An ancient Ionian city of western Asia Minor in present-day Turkey. Occupied by Greeks c. 1000 B.C., it became an important trading and colonizing settlement and also flourished as a center of learning. The city declined after its harbor silted up early in the Christian era.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
