Ephesus

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Historical Map of Ephesus, from Meyers Konversationslexikon 1888

Ephesus (Greek: Έφεσος, Turkish: Efes), was one of the cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) flows into the Aegean Sea, founded by colonists principally from Athens. The site lies 3 km south of the modern district of Selçuk, İzmir Province of Turkey. The ruins of Ephesus are favourite domestic and international tourism attractions, due to easy accessibility via İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport and via the port of Kuşadası. Ephesus hosted one of the seven churches of Asia, addressed in the Book of Revelation.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Seven sleepers
4 Photo Gallery
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Ancient Ephesus

Site of the Temple of Artemis.

Ephesus is believed by many to be the Apasa (or Abasa) mentioned in Hittite sources as the capital of the kingdom of Arzawa. Mycenaean pottery has been found in excavations at the site. The many-breasted "Lady of Ephesus", identified by Greeks with Artemis, was venerated in the Temple of Artemis, the largest building of the ancient world, according to Pausanias (4.31.8) and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, of which scarcely a trace remains (illustration, left).

The Roman Theater at Ephesus.

The Temple of Hadrian.

[edit] Roman Ephesus

Beginning in the Roman Republic, Ephesus was the capital of proconsular Asia, which covered the western part of Asia Minor.

The original city of Ephesus was located on low ground, and was completely flooded by the sea. The city was rebuilt by Lysimachus, who destroyed the cities of Lebedos and Colophon in 292 BC and relocated their inhabitants to the new city.

The city was distinguished for the Temple of Artemis (Diana), who had her chief shrine there, for its library, and for its theatre, which would have been capable of holding 25,000 spectators. It was, like all ancient theatres, open to the sky; it was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage. The population of Ephesus has been estimated to be in the range of 400,000 to 500,000 inhabitants in the year 100 AD, making it the largest city in Roman Asia and one of the largest cities of the day. Ephesus also had several major bath complexes, built at various points while the city was under Roman rule. The city had one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world, with multiple aqueducts of various sizes to supply different areas of the city, including 4 major aqueducts.

Although sacked by the Goths in 263 CE, Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries. However, sackings by the Arabs in the year 700 and 716 spurred a quick decline: the city was largely abandoned when the harbour completely filled in with silt from the Kaystros river (today, Kucuk Menderes), despite repeated dredges during the city's history. (Today, the harbour is 5 km inland.) The loss of its harbor caused Ephesus to lose its access to the Aegean Sea, which was important for trade. When the Seljuk Turks conquered it in 1090, it was a small village. The Byzantines resumed control in 1100 and kept control of the region until the end of the 13th century. After a short period of flourishing under the new rulers, it was definitively abandoned in the 15th century.

[edit] Ephesus and Christianity

Map of Lydia in ancient times
showing location of Ephesus and other ancient cities in western Anatolia

Photo of a 15th Century map showing Ephesus.

Ephesus was an important center for early Christianity. Paul used it as a base. He became embroiled in a dispute with artisans, whose livelihood depended on the Temple of Artemis there (Acts 19:23–41), and wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. Later Paul wrote to the Christian community at Ephesus.

Curtis Hudwalker" notes, "the Apostle and Evangelist John lived in Asia Minor in the last decades of the first century and from Ephesus had guided the Churches of that province...After Domitian's death the Apostle returned to Ephesus during the reign of Trajan, and at Ephesus he died about 100 AD at a great age". Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation (2:1–7).

There is also a letter written by Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians in the early 2nd century AD, that begins with, "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fulness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory" (Letter to the Ephesians).

The house of the Virgin Mary (Turkish: Meryemana, meaning "Mother Mary"), about 7 km from Selçuk, is believed to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus and is a popular place of pilgrimage. Also nearby is the town of Meryemana.

The Church of Mary close to the harbor of Ephesus was the setting for the Third Ecumenical Council in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius.

[edit] Main sights

The Roman civic library.

The Tomb of St. John in St. John's Basilica.

A part of the site, St. John's Basilica, was built in the 6th century AD, under emperor Justinian I over the supposed site of the apostle's tomb. It is now surrounded by a Turkish town, Selçuk.

It is a vast site, not yet completely excavated but what is visible gives some idea of its original splendour and the names associated with it are evocative of its former life. The theatre is huge and in a very outstanding position which dominates the view down Harbour Street leading to the harbour, long since silted up.

The Library of Celsus, whose façade has been carefully reconstructed from all original pieces, was built ca. 125 BC. by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father, and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. Designed with an exaggerated entrance — so as to enhance its perceived size, speculate many historians — the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light. An underground tunnel, marked by the simple figures of a woman, a heart, and a price, leads from the library to a nearby building believed to have been a drinking establishment or brothel.

The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is represented only by one inconspicuous column, revealed during an archaeological excavation by the British Museum in the 1870s. Some fragments of frieze (which are insufficient to suggest the form the original) and other small finds were removed – some to London and some to the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul. Other edifices excavated include:

The Odeon
The Temple of Hermes
The Temple of Domitian (once attributed to Serapis)
The Theater

Selçuk's annual camel wrestling championship occurs near Ephesus in the winter.

[edit] Seven sleepers

Ephesus is believed to be the city of Seven Sleepers. Seven sleepers, who were persecuted because of their belief in God, slept in a cave near Ephesus for centuries. They are considered to be saints by Muslims and their tale is told in Qur'an.

[edit] Photo Gallery

		agora, odeon, prytaneion






			arch of fountain Pollio

			Bath of Varius
Bath of Varius	Curetes street	Curetes street	Domitian temple
Domitian temple	Domitian temple	Domitian temple	Memmius monument
Memmius monument		Hercules with lion's skin, from Hercules Gate	Hercules with lion's skin, from Hercules Gate
Nike from Hercules Gate	Nike from Hercules Gate	Nymphaeum of Trajan	Nymphaeum of Trajan
Nymphaeum of Trajan	Scholastica	Scholastica	Terace houses - mosaic
mosaic	marble road - detail	An early Christian ichthys
Artemis Statue	Artemis-Statue im Museum von Ephesos	Temple of Artemis

[edit] Odeon

Odeon	Odeon	Odeon - detail	Odeon - detail
View from odeon

[edit] Hadrian Temple

Hadrian temple	Hadrian temple	Hadrian temple - detail	Hadrian temple - detail
Hadrian temple - detail	Hadrian temple - detail

[edit] Celsus Library

Celsus Library	Celsus Library	Celsus Library	Celsus Library
Celsus Library	Celsus Library	Celsus Library	Celsus Library
Celsus Library	Celsus Library - Arete	Celsus Library - Arete	Celsus Library - Sofia
Celsus Library - Sofia	Celsus Library - Ennoia	Celsus Library - Epistema	Celsus Library - inside
Celsus Library - view from marble road	Celsus Library - view from marble road