Miletus was a character from Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

.

Miletus was son of Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

 and Areia, daughter of Cleochus, of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. When Areia gave birth to her son she hid him at a place where the plant milax

Smilax

Smilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found , while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico...

 was growing; Cleochus found the child there and named him Miletus after the plant. Another tradition relates that Miletus' mother by Apollo was Akakallis

Acacallis (mythology)

Acacallis in Greek mythology is the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and Pasiphae. Apollodorus calls her Acalle . According to a Cretan mythological tradition, she bore a son to Hermes, Cydon, the founder of Cydonia. Other traditions describe Cydon as the offspring of Acacallis and Apollo...

, the daughter of Minos

Minos

In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of Crete...

. Fearing her father's wrath she exposed the child, but Apollo commanded the she-wolves to come down and nurse the child. Yet another source calls his mother Deione, and himself by the matronymic

Matronymic

A matronymic is a personal name based on the name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. In patriarchal societies, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronyms. In the past, matronymic last names were often given to children of...

 Deionides. Finally, one source gives Miletus as the son of Euxantius, himself son of Minos by a Telchinian

Telchines

In Greek mythology, the Telchines were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes, and were known in Crete and Cyprus....

 woman Dexithea.

He was loved by both Minos and Sarpedon

Sarpedon

In Greek mythology, Sarpedon referred to at least three different people.-Son of Zeus and Europa:The first Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother to Minos and Rhadamanthys. He was raised by the king Asterion and then, banished by Minos, his rival in love for the young Miletus, he...

, but showed preference for the latter, and this became the reason why Sarpedon was expelled from Crete by his brother. Following the advice of Sarpedon, Miletus also left Crete for Samos

Samoš

Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...

, then moved to Caria

Caria

Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...

 and became the mythical founder and eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

 of the city of Miletus

Miletus

Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...

. Myths further relate that the hero Miletus founded the city only after slaying a giant named Asterius, son of Anax; and that the region known as Miletus was originally called 'Anactoria

Anactoria

Anactoria is the name of a woman mentioned by Sappho as a lover of hers in Fragment 16 , often referred to by the title "To an Army Wife, in Sardis." Fragment 31 is traditionally called the "Ode to Anactoria", though no name appears in it Anactoria (or Anaktoria) is the name of a woman mentioned...

'.

Miletus married either Eidothea, daughter of Eurytus, or Tragasia, daughter of Celaenus, or Cyanee, daughter of the river god Maeander, and by her had a son Kaunos

Kaunos (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Caunus or Kaunos was a son of Miletus, grandson of Apollo and brother of Byblis.Caunus became the object of his own sister's passionate love. From some accounts it appears that Caunus was the first to develop the affection towards her; others describe Byblis' feelings as...

 (Caunus) and a daughter Byblis

Byblis

In Greek mythology, Byblis or Bublis was a daughter of Miletus. Her mother was either Tragasia, Cyanee, daughter of the river-god Meander, or Eidothea, daughter of King Eurytus of Caria. She fell in love with Caunus, her twin brother....

, who happened to develop incestous feelings for each other.