The
temple of Artemis
Temple of Artemis The temple of Artemision is
known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Antic
world. It has been built in the areas of Ephesus
on a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp.
Today one can only see the ruins of the foundations of this
marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age, entirely made of
marble and full of sculptured columns' capitals and shafts. The
most beautiful remaining of this temple are today exhibited in
the London British Museum. The oldest remaining found date back
till the VIth century BC.
It was surrounded by 36 huge columns, later enlarged upon the
orders of the Lydian King, Kreisos, during the
VI th. century BC. Most of the exhibits in the London
British Museum belong to this period. The new
Artemision has been rebuilt in
the Kind century BC. Located on top of the previous one, it had
tremendous dimensions: 125 columns of each 17,5 meters high.
Unfortunately this one has also been destroyed by fire,
reconstructed and again demolished by earthquakes, rebuilt and
at last looted by Goths one year later. The statue of
many-breasted Artemision was the symbol of the temple but also of
abundance, hunting and wild life.
The genuine statue of Artemision, removed
during the fire, is today exhibited in the Selcuk Museum.
Many copies of this statue found during the latest excavations
date back from the Roman period. Aphrodisias
was changed to Stayropolis then to Caria
which became Geyre years after. The ruins which are worth seeing
in Aphrodisias are listed below: When the
Greeks first arrive under the leadership of Androklos, Kybele (Rhea)
was the major deity in all of Anatolia (the Asian part
of Turkey). The Greeks introduced the
worship of Artemis. Artemis and Cybele eventually became
the same goddess.
Artemis is the goddess of hunting, wild animals, childbirth, and
nature. According to the famous historian Strabon, the
Temple of Artemis was built and destroyed seven times.
It was always rebuilt on the same site.
Some of the different architects were Theodor's
from Samos, Cher siphon and
his son Metagenes from Knossos
of Crete, and Dinocrates. The
temple foundations date back to the 7th century BCE.
At first, it was a small shrine to Kybele. In
around 550 BCE Cretan Chersiphron, a Greek
architect, designed the final temple. This initial building was
sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus.
The most creative and economical Ephesus tour
for you ! We provide you with the air conditioned vehicle with
the driver and the licensed professional English speaking guide.
You can draw up the program and determine the sights you wish to
visit; our guide and the private vehicle with the driver will be
at your disposal. This kind of Ephesus tour is for those who is
short of time or just have special wishes about what to visit
around Kusadasi and Ephesus.