 |
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 VIth
century BC. Most of the exhibits in the London British Museum belong to this period. |
The new Artemision has been rebuilt in the IInd 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 seein 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 Kybele 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 Theodoros from Samos, Chersiphon 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. | |
| Pictures of Temple of Artemis |
|
Temple of Artemis 
