Mileto, Athena e la memoria. Considerazioni sulla città e la sua ricostruzione

The paper examines the situation of Miletus after the Persian conquest of 494 BC, on the basis of the few historical and epigraphic records. The city’s public life was conditioned for much of the 5th century BC by its close, but not always peaceful, relationship with Athens. The theory that predicts the initial creation of an urban layout characterised by orthogonal streets on the peninsula before 494 BC is also examined, but the raising of the chronolog y does not currently appear to be supported by incontrovertible evidence. Finally, a novel interpretation of the change that the temple of Athena underwent is proposed. If the older 6th century BC temple was canonically oriented towards the East, the newer one, built in the second quarter of the 5th century BC, was oriented towards the South, in the direction of the destroyed acropolis of Miletus. The new orientation of the temple would indicate a precise intent of celebrating the memory of the perished cults and of the revenge against the Persians. Traces of this intent also seem to be found in a passage by Isocrates. In the light of these considerations, it is believed that the new temple of Athena may constitute the dedication for the victory of Mycale in 479 BC.