The monograph by M. Yu. Lapteva is the first study in Russian antiquity devoted to the formation and development of Greek city-states in Ionia, the region of the western coast of Asia Minor. It was Ionia, the birthplace of the great Homer, that was “at the forefront” of the cultural rise of Greece in the archaic period (8th–6th centuries BC): here, for the first time in the history of Europe, historical works were written, original philosophical teachings were created, and coinage began. The author, examining available archaeological, literary and epigraphic sources, consistently reconstructs the history of the Ionian city-states, starting from the settlement of this region in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Cretans and Achaeans until the time of the Greco-Persian Wars. The features of the social system, the economy and political evolution of Greek settlements, as well as the personal contribution of Ionian intellectuals to the formation of polis institutions and ideology are examined in detail. The publication is addressed to both specialists and a wide range of readers interested in ancient history.

Contents: Introduction

Ionia in the 2nd millennium BC. BC Ionia in the Minoan periodAchaeans in IoniaIonian migrationPanionian union and ethno-political consolidation of migrants

Ionia of the Homeric period (XI-VIII centuries BC)Homer and the “dark ages” of IoniaAgrarian system of Homeric IoniaBeginning of the Iron AgeCraft and tradeIonian basileia

Economy of Ionian city-states of the archaic periodCity and choraAgricultural developmentUrban economy. CraftTrade connections

Social system and political evolution of the poleis of archaic IoniaEarly Ionian society (aristocracy and demos)Disabled free. Slavery in IoniaStasis in archaic IoniaEsymnetia, legislation, colonization, mercenaryism as a means of overcoming the social crisisTyranny

Intellectual elite in the political life of archaic IoniaThalesBianthXenophanesHipponactusHeraclitusHecataeus of MiletusThe world of the polis in the perception of Ionian intellectuals

Conclusion

< p>AppendicesPolitical history of the Ionian city-states in the 11th–6th centuries. BC BC The Melian War in the history of Ionia

BibliographyList of abbreviations

IndexIndex of historical and mythological namesIndex of geographical names and ethnonyms