The Ionians and Hellenism

Book excerpt: The Ionians and Hellenism (1980) presents an assessment of the art, literature and philosophy of the Asia Minor Greeks – the Ionians – in the eighth to sixth centuries B.C. The Ionians are notable both for what they achieved and for the way in which they influenced the rest of the Greek world, but their study has been presented in terms of outstanding individuals, largely due to the early loss of Ionian independence followed by political and cultural absorption into Athens-dominated Classical Greece. This book shows that early Ionian culture from Homer to Ionian philosophers and lyric poets reveals a unified vision both unique and influential.