Artemis Temple of Ephesus, Ruins

Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art

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Although nothing really remains of it now, the great Temple of Diana in Ephesus was a massive marble structure (around 80m x 130m, with columns 20m high) that was decorated with bronze statues created by the most skilled artists of that era: Pheidias, Polycleitus, and Phradmon. It was burned to the ground in 356 BCE by a man named Herostratus.

It was rebuilt in 323 BCE and this one endured until 262 CE when Goths razed it. Ephesians rebuilt it again until, in 401 CE, St. John Chrysostom had it torn down. By this point so many people had converted to Christianity that no one wanted to rebuild it so what you see above is all that we have left.

Her shrines appeared all around Greece, but most important temple site of Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, was in Ephesus (modern Turkey). Greek legends suggest that Artemis was born near Ephesus, so it would have been natural for her principle cult site to be located here.

Evidence here points to structures going back to the 7th century BCE but the Temple of Artemis that is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was built around 550 BCE. It is believed to have been designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron and paid for by Croesus, King of Lydia.

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