Artemis of Ephesus

The Greek goddess of Artemis in Ephesus combined with the Anatolian goddess of Kybele and is identified together as Artemis of Ephesus, which was very important for Ephesians as we also read at Herodotus' Histories.

Ephesian Artemis is a distinctive form of the goddess Artemis. In Greek myth, Artemis is the twin of Apollo. She is the goddess of hunting and wild animals. She is often shown with a bow and an arrow. However Ephesus was not a pure Greek city and there was still a lot of influence from the original inhabitants. Therefore, at Ephesus, the Greek Goddess Artemis combined with the local pagan goddess of fertility, Cybele.

The few sculptures that remain of Artemis of Ephesus show a woman standing, with her legs fitted tightly together and her arms held out in front of her. Her legs were wrapped tightly in a long skirt covered with animals, such as stags and lions. Around her neck was a garland of flowers and on her head was either a hat or a headdress. But what was most pronounced was her torso, which was covered with a large number of breasts or eggs. These features are more similar to Near-Eastern and Egyptian deities and less similar to Greek ones.

Artemis of Ephesus was also the patron deity of the city. As such, Artemis of Ephesus needed a temple in which to be honoured.

Temple of Artemis

​Temple of Artemis which lies in Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the World in ancient times. Around 560BC Ephesus was conquered by King Croesus of Lydia and he made major contributions to the Temple of Artemis as well. A lot of these artefacts are in the British Museum and King Croesus' signature can be seen in one of the columns.

You can see in below pictures the colossal structure of the Temple of Artemis. Today the site of the temple is marked by a single column constructed of dissociated fragments discovered on the site. However the marble stones that was part of the Artemis Temple can be traced down to other monuments around the area. For example Basilica of St.John up on Ayasuluk Hill in Selcuk and even in nearby Isa Bey mosque. So in a way we can say that the materials from The Temple of Artemis still survive.

St. John Basilica 

The site of the Basillica of St. John is believed to be the burial site of John the Apostle. In 4th Century a huge basilica was built here over St John’s tomb by the Roman Emperor Constantine. Then in 6th century Roman Emperor Justinian built an even bigger basilica. It is thought that if the Basilica would be fully restored it would be the seventh largest cathedral in the World. A model showing the original grandness of the Basilica is seen below.

Magnesia on Maender

Magnesia was an ancient Greek city located in Ioania between Priene and Ephesus but it was not considered part of the Ioanian League as its inhabitants were Aeolians from Greece. It was on a slope on the banks of Maender river which is flowing from Ephesus so the city is referred as Magnesia on Maender. The area around Magnesia was very fertile, and Magnesians could produce excellent wine, figs and cucumbers. Today the area is a relatively unknown archaeological site in Turkey with probably only a few visitors each year. However the site is a must see including the city theatre, basilica, altar to Artemis, gymnasium and  the oldest standing Hippodrome.

The Hippodrome in Magnesia was obviously not as big as the one in Constantinople but it was still of very decent size and hosted competitive games. It is currently one of the oldest standing hippodromes. It is built between two hills just next to the river. You need to climb fifty-two stairs to reach its highest level and it could host 30 thousand spectators. The stadium was 189 meters long. At the base of the stairs, the archaeologists discovered work on stones showing armours, shields and helmets probably symbolising victories. We can also understand that gladiatorial fights were organised in the stadium.

In Byzantine times major teams, such as Blues, Reds and Greens were very strong and competitive. Each team had a strong fan base following their games. This fan base was sometimes too powerful and it even became a worry for the emperors time to time. To access the Hippodrome tickets were issued with clear seat locations. There were separate boxes for each teams’ fans. Climbing up the stairs one can easily see the markings on the seats such as “this section for team blue supporters”, “this section is for retired army personnel”. It is amazing to see this Hippodrome so well preserved.