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Turkey - izmir -
Ephesus
Numerous remains and disinterred monuments give archaeologists reason to
believe that Ephesus was inhabited as early as the fourteenth century
B.C. Strabo, the Greek historian, asserted that the city had been
founded by the Amazons and that its population, partly Carians and
partly Lydians, worshipped the Great Goddess Artemis to whom they
dedicated an impressive temple, the Artemision, of which only a few
columns survive.
In 334 B.C. Ephesus was
conquered by Alexander the Great who initiated the reconstruction of the
temple which had been set on fire by Hierostatus on the very night that
the Macedonian champion was born. Ephesus became a great capital of Asia
Minor after 133 B.C. when it became subject to Rome,and it also evolved
as a centre for commerce.Amongst all the Roman-dominated cities in
Anatolia, Ephesus certainly has the best preserved and appreciated
monuments but above all it is the city where the quality of Roman life
can still be breathed today, and where one can form an impression of
what life was like at that time.
Goths from Crimea conquered
the city and looted the Temple of Artemis, then considered to be one of
the wonders of the ancient world, and the city’s decline dates from then.
It was from here that first Paul the Apostle and then John began to
spread Christianity. St Paul, who came from Tarsus, spent three years at
Ephesus and founded the first of the seven churches mentioned in the
Book of Revelations, before being ousted by Ephesian silversmiths. St.
John lived here with the Virgin Mary while he wrote his gospel. In 100
A.D. St John was buried in the city and Justinian erected a basilica
over his tomb.
In 431 A.D. Theodosius II
convened the Third Council at Ephesus, during which the Nestorian heresy
was condemned and the Virgin Mary’s divine maternity affirmed. The
Library of Celsus, reconstructed by Austrian archaeologists, is without
doubt one of Ephesus’ more important monuments. It was erected by
Tiberius Julius Aquila in memory of his father, Julius Celsus Polimeanus
(proconsul in Asia) in 135 A.D. His Sarcophagus, of fine carved marble,
is situated in the funerary chamber underneath the library. The two-storied
building has a sumptuously decorated facade with Corinthian columns and
capitals together with niches filled with statues representing Wisdom
and Intelligence. Three doors lead into the great reading Bedroom, which
in antiquity had a wooden roof, and where, in the centre, there stood a
statue of Athena. The marble-lined aligned walls contained niches where
the parchment scrolls were kept. At that time the library’s collection
amounted to around twelve thousand scrolls. Hollow spaces were
constructed behind the walls (a great engineering feat) preventing damp
from damaging the scrolls.
The main road, the street of
the Curetes, runs through the centre between the Library of Celsus and
the Agora. Numerous buildings gave onto this street which was paved in
marble and stone. On each side there was a colonnaded portico behind
which galleries paved with mosaics provided access to private dwellings,
shops and workshops. Some of the inscriptions on the columns are clearly
visible, adjacent to statues of citizens who contributed towards the
birth of the city. The street was reconstructed after its destruction by
an earthquake during the fourth century A.D. It was called the street of
the Curetes in memory of a community of priests called the Curetes who
worshipped Artemis who every year organised dramatic displays in honour
of the goddess at Ortigia, near Ephesus. The Odeum, or “Small Theatre”
on the slopes of Mount Panayir next to the Prytcmeion, now the town
hail, is in a good state of preservation. It was built in 150 AD. by a
rich Ephesian named Publius Vedius Antoninus. It is semicircular and
originally it was certainly roofed over. Its capacity was around 1,500
people. Like most theatres of antiquity it had a cavea, stage and
orchestra. The podium was made of marble as were the spectators’ benches.
The audience entered through two paradoi, one at either side, or by
stairs leading to the paradoi. The Odeum was not only used for dramatic
performances and musical concerts but it was also the meeting place (buleuterio)
for city representatives from the BuZe. The ruins that can be seen by
the eastern side of the theatre are the Bathrooms of Varius, probably
privately owned, dating from the second century A.D.
The current population of
Turkey is over 65 million people, of whom 60% live in the cities. Then
ten most populous cities in order are Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir Adana,
Bursa, Gaziantep, Eskisehir, Kayseri and Diyarbakir. More than half the
population is under the age of 20.The Large Theatre is Ephesus’ most
picturesque monu-ment, its elevated position dominates the entire valley
and it could seat over 20.000 people on sixty-six rows of steps. It was
built by the Romans in the first century A.D.on the remains of a Greek
theatre during the reign of Claudius and it was modified under Nero.
Like all theatres it had a cavea (one hundred and fifty four metres in
diameter), orchestra (thirty-four metres in diameter), and stage (eighteen
metres high). If the Buletos met in the Odeum, this was the meeting
place for the Demos, the peoples’ assembly of male citizens. It was in
this great theatre that Ephesian silversmiths who worshipped the Goddess
Artemis revolted against St Paul and his followers, forcing them to
leave Ephesus. The theatre’s facade was ornate: there were three rows of
columns with niches and statues and the galleried entrances to the
theatre are still visible today. Not far from the Odeon are the remains
of the monu-ment to Memmius, commissioned by Augustus in the I century
B.C. to honour Cornelius Siila’s grandchild.
Hadrian’s Temple, in the
Corinthian style, was built along the Street of the Curetes in 138 A.D.
and was restored by Austrian archaeologists. It is one of Ephesus’ most
attractive and elegant monuments. The four Corinthian columns in the
centre support a finely decorated pediment in the centre of which is an
elegant female bust: Tyche, the goddess who was the guardian of the city.
Above the temple door leading to the celia there is a highly decorated
tympanum with a sculpture representing Medusa. On the facade, in front
of the columns, four statue bases have survived with the inscriptions of
the names of four emperors: Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and
Constantius Chlorus. In the cella there is a plinth that at one time
supported a statue of Hadrian. On an architrave there is an inscription
that the temple was dedicated to the Emperor “Divo Adriano” by P
Quintilius.The Dwellings on the Slope, also called the Slope Palaces,
were luxurious houses of the rich. They were built on the slopes of
Mount Phion and they have an unusual structure as the roof of each house
forms the terrace of the next. Almost all of them had three storeys and
they were constructed around a peristyle (a courtyard with a columned
portico), with a central fountain. The floors were paved with mosaics
and almost all the walls frescoed with scenes from mythology. Two of
these can be seen, one next to the other, which have been completely
restored. The first house dates from the first century A.D. as does the
second which has two peristyles and which was restored and modified up
to the seventh century. Continuing along the street of the Curetes,
behind the Bathrooms of Scholasticia, there is a further house with an
atrium, which was a Brothel. Nothing remains of the first floor, but on
the ground floor some of the walls have retained their frescoes. The
mosaic on the floor of the dining Bedroom represents the four seasons.
The Bathrooms were equipped with hot water and at the back there is a
pool with mosaics featuring a woman, a mouse and a slave. During
restoration work a terracotta statue of Priapus with an enormous phallus
was found and it can now be seen in Ephesus’ museum. A few Ionian
columns and a perfecdy restored wall survive from the Church of the
Virgin Mary. This is an important church for Christians because it was
the first church to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Ecumenical
Council convened by Theodosius II proclaiming the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin Mary in 431 A.D. was also held in this basilica. The
Church of the Virgin or the Basilica of the Council was erected in the
fourth century using the foundations of a second century B.C. basilica
structure called the Museion. Three naves with columns and balustas were
added together with a circular baptistery with a central font. Some of
the floor slabs bear inscriptions and others are decorated. The marble
omphalon, in the centre of the Church, was brought from the Bathrooms of
the Port.
The House of the Virgin is a
church on the plan of a cross surmounted by a dome. It is almost
entirely reconstructed. It is immersed in the silent green countryside
at Panaya Kapulu, a small locality not far from the ruins of Ephesus. In
the apse there is a statue of the Virgin (placed there a hundred years
ago) and a simple altar. There was once a kitchen in the small central
area which is paved in grey marble. Excavations brought to light pieces
of charcoal and traces of wood. In the back Bedroom, to the south of the
altar, there was a bedBedroom. There is a fountain near the house, the
Fountain of the Virgin, and its water is said to have miraculous powers.
The house is a place of pilgrimage for Christians, Orthodox and Catholic,
and Muslims (Meryemana is recognised as a saint by Islam). Every year,
on August 15th, believers of all three faiths gather here to celebrate
the Assumption of the Virgin. Many exvotos adorn the House of the Virgin
which has been visited by three Popes: John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul
II. Traditionally, the Virgin Mary was thought to have lived in Ephesus
for many years with St. John (from 37 to 48 A.D.) after the death of
Jesus Christ. Some claim that she was even buried here at the age of
sixty-three, though Christians maintain that she was buried in Jerusalem,
on Mount Sion, where there is now the Church of Dormition. Before
reaching the Selçukk Fortress, you come to the Church of St. John,
thought to be the most important Byzantine building un Ephesus. It was
built by Justinian and Queen Theodora during the sixth century A.D. on
the ruins of a small church erected over the Tomb of St. John who died
at Ephesus in 100 A.D. At a later stage thick walls were built around
the basilica with twenty towers and three gates to defend it from Arab
attacks.
When Ephesus was conquered
by the Selçuks in 1330 it was first transformed into a mosque and then
into a bazaar. Excavations of the basilica began in 1926 and are still
being undertaken. The entrance is through the Gate of Persecution,
surmounted by two imposing towers, which leads into a courtyard and then
into the remains of the church. The church was forty metres wide and one
hundred and ten metres long, and constructed on the pattern of the cross.
There are three naves covered by domes supported by brick and marble
pilasters. The Saint’s tomb is above the crypt facing the apse. The
Baptistery was octagonal and faced with marble, and the font was
embellished with arches and columns.
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