Miletus, a relatively obscure archeological site, was the greatest and wealthiest Greek city before the Persians occupied it in the middle of the 6th century BC. It is regarded as the birthplace of Western philosophy and science – where philosophers first began to speculate about naturalistic, rather than supernatural, reasons for how the world works. Today Miletus is a picturesque ruin, in every sense of those words. I interpret Miletus here as it might appear in a 19th century romantic painting – brushed with mist, and bathed in a soft nostalgic light. I reduced the color intensity somewhat to create this effect. I carry the eye forward through a foreground layer strewn with overgrown foundations, leading to a shell of an ancient structure, and finally letting it come rest in a hazy, pastoral background. I thought it an appropriate rendering for a place known for its philosophers and their ideas.