descended from Neileus, but after
800 B.C. administration passed into the hands of
the aristocracy. After 687 B.C. it was ruled by
dictators known as "tyrants", and it was during
this period that the city began to found
colonies overseas...
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