Ephesus Temple of Artemis

Learn from your Archaeologous private guide about this amazing site.The Ephesus Temple of Artemis, Artemision, was four times as large as the Parthenon in Athens and was filled with exquisite artworks and sculptures of the most renowned artists of the time. See the remains on your guided shore excursion of Ephesus. This was the famed Temple of Artemis, One of the 7 Wonders of the World.

FYI: Historical in the fact that it was the first monumental building to be entirely constructed of marble, it was absolutely massive with its 127 gold and silver decoratively carved, 60 foot high Ionic columns. Priests/priestesses, musicians, dancers, famous sculptors, the rich and famous, all came to the Temple of Artemis. The temple itself had its own mounted police due to donated riches and art treasures! Unfortunately, today we cannot see anything of the splendor but a single standing column from the epic past. A marshy ground site was chosen as a precaution against future earthquakes. So today, unless you want to walk in marshy waters, the summer months are the best as the waters are at their lowest. You’ll actually be able to see the foundations of previous structures as well.

History: The original temple, was built approximate 650 BC, and was constructed on a sacred site to the Anatolian Mother Goddess, Cybele. The night Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC, an arsonist set fire to the temple. Twenty two years later, when Alexander the Great was sweeping through Asia Minor, he offered to reconstruct the temple. He was refused. The Temple of Artemis was eventually rebuilt and then plundered by Nero and destroyed by the Goths by 263 AD. Once again the Temple of Artemis was reconstructed in the 4th century, but by the end of that century the temple has been abandoned and only after 1500 years, in 1869, was there an expedition sponsored by the British Museum that started giving attention to this epic treasure of the past.