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Ephesus Information
This enclosure for archaeological
remains at Ephesus elegantly reconciles
historic conservation with accessibility
for visitors. The site of a succession
of great ancient civilizations, Ephesus,
on the south-west coast of modern
Turkey, embodied a peculiarly fertile
synthesis of architecture and culture.
In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium
(a colossal Ionic temple dedicated to
Artemis the fertility goddess) which was
one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient
world. During the 2nd century BC,
Ephesus was the fourth largest city in
the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its
Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and
its medical school.
Quoted from Catherine Slessor's Housing
History.
Ephesus; Ancient Greek city of Asia
Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes
River, in what is today West Turkey,
South of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the
greatest of the Ionian cities, it became
the leading seaport of the region. Its
wealth was proverbial. The Greek city
was near an old center of worship of a
native nature goddess, who was equated
with the Greek Artemis, and c.550 B.C. a
large temple was built. To this Croesus,
who captured the city, contributed.
When Lydians attacked their cities,
Ephesians defended themselves by tying a
rope from
The Temple of Artemis. But it
was not a good way to defend a city.
Croesus of Lydia captured it easily
however he did not destroy. The city
reached the "Golden Age" and became a
good model to the Antic World in culture
and art, as well. Building of the Artemission was going on. Croesus had a
great respect to Artemis and he donated
36 columns with sculptures in relief.
Some parts of these sculptures are in
the British Museum today.
From Lydian control Ephesus passed to
the Persian Empire. The temple was
burned down in the 4th cent. B.C., but
rebuilding was begun before Alexander
the Great took Ephesus in 334. The city
continued to thrive during the wars of
his successors, and after it passed
(133) to the Romans it kept its hegemony
and was the leading city of the province
of Asia. The great temple of Artemis, or
Artemis, called by the Romans the temple
of Diana, was considered one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. From c.100
B.C. to c. A.D. 100 Ephesus was the
world capital of the slave trade.
The city was sacked by the Goths in A.D.
262, and the temple was destroyed. The
seat of a church council in 431, Ephesus
was abandoned after the harbor silted
up. Excavations (1869-74) of the ruins
of the temple brought to light many
artifacts. Later excavations uncovered
important Roman and Byzantine remains.
In a Christian version of a widespread
story, martyrs immured in a cave near
Ephesus during the persecutions by
Decius (c.250). Long afterward, in the
5th cent., they awoke (as from sleep)
and were taken before Theodosius II,
Roman emperor of the east. Their story
reassured the emperor, who had been
wavering in his faith. The youths
returned to their cave, to sleep again
until Judgment. The story, thought to be
of Syrian origin, was popularized by
Gregory of Tours. Feast: July 27.
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