|
EPHESUS
It can be said That
Ephesus is one of the most beautiful
ancient cities in the world. In ancient
times its favorable location at the
mouth of the Cayster River made it the
foremost commercial city of a coastal
region That also included the cities of
Miletus, Smyrna and Pergamum, but the
silting up of its harbor gradually
resulted in the loss of this
preeminence. The city has been excavated
for more than one hundred years; the
extensive remains are predominantly from
the later Roman period.
Ephesus formed a focal point in the
ancient world because of its protected
harbor and as a starting point for the
Royal Road via Sardis to Susa. It was
also a cult center attracting thousands
of pilgrims for traditional worship of
the female, first Cybele, then Artemis
and finally the Virgin Mary. Ephesus was
also home for the early philosopher
Heraclitu
|
 |
