Temple of Artemis in Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, localized form of the goddess Artemis. Inside the Temple of Artemis were many works of art. The temple was decorated with paintings, columns gilded with gold and silver, and religious works by the famous Greek sculptors Polyclitus, Pheidias, Cresilas and Phradmon. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the foundations and fragments of the last temple remain. These remains of the Temple of Artemis are located in the ancient city of Ephesus in Selçuk, a district of the modern port city of Izmir, Turkey.

In ancient Greek cult and mythology, Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, wild nature, wild animals, vegetation, childbirth, childcare and chastity. The goddess Diana is the Roman equivalent of the goddess Artemis. In later times, the goddess Artemis was also identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon. Artemis of Ephesus is quite different. Artemis of Ephesus (Ephesia) is thought to be a cult of Cybele, an Anatolian goddess. Although it is not known how Cybele, the mother goddess of Anatolia, came to Ephesus and how her cult started there under the name Artemis, it is thought that Cybele became Artemis through various phases.

The physical characteristics of Artemis are more similar to those of Near Eastern and Egyptian gods rather than Greek gods. The torso and legs are covered with a pillar-like section from which the goddess’ feet protrude. Robert Fleischer has suggested that the oval objects on the upper part of the goddess are not breasts but ornaments that were ceremonially hung on the original wooden statue. On coins minted in Ephesus, the goddess wears a wall crown, showing Cybele as the protector of cities, and her arm rests on a staff of either entwined snakes or a mass of Ouroboros.

The earliest version of the temple predates the Ionian migration by many years. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed the older version of the temple to the Amazons, while Pausanias believed that the temple predated the Amazons. Before the First World War, excavations by David George Hogarth seem to have identified three successive temple buildings. re-excavations in 1987-1988 and a reassessment of Hogarth’s account confirmed that the site was occupied as early as the Bronze Age, with a series of pottery finds dating back to Middle Geometric times. The hard-filled clay floor was built in the second half of the 8th century BC. However, this older version was destroyed by a flood in the 7th century BC.

A more spectacular reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis began again around 550 BC under the direction of the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. This project, designed and built by father and son, was also financed by Croesus of Lydia. The project took 10 years to complete. The reconstructed temple was burned down, this time by an arsonist in 356 BC. This event was described by various sources as “a boastful act of arson by a man named Herostratus, who sought fame at all costs and therefore set fire to the wooden roof beams”. This role of Herostratus in the destruction of the temple is questioned in modern science.

After his death, the Ephesians politely declined Alexander’s offer to pay for the temple’s third reconstruction and rebuilt it at their own expense. Work began in 323 BC and continued for many years. The finished temple was even larger than before. it was 137 m (450 ft) long, 69 m (225 ft) wide and 18 m (60 ft) high. It also had more than 127 columns.

The final version of the temple was described by Antipater of Sidon, the compiler of the Seven Wonders of the World, as “When I saw the house of Artemis rising to the clouds, all other wonders lost their luster and I said, “Behold! Outside Olympus, the Sun had never gazed upon anything so splendid.”” Philon of Byzantium made a similar statement about the Temple of Artemis. Ammonius of Alexandria said it was probably closed as early as 407 AD or no later than the mid-5th century.

The ancient city of Ephesus is located about 3 kilometers from the center of Selçuk district of Izmir province in Turkey and is one of the most important places worth seeing with all its other historical buildings, especially the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The location of the Temple of Artemis is marked by a single column made up of various fragments found in the area. Some of the fragments of the temple are on display in the “Ephesus Room” at the British Museum.