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Travel Ephesus |
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Around Ephesus |
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History of Ephesus |
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 Well-known
from earliest times, this city was established on
the delta of what is now called the Lesser Menderes
River. The sheltered harbor of that period was the
beginning of a royal road the ended at the gate of
Susa, the capital or the Persian Empire, which
secured the city its importance. It became the
capital of the Roman province of Asia under Augustus
and had a population of perhaps 200,000 in the
second and first centuries BC. In the 6th century BC
science, art and culture were prominent here along
with Miletus. The famous philosopher Heraclitus,
interpreter of dreams Artemidorus, the poets
Callinos and Hipponax, grammarian Zenodotus and the
doctors Soranus and Rufus were all from Ephesus.
The oldest finds are from the Neolithic Age dated 6000 years before
Christ, found at the Çukuriçi Höyük. There was a
Hittite settlement on top of Ayasuluk Hill from the
Old Bronze Age. The name was then Apasus, according
to Hittite inscriptions found there. Linguists
believe the name Ephesus came from this Hittite
name.
 According
to Herodotus, colonists came from the west and
settled here about 1000 BC while the Karyali and
Leleg people of Anatolia were in residence in the
area. The colonists gave the name Artemis to the
mother goddess Kybele. The temple to Artemis from
that period became one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World. The city was attacked successively by
the Kimmer people in the 7th century, the Lydians in
560 BC, and later the Persians. It regained its
freedom under Alexander the Great, after whom his
general, Lysimachus, established his kingdom. Based
upon finds from this latest time, he set up his city
based upon the "Gridiron Plan" found in the Miletus
Hippodrome. The streets thus intersected one another
in a regular pattern.
 Under
Roman rule the city became the largest and richest
in the province of Asia thanks to both land and sea
trade. There were marble monuments everywhere in the
city. It was the first city built entirely out of
marble. In the 4th century AD trade had declined
because the harbor was silting in. The Emperor
Hadrian had the harbor dredged several times. The
harbor was finned in by silt from the Marnas River
and the Lesser Menderes coming from the north. In
time the city was increasingly distant from the sea.
In the 7th century Arabs attacked the coastal areas.
The city moved to Ayasuluk Hill for better defense.
When the Turks came in the 13th century Ephesus was
just a small village. They built mosques,
caravanserais, and baths typical of Turkish
civilization.
 There
are two entrances to the city today. For an easy
tour, begin at the Magnesia Gate (Upper Gate)
located on the road going to the House of Mary.
Immediately to one side is the East Gymnasium at the
foot of Panayir Mountain. The first monumental work
one comes to is the Odeion with the Varius Baths
beside it. Ephesus had a bicameral legislation, the
first being the Congress of Councillors, which met
here, hence the name "Bouleterion". In front of the
Odeion was business council called the "Basilica."
Beside this was the Municipal Building, the
"Prytaneion" with its massive columns. The Prytan
functioned as the mayor of the city. His most
important function was to keep alive the flame that
had been burning in the building for centuries. This
was done in the name of the local deity Hestia. The
Artemis statues on display in the Ephesus Museum
were found in the vault of the Prytaneion.
The area in front of the Odeion was the State Agora (Upper Agora). In the
middle was a temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis. In
80 Laecanus Bassus erected AD a fountain in the
southwest corner of the agora. From the agora one
proceeds to the Square to Domitian where things like
the Pollio and Domitian fountains, the Memmius
Monument and the Heracles Gate are clustered
together.
 The
famous Avenue of the Curates leads west from the
Upper Agora. Things along this avenue include the
Trajan Fountain, the façade of the Temple to Hadrian
and the Scolasticia Baths. Immediately beside the
Temple to Hadrian are the Bordello and the Latrines.
On the left side of the avenue are the "Terrace
Houses." These houses are the most beautiful
examples of peristyle houses and were as comfortable
as houses are today. They all had frescoed walls and
mosaic floors. Each had a heating system and bath.
These houses are eminent in archeological literature
and well worth seeing. At the end of the avenue is
that most beautiful structure of Roman times, the
Celsus Library. When Ephesus governor Celsus died in
106 AD, his son had the library built as his
monument and grave. The sarcophagus is under the
west wall of the library. One of the most
interesting structures in Ephesus is the Temple to
Serapis, immediately behind the Library. Beside the
Library is the Mazeus Mithridates Gate that leads in
the Market Agora (Lower Agora).
Agora is the starting point for the Marble Avenue. This is where St. Paul
preached. At the end of the avenue is the world's
largest theater, the Grand Theater, with a seating
capacity of 24,000. Presently the theater is the
site of months of various cultural and musical
activities. At the corner of the theater is the
Hellenistic Fountain, the smallest structure in
Ephesus. The Theater Gymnasium and Baths across from
it were built in the 2nd century AD.
The longest street in Ephesus is the Harbor Avenue (Arcadian Avenue) once
lined with statues, and stretching from the theater
to the presently silted-in harbor. The Four
Apostles' Monument was in the middle of the avenue.
At the end of the avenue was the Harbor Gymnasium
and Baths next to the ancient harbor. In the complex
there stands the Church of Mary, site of the General
Church Council of 431 AD.
At the city's northernmost point is the Vedius Gymnasium with Byzantine
walls beside it. There is also a stadium built in
the time of the Emperor Nero. |
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Ephesus Yesterday & Today |
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