The Introduction anchors the main sujet of the book within a longue durée perspective from Archaic Ionia, and the dominant scholarly interest in this period, to the role of Ionia in 20th c. political and identity discourses. Stereotypes associated with Ionians by their ancient contemporaries are analysed here as one important aspect of the Ionians’ collective perception. The Introduction also provides an overview of the concepts of identity, ethnicity, and cultural identity as applied in the field of Ancient History, as well as brief summaries of the individual chapters’ contents.