Ionias

Ionians, in English often referred to as the Ionians, were the ancient Greek peoples who inhabited Ionia—the coastal region of western Asia Minor and several Aegean islands. The term also extends to the Ionian Islands in the central Mediterranean and to the Ionian dialect of ancient Greek. The Ionian region was home to a number of influential city-states, including Miletus, Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Priene, and Halicarnassus, which contributed to the cultural and intellectual development of the classical Greek world.

The Ionians were known for their role in early Greek philosophy, science, and literature. Philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes from Miletus are associated with the Ionian school of thought, which sought natural explanations for natural phenomena. The Ionian cities also contributed to the spread of Greek culture through colonization and trade across the Aegean and into the western Mediterranean. The Ionian dialect of ancient Greek, part of the wider Attic-Ionic group, aided the standardization of literary Greek language.

Historically, Ionian cities issued revolts against Persian rule in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE and later became part of successive empires, including the Macedonian and Roman. In modern times, the Ionian Islands—Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada, Ithaca, and others—are a regional unit of Greece, while the Ionian Sea lies to their west and southwest as a distinct body of water between Greece and Italy. The Ionian designation remains a key element of both ancient and modern regional identity.