Alexander Herda studied classical archaeology, prehistory and ancient history in Giessen and Berlin. Since being a student, he participated in several excavation and survey projects in Germany, Jordan and Turkey. In 1998 he finished his PhD on “The cult of Apollo Delphinios in Miletos and the New Years Procession to Didyma”, published as a book in 2006. The Habilitation followed in 2009 at the University of Tübingen on “The Greeks in Central Western Asia Minor in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1200–450 B.C.). An archaeological research on migration, acculturation and cultural formation”.rom 2002 he is directing the multidisciplinary research project “The Delphinion of Miletos. History and functions of a central Greek polis-sanctuary and its urbanistic integration”, taking into account the complex palaeogeography of the former harbour city, now situated 8 km inland. This project also got him involved with the ‘Milesian School’ of philosophy, first of all its founder Thales, and his most influential pupil Anaximandros. In his teaching and research Alexander combines the methods of archaeology and geoarchaeology, as also architectural studies, historical geography, ancient history, epigraphy, numismatics, onomastics, etymology, religious studies, mythology, ancient philosophy, anthropology, and socio-linguistics. He is currently Senior Research Fellow of the 21th Foreigners’ Fellowships Programme of the Alexander Onassis Foundation, and prepares a book on “The Sage and the City: Thales of Miletos and the Birth of Greek Systematic Town Planning”.