Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

This temple for the goddess Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Date: c. 700 b. c.e.-262 c. e.

Category: Art and architecture; religion and mythology Locale: Ancient city of Ephesus, near modern Selfuk, Turkey

Summary The foundation of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus (AHRT-ih-muhs at e-FUH-suhs) dates back to the seventh century b. c.e., but it is best known for the great marble structure that was built between 560 and 550 b. c.e. sponsored by King Croesus of Lydia and designed by the architect Chersiphron. The temple was dedicated to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, whose presence at the temple was believed by the citizens of Ephesus to provide them with wealth and protection. Legend has it that a man named Herostratus, in an attempt to immortalize his name, burned the temple to the ground on the night Alexander the Great was born in 356 b. c.e.

A new temple, larger and more impressive than the first, was built on the same spot. The high terraced base of the temple was rectangular, measuring 380 by 180 feet (115 by 55 meters), with 127 Ionic columns 62 feet (19 meters) high. The architects were Paeonius and Demetrius. The temple suffered at the hands of the Goths in 262 c. e. and was abandoned with the coming of Christianity to the Roman Empire. It no longer stands.

Significance The temple of Artemis at Ephesus was the second largest temple in the ancient Greek world, and tourists, pilgrims, and devotees paid homage by coming from far and wide.

Further Reading

Clayton, Peter A., and Martin J. Price. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Routledge, 1988.

This engraving shows the temple of Artemis at Ephesus as it might have looked in ancient times.

Pedley, John. Sanctuaries and the Sacred in the Ancient Greek World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Scherrer, Peter, ed. Ephesus: The New Guide. Authorized by Osterreich-isches Archaologishes Institut and Efes Muzeski Selfuk. Translated by Lionel Bier and George M. Luxan. Rev. ed. Turkey: Ege Yayinlau,

2000.

Seval, Mehlika. Let’s Visit Ephesus. Istanbul: Minyatur, 1998.

Whitley, James. The Archaeology of Ancient Greece. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

John A. Nichols

See also: Art and Architecture; Croesus; Mythology; Paeonius; Polyclitus.