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Location

The ancient city of Ephesus is located near the modern town of Selcuk, south of Izmir in Turkey.

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History

 

The foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC. Referred to as the great marble temple, it was sponsored by the king Croesus and was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron. It was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the famous artists of their time. The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings visited the sanctuary. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory and artifacts from as far as India.

On the night of 21 July 356 BC, Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to immortalize his name. Alexander the Great was also born the same night. The Roman historian Plutarch later wrote that the goddess was "too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple". Over the next two decades, the temple was restored. And when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he helped rebuild the destroyed temple.

The temple was again destroyed by the Goths in AD 262, the Ephesians vowed to rebuild the Artemis. By the fourth century AD, most Ephesians had converted to Christianity and the temple lost its glamor. The final shraw came when in AD 401 the Temple of Artemis was torn down by St John Chrysostom. Ephesus was later deserted, and only in the late nineteenth century has the site been excavated. Attempts were recently made to rebuilt the temple.

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Description

 

The foundation of the temple was rectangular in shape. Unlike other sanctuaries, the building was made of marble, with a decorated façade overlooking a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace. The columns were filled with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole area, except for the central cella (house of the goddess).

The temple housed four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists. When St Paul visited the city, the temple was adorned with golden pillars and silver statuettes, and was decorated with paintings. Its true beauty lies in the architectural and artistic details which will forever remain unknown.

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