In the 2nd century BCE, the ancient Greek author, Aristides of Miletus is said to have founded the Milesian School of Literature and developed a genre of writing style that is still used today. He was regarded as the father of "Greek Romance" and wrote six books of erotic Milesian tales, short stories, fables, or folktales of love and adventure with a titillating essence. It is unclear if Aristides was actually an inhabitant of Miletus or if he just based his stories there because of the luxurious, laid-back and easy-going lifestyle the ancient Milesians were reputed to have enjoyed during this time.

His short stories were of a fictional nature, typically depicting the adventurous travels of a dishonest but loveable rogue with elements of love, romance, and eroticism. The hero would encounter other characters throughout his journey, and they would also be incorporated into the yarn. It was basically a shameless, episodic, travelogue told by the main narrator or first person but with many sub-plots and often finishing with a surprising plot twist at the end of the tale.

The tales, originally written in Greek and called Melesiaka, received a Latin translation by the historian Lucius Cornelius Sisenna, they were renamed, "Melesia Fabula", i.e. "Milesian Tales" quickly gained popularity, mainly because of their humorous but indelicate and sometimes indecent boldness. Pornography was not commonplace in the traditional Greek Romances of this era.

The ancient historian and philosopher Plutarch, in his book, "The life of Crassus" claims that after the battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, the victorious Parthians, (Iranians), found copies of the Milesian tales in the baggage of the Roman prisoners. The victors are reputed to have displayed them as a sign of Roman decadence!

The Roman poet Ovid, in 2 CE wrote "Ars Amori", ("The Art of Love"), and compared his literary style to Aristides, it has been suggested this led to his banishment by Augustus; however, his work had been in circulation for 8 years before Ovid was exiled to the Black Sea so it seems unlikely to have been the cause.

Aristides's style continued to be admired through the centuries, he was also praised by the Syrian satirist, Lucian of Samosata, in the 2nd century CE, who referred to him, as “That enchanting spinner of bawdy yarns”, a very fitting accolade. Unfortunately, neither Aristides original text, nor the Latin translation survived, however his episodic, narrative style was still being used in the 2nd century CE by Lucius Apuleius in his work "Cupid and psyche", also called "The Golden Ass" in which he discusses overcoming the obstacles of love between the soul and desire. A book in which Sir Richard Burton observed "makes us deeply regret the loss of the mothers!" I am inclined to agree with his sentiments.

In the medieval times, Aristides, literary genre saw something of a revival in Geoffrey Chaucer's – Canterbury Tales, The Millers Tale, published in the 1380s which was very much written in Aristidean tradition.

It seems that even during modern times, Aristides is still greatly admired, "The Milesian and Malesian Tales" published in 2010 by Nicolas Chong consists of a modern, tongue-in-cheek re-telling of the imagined stories first created so many centuries ago.

It is quite extraordinary that despite being lost for centuries, the style of the "Milesian Tales" have remained and are still influential in the modern world today.