Separating Fact from Fiction in the Ionian Migration

Abstract

Traditional accounts of the foundation of the Ionian cities of Asia Minor posit a large-scale migration from the Greek mainland led by Athenian colonists. This article reviews the historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence for the origins of the Ionian cities and offers a new analysis of the substantial body of later literary material written in Greek and Latin. This analysis brings into sharper focus the complex patterns of mobility and local settlement that contributed to the foundation of the cities, as well as the equally complex sociopolitical concerns that shaped the origins of their Ionian identity.