Ionians

The Ionians were a Greek ethnos living in Ionia, a region on the western coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), and in the Ionian Islands of the Aegean Sea. They spoke the Ionic dialect of Ancient Greek and founded several city-states renowned for maritime trade. On the Asiatic coast, major Ionian cities included Miletus, Ephesus, Colophon, Teos, Lebedus, Clazomenae, Priene and Phocaea; the Ionian Islands were home to Corfu, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Lefkada.

Historically, Ionians are noted for cultural and intellectual contributions, including early philosophers of the Milesian school—Thales of Miletus, Anaximander and Anaximenes—and for poets and scholars associated with Ionian cities. They played a leading role in the Ionian Revolt against Persian rule (499–493 BCE), an event that helped spark the Persian Wars.

In the subsequent antiquity, Ionian cities remained influential within the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. The Ionian League, a loose federation, united many Ionian cities for religious and political purposes. Over later centuries the coastal region and its islands came under successive powers, including Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans, before becoming part of modern Greece in the 19th century.

Language and legacy: The Ionic dialect formed a major branch of Ancient Greek and contributed to early literary and scientific writing. The Ionic alphabet and dialect influenced later Greek forms, and Ionian culture helped shape the broader Greek intellectual tradition. The term Ionian now also designates the inhabitants and culture of the Ionian Islands in contemporary Greece.