Having grown up in the “New World”, tales of ancient Greece and Rome seemed as distant as Jules Verne’s tales or Star Wars. I grew up reading Monteiro Lobato’s books, where he mixed his own fiction with those of greek mythology. That’s basically how I was introduced to this world of fantasy that was once a religion with followers. Setting my feet in ancient Greece and seeing these columns with my own eyes somehow makes it more real.
The façade of the Library of Celsus creates an illusion making it seem grander than it actually is.
I went to catholic school, where we would study christian mythology, that still is a religion with plenty followers. These tales seemed to me as disconnected from reality as the one’s from ancient Greece. Many years later I would read that both stories have the same origin, with christianity taking many of the roman’s and greek’s festive dates, and even adopting the image of Zeus/Jupiter as god. Oh, the locals weren’t completely convinced and kicked him out and continued to worship Arthemis.
It would make sense that historical locations for these religions were the same, and they are. It is said that the gospel of John may have been written in Ephesus.
A few years back I went the to ancient city of Ephesus, Ἔφεσος in ancient Greek, located in what today is Turkey. We flew to Izmir and took a car from there to Selçuk.
Ephesus was one of ancient Greece’s most beautiful cities and at its peak had a population of almost 200 thousand, with wonderful temples, baths and streets made of marble.
The Grand Theater is one of the largest and well preserved of ancient times, with a capacity for 25 thousand people. It was at this place that Saint Paul would preach his gospel.
What we know now as christianity had moved to the greek world shortly after Christ’s death. It is said that Paul of Tarsus, you know, Saint Paul himself, lived in Ephesus for three years working as a tentmaker, and organizing what would become one of the largest religions in the world. Most importantly, it is believed that he wrote his gospel during these years.
The Library of Celsus
On Kuretes Street was located the Library of Celsus, one of the best preserved ruins of Ephesus. It was rebuilt in the 70’s using original material and copies of pieces taken to museums to fill in the gaps. The library was built with money donated by Celsus, thus the name, and held 12 thousand items initially.
It’s not easy to tell reproductions apart from actual ruins.
Inscription in the entrance of the Library of Celsus reads “With good fortune! Publius Statienus Petronianus, also known as Julianus, the emperor-loving father and supervisor of the sacrifices, was a fair and reliable market master. When he was in office, the best bread cost four obols for fourteens ounce while normal bread cost two obols for ten ounce. Satisfaction and sanctification.” (source of translation: Livius.org)
The statue of Sophia, goddess of Wisdom, is a modern copy of the original, just like all the other statues that decorate the entrance of the library.
The Library of Celsus, the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from original pieces, was originally built c. 125 CE in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, an Ancient Greek who served as governor of Roman Asia (105–107) in the Roman Empire. Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth and is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it. The library was mostly built by his son Gaius Julius Aquila and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. Designed with an exaggerated entrance — so as to enhance its perceived size, speculate many historians — the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light. - Wikipedia
The Latrinas
It may come as a surprise to you, but people in ancient Greece also pooped. This city was so ahead of its time it had a public toilet with flowing sewage under it, so very clean. People would communally come and lift their robe and do their business and chat with other poopers. It’s just around the corner from the library.
Water would flow directly under the latrinas, ensuring fast sterilization and removal of bad smells.
View of the library from the Latrinas, the public toilet. I’m sure they had a roof back in the day.
The Temple of Hadrianus
This temple was built in the 2nd century and is mostly made of original surviving ruins. Some of the original upper sections are in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, close by to the ruins. The reliefs show images of Athena, Artemis, Apollo, an unidentified woman, Androklos, Hercules, Theodosius’ father, Emperor Theodosius, Artemis of Ephesus, Theodosius’ wife and elder son, Dionysus, and the Kurets.
Temple of Hadrianus is located just down the street from the Latrinas.
The Terrace of Houses
Opposite the Temple of Hadrianus is the Terrace of Houses. An extra ticket is required to visit. This is a complex of homes that has been under continuous restoration for 50 years. Originally a graveyard up to the 4th century CE, houses started to be built in the location about 500 years later.
The location is under constant restoration.
You can see how the painstaking process of putting the pieces together happen in real time, as the archaeologists work.
The larger villas had beautiful mosaics on the floor. The whole complex is really impressive and is totally worth the extra 20TL.
Some of the largest villas had 900 square meters in size.
The Gate of Hercules
Up at the top of the hill is the Gate of Hercules. It can be dated to around the 5th century and was built to control vehicles moving up the street. It’s a popular picture spot for tourists. A few meters up the road, in the Domitian Square, is a statue of the goddess of victory Nike, which was a cornerstone of the gate. She holds a crown of olive leaves in one hand and a palm tree branch in the other.
This is the view from the Gate of Hercules. I am standing right under it when I took the picture. I didn’t take a photo of the gate, sorry.
Statue of Nike, goddess of victory, part of the Gate of Hercules.
The Love House
There is evidence that the house next to the Latrinas was a bordello, popularly called the “Love House”. It was built in the 1st century A.D. and then reconstructed 300 years later after an earthquake. It was a huge house with lots of rooms. The women would stay on the top floor and the guest on the ground level. The indications that this place was actually a “Love House” are the inscriptions on the walls of the Latrina. Ancient bathroom graffiti.
An early form of advertising can be seen in the marble in front of the Library of Celsus. Engraved in stone is a foot, a heart, the image of a woman, and the word AKOLOYQI, which apparently means “follow me” in Ancient Greek .
On the ground is a heart punctured by an arrow (top left, where is the arrow?), a foot, and to its right a woman. The word “AKOLOYQI” (follow me) is engraved somewhere, but I can’t see it.
The Love House, located behind the latrinas, was a huge building with several rooms.
The Temple of Arthemis
Ephesus had such impressive architecture that one of its temples was considered one the Seven Wonders of the World, one of two that are in modern Turkey, the other being the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The Temple of Arthemis was built completely out of marble and took 120 years to be completed and when it was done in the year 550 BCE it was the largest structure of the greek world and had 127 columns.
The site of this great temple was lost to time and was rediscovered in 1869 after six years of searching by John Turtle Wood, stolen for sponsored by the British Museum, to where a lot of the art found here was taken. More below.
It’s unbelievable that all that is left on the site of one of the greatest buildings ever made is a pile of random stones and goats. Most of the year this place is swamped. It’s free to visit because there is basically nothing there.
Goats ”take care” of the grass around the temple and literally chase tourists that cross their path. I’ve seen it.
One column was erected with random stones to mark the place where the temple once stood. In the background, the ruins of the basilica of St. John, where the apostole was buried.
Ephesus Room at the British Museum
The Temple of Arthemis was found under 6 meters of sand, completely in ruins. Anything decent he was able to salvage was packed and sent to the British Museum and are now displayed in room 22.
This is probably the most interesting piece the British Museum has from the Temple of Artemis. In the basement there are several more column tops.
Marble column drum from the Later Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, showing a draped woman, perhaps Alcestis or Eurydike, between a youthful draped Thanatos (Death) and Hermes Psychopompos; also shown are Persephone seated, and Plouton (Hades). British Museum