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Temple of Artemis

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	Topics Temple of Artemis Topic Home The Temple of Artemis, also known less precisely as Temple of DianaDiana (mythology) In Roman mythology, Diana was the virgin goddess of the hunt, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis.... , was a templeGreek temple The Greeks began to build monumental temples in the first half of the 8th century BC.... dedicated to ArtemisArtemis Summary Artemis , in Greek mythology was daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.... completed in its most famous phase, around 550 BC at EphesusEphesus Ephesus or Efes , was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Anatolia, located in Lydia where the Cayster river ... (in present-day TurkeyTurkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Sou... ) under the Achaemenid dynastyAchaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire with high cultural and economical achievements during its ... of the Persian EmpirePersian Empire The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau and beyond.... . Nothing remains of the temple, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Temple of Artemis was not the first on its site, where evidence of a sanctuary dates as early as the Bronze AgeBronze Age Overview The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced metalworking included technique... . The temple was a 120-year project started by CroesusCroesus Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC.... of LydiaLydia Lydia is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkey's modern provinces of Izmir and Manisa.... . It was described by Antipater of SidonAntipater of Sidon Antipater of Sidon is an ancient Greek writer and poet.... , who compiled the list of the Seven Wonders: I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught [anything] so grand". Location The Temple of Artemis was located near the ancient city of Ephesus, about 50 km south from the modern port city of IzmirIzmir Izmir is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after Istanbul.... , in Turkey. Today the site lies on the edge of the modern town of SelçukSelçuk Sel?uk is the central town of Sel?uk district, Izmir Province in Turkey, northeast of Kusadasi, northeast of Ephesus.... . Ephesian Artemis ArtemisArtemis Artemis , in Greek mythology was daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.... was a Greek goddess, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo, who supplanted the TitanTitan (mythology) In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities that ruled during the legendary Golden Age.... SeleneSelene In Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the titans Hyperion and Theia.... as goddess of the MoonMoon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite.... . Of the Olympian goddesses who inherited aspects of the Great goddess of Crete, Athene was more honored than Artemis at Athens. At EphesusFacts About Ephesus Ephesus or Efes , was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Anatolia, located in Lydia where the Cayster river ... , a goddess whom the Greeks associated with Artemis was passionately venerated in an archaic, certainly pre-Hellenic cult imageCult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it em... that was carved of wood and kept decorated with jewelry. Robert Fleischer identified as decorations of the primitive xoanonXoanon A xoanon was an Archaic wooden cult image of Ancient Greece.... the changeable features that since Minucius Felix and JeromeJerome Jerome is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin.... 's Christian attacks on pagan popular religion had been read as many breasts or "eggs" — denoting her fertility. Most similar to Near-Eastern and Egyptian deities, and least similar to Greek ones, her body and legs are enclosed within a tapering pillar-like termTerm (architecture) In Classical architecture a term or terminal figure is a human head and bust that continues as a square tapering pill... , from which her feet protrude. On the coins minted at Ephesus, the apparently many-breasted goddess wears a mural crownMural crown The term Mural crown as used in Roman antiquity, was a golden crown, or a circle of gold intended to resemble a battlement,... (like a city's walls), an attribute of CybeleCybele Originally a Phrygian goddess, insofar as the Hellenes were concerned, Cybele was a deification of the Earth Mother who was ... (see polos). On the coins she rests either arm on a staff formed of entwined serpentsSerpent (symbolism) Summary Serpent is a word of Latin origin which is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit term serp, that is normally substituted... or of a stack of ouroboroiOuroboros The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.... , the eternal serpent with its tail in its mouth. Something the Lady of Ephesus had in common with CybeleCybele Originally a Phrygian goddess, insofar as the Hellenes were concerned, Cybele was a deification of the Earth Mother who was ... was that each was served by temple slave-women, or hieroduleHierodule Overview In ancient Greece and Anatolia a hierodule, from the Greek ', was a temple slave in the service of a specific deity, of... s (hiero "holy", doule "female slave"), under the direction of a priestess who inherited her role, attended by a college of eunuch priests called "Megabyzoi" (though sometimes the existence of a college is disputed and rather, a succession of priests given the title of "Megabyzos" is preferred) and also by young virgins. Modern scholars are likely to be more concerned with origins of the Lady of Ephesus and her iconology than her adherents were at any point in time, and are also prone to creating a synthetic account of the Lady of Ephesus by drawing together documentation that ranges over more than a millennium in its origins, creating a falsified, unitary picture, as of an unchanging icon. The "eggs" of the Lady of Ephesus, it now appears, must be the iconographic descendents of the amberAmber Amber is a fossil resin much used for the manufacture of ornamental objects.... gourd-shaped drops, elliptical in cross-section and drilled for hanging, that were rediscovered in 1987-88; they remained in situ where the ancient wooden cult figureCult figure A cult figure or cult icon is a person who attracts the attention of a small band of aficionados.... of the Lady of Ephesus had been caught by an eighth-century flood (see History below). This form of breast-jewelry, then, had already been developed by the Geometric Period. A hypothesis offered by Gerard Seiterle, that the objects in Classical representations represented bulls' scrotal sacs cannot be maintained (Fleischer, "Neues zur kleinasiatischen Kultstatue" Archäologischer Anzeiger 98 1983:81-93; Bammer 1990:153). A votive inscription mentioned by Florence Mary Bennett, which dates probably from about the third century BC, associates Ephesian Artemis with Crete: "To the Healer of diseases, to Apollo, Giver of Light to mortals, Eutyches has set up in votive offering [a statue of] the Cretan Lady of Ephesus, the Light-Bearer." The Greek habits of syncretismSyncretism Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought... assimilated all foreign gods under some form of the Olympian pantheon familiar to them, and it is clear that at Ephesus, the identification that the Ionian settlers made of the "Lady of Ephesus" with Artemis was slender. The Christian approach was at variance with the tolerant syncretistic approach of pagans to gods who were not theirs. A Christian inscription at Ephesus suggests why so little remains at the site: Destroying the delusive image of the demon Artemis, Demeas has erected this symbol of Truth, the God that drives away idols, and the Cross of priests, deathless and victorious sign of Christ. The assertion that the Ephesians thought their cult image had fallen from the sky, though it was a familiar origin-myth at other sites, is only known at Ephesus from the Bible found in Acts 19:35. Destruction The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed on July 21, 356 BC in an act of arson committed by HerostratusHerostratus Herostratus was a young man who set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in his quest for fame on July 21, 356 BC.... . According to the story, his motivation was fame at any cost, thus the term herostratic fame. A man was found to plan the burning of the temple of Ephesian Diana so that through the destruction of this most beautiful building his name might be spread through the whole world. The Ephesians, outraged, announced that Herostratus' name never be recorded. StraboStrabo Strabo was a historian, geographer and philosopher.... later noted the name, which is how we know it today. That very same night, Alexander the GreatAlexander the Great Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon , was one of the most successful military commander... was born. PlutarchPlutarch Mestrius Plutarchus , known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist.... remarked that ArtemisArtemis Artemis , in Greek mythology was daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo.... was too preoccupied with Alexander's delivery to save her burning temple. Alexander later offered to pay for the temple's rebuilding, but the Ephesians refused. Eventually, the temple was restored after Alexander's death, in 323 BC. This reconstruction was itself destroyed during a raid by the GothsGoths The Goths were an East Germanic tribe who from the 2nd century settled Scythia, Dacia and Pannonia.... in 262, in the time of emperor GallienusGallienus Overview Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus ruled the Roman Empire as co-emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and then... : "Respa, Veduc and Thuruar, leaders of the Goths, took ship and sailed across the strait of the Hellespont to Asia. There they laid waste many populous cities and set fire to the renowned temple of Diana at Ephesus", reported JordanesFacts About Jordanes Jordanes was a 6th century churchman who turned his hand to history later in life.... in Getica. The Ephesians rebuilt the temple again. At Ephesus, according to the second-century Acts of JohnActs of John The *Acts of John* is a 2nd-century Christian collection of narratives and traditions, well described as a "library of mat... , the apostle John prayed publicly in the very Temple of Artemis, exorcizing its demons and "of a sudden the altar of Artemis split in many pieces... and half the temple fell down," instantly converting the Ephesians, who wept, prayed or took flight. Over the course of the fourth century, perhaps the majority of Ephesians did convert to ChristianityChristianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New... ; all temples were declared closed by Theodosius ITheodosius I Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 until his dea... in 391. In 401, the temple was finally destroyed by a mob led by St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom John Chrysostom was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople.... , and the stones were used in construction of other buildings. Some of the columns in Hagia SophiaHagia Sophia Summary Hagia Sophia , now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453, co... originally belonged to the temple of Artemis. The main primary sources for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus are Pliny the ElderPliny the Elder Summary Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author and natural philosopher of some import... 's Natural History , Pomponius Mela , and PlutarchPlutarch Mestrius Plutarchus , known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist.... 's Life of AlexanderFacts About Alexander the Great Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon , was one of the most successful military commander... (referencing the burning of the Artemisium). Rediscovery After sixty years of patient searching, the site of the temple was rediscovered in 1869 by an expedition sponsored by the British Museum led by John Turtle WoodJohn Turtle Wood John Turtle Wood was a British architect, engineer and archaeologist.... ; excavations continued until 1879. A few further fragments of sculpture were found during the 1904-06 excavations directed by D.G. Hogarth. The recovered sculptured fragments of the fourth-century rebuilding and a few from the earlier temple, which had been used in the rubble fill for the rebuilding, were assembled and displayed in the "Ephesus Room" of the British Museum. Today the site of the temple, which lies just outside SelçukSelçuk Sel?uk is the central town of Sel?uk district, Izmir Province in Turkey, northeast of Kusadasi, northeast of Ephesus.... , is marked by a single column constructed of dissociated fragments discovered on the site. Architecture and art Most of the physical description and art within the Temple of Artemis comes from PlinyFacts About Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author and natural philosopher of some import... , though there are different accounts, and the actual size varies. Pliny describes the temple as 377 feet (115 meters) long and 180 feet (55 meters) wide, made almost entirely of marble, making its area about three times as large as the ParthenonParthenon he Parthenon was a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis of Athens.... . The temple's cellaCella A cella or naos, is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture. ... was enclosed in colonnades of 127 Ionic columnsIonic order The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two... , each 18 meters (60 feet) in height. The Temple of Artemis housed many fine works of art. Sculptures by renowned Greek sculptors Polyclitus, Pheidias, Cresilas, and PhradmonFacts About Phradmon Phradmon was a statuary from Agros, whom Pliny places as the contemporary of Polykleitos, Myron, Pythagoras, Scopas, and Per... adorned the temple, as well as paintings and gilded columns of gold and silver. The sculptors often competed at creating the finest sculpture. Many of these sculptures were of AmazonsFacts About Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a land dominated by women at ... , who were said to have founded the city of Ephesus. Pliny tells us that ScopasScopas Scopas was an Ancient Greek sculptor and architect, born on the island of Paros.... , who also worked on the Mausoleum of Mausollos, worked carved reliefs into the temple's columns. Athenagoras of AthensAthenagoras of Athens Athenagoras was a Christian apologist of the second half of the 2nd century of whom little is known for certain, besides tha... names EndoeusEndoeus Endoeus, an early sculptor, who worked at Athens in the middle of the 6th century BC.... , a pupil of Daedalus, as the sculptor of the main statue of Artemis in Ephesus. Cult and influence The Temple of Artemis was located at an economically robust region, drawing merchants and travellers from all over Asia Minor. The temple was influenced by many beliefs, and can be seen as a symbol of faith for many different peoples. The Ephesians worshiped CybeleCybele Originally a Phrygian goddess, insofar as the Hellenes were concerned, Cybele was a deification of the Earth Mother who was ... , and incorporated many of their beliefs into the worship of Artemis. Artemisian Cybele became quite contrasted from her Roman counterpart, Diana. The cult of Artemis attracted thousands of worshipers from far-off lands. See also Ephesia GrammataEphesia Grammata Ephesia Grammata are Ancient Greek magical formulas attested from the 4th century BC.... External links British Museum's objects UnMuseum's Seven Wonders' : Chapter III: Ephesian Artemis (text) (W. R. Lethaby, 1908)