Ionia birthplace of science Part1. The Milk-y Way our galaxy got its name from the squirted milk out of the breast of Hera, Zeus' wife, into the Cosmos, as the ancient Greeks thought. Carl Sagan asks the question: Why was science born in Ionia and not in India, Egypt, Babylon, China or Mesoamerica? Thales of Miletos was the first scientist. Anaximander was the first scientist that conducted experiments to verify a hypothesis.