All About Temple of Artemis Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is probably the jewel of the least known of the seven wonders list . It appears in the first lists known (that of Antipater of Sidon and Philon of Byzantium). Antipater said about the temple: “When I saw the house of Artemis rising to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said,” apart from Olympus, the Sun never saw so great a thing ” . (Greek Anthology IX, 58). Yet no ancient author seems to have given an accurate description of the monument, unlike other treasures of the list.

The history of Ephesus: Luwian of the Persians

The city of Ephesus was founded around 1600 BCE. It became the capital of the powerful kingdom of Luwian Arzawa. His name at that time was Apasa. By 1000 BCE, the Ionian

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Greeks settled in the city. Later, they claimed to be the founders. In 546, Ephesus was conquered by the Achaemenid Persians. She then underwent a major boom. That’s when that philosophy was born in the city thanks to Heraclitus. Ephesus ranged successively in the camp of Athens after the Peloponnesian War, then in that of Sparta, 412. It should be noted that its population was cosmopolitan. All the inhabitants were not Greeks, which displeased with Lysander, the Spartan general. He said, according to Plutarch, she “was in a sorry state and in danger of becoming completely barbaric to be infected with the manners of Persia, because it was surrounded by Lydia and the general King stayed there most of the time “(Life of Lysander, III, 3). Eventually the Persians resettled for some decades to Ephesus.

From Alexander the Great to the Romans

In 334, the city appeared suspicious of Alexander the Great. On the death of the conqueror, it became part of the Kingdom of Antigonus, and then that of Lysimachus (301), then that of Seleucus I! She stayed until Seleucid 188 BC. After the defeat of King Antiochus III, Ephesus was incorporated into the kingdom of Pergamum. In 133, King Attalus III of Pergamum died, he left his kingdom by will to the Romans.

The origin of the temple of Artemis
The first traces of the temple of Artemis dating back to the eighth century BCE. At that time there was an altar dedicated to the goddess. In the sixth century began work that would last a century. A temple was erected. Croesus, king of Lydia, financed most of the work. The temple had three rows of columns in front and two lateral rows. The first drums of the columns were decorated with bas-reliefs. Some of them are now preserved at the British Museum as well as some Ionic capitals.