LEAFS FANATIC
February 7th, 2005, 10:40 PM
Hello my friends,
Due to significant bickering and fighting (which I, admidettly, was part of) revolving around the origins of Epehesus, I decided to do some research on this matter because, after all, facts speak louder than any rude comment or "made-up" theories. Therefore, I have posted below some interesting facts and essays on the ancient city of Ephesus and its various theaters, monuments, statues, and temples. I have bolded certain words and phrases that are key to understanding the accurate history of Ephesus. I have not posted any pictures because we all saw the amazing pictures Icy posted. I feel it is important to enjoy these magnificent pictures, but even more important to understand, and accept, the history behind them. I hope you all enjoy!
First I deal with the Great Theatre of Ephesus, since it is the most recognized feature of the area:
The ancient city of Ephesus is located outside the modern city of Selçuk on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Turkey. Although the region was settled as early as 5000 BC, the city whose ruins we see today dates from 300 BC and is the product of Hellenistic city planning and Roman renovations. Lysimachus, the Thessalian general of Alexander the Great, relocated Ephesus to its present site and constructed the city using the then modern principles of urban development envisioned by Hippodamus of Miletus.
The magnificent theatre is set into the side of a steep hill at the center of the ancient city. Its design, location and conception are from Hellenistic influences but its size and ornamentations are the products of Empirical Rome. The theatre was built at the end of the Hellenistic period, but it was significantly altered and enlarged by the Romans during the following three centuries.
A major Hellenistic construction phase in Ephesus at the end of the second century BC produced the initial theatre that featured a cavea with a single tier of seats, an orchestra with a drainage channel, and a simple one-story scaenae (stage house). Under the Romans, beginning about 40 AD, the theatre was expanded and renovated to become the massive structure that we see today.
Now that the Great Theatre of Ephesus has been examined, lets look at data dealing with the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus:
In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium (a colossal Ionic temple dedicated to Artemis the fertility goddess) which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and its medical school.
(Quoted from Catherine Slessor's Housing History.)
Ephesus: Ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes River, in what is today West Turkey, South of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the greatest of the Ionian cities, it became the leading seaport of the region. Its wealth was proverbial. The Greek city was near an old center of worship of a native nature goddess, who was equated with the Greek Artemis, and c.550 B.C. a large temple was built.
Lastly, A look at Another Possible Breakdown of the Origins of Ephesus:
.....Greek-speaking Dorians had entered Greece a century before and had been ravaging and dominating the land ever since. Then during the 11th century, the Greeks came to the west coast of Anatolia. This was part of the same group of migrations that brought the Peoples of the Sea to the nations bordering the eastern Mediterranean. Greece was going through a "Dark Ages" period, with people looking for opportunity elsewhere. While the Peoples of the Sea were moving into Palestine, and also causing problems in Egypt, Greeks were moving away from their homeland. By about the 10th century, the major cities of Ionia were settled. The Greeks which founded Ephesus and most other nearby cities spoke the Ionian dialect of Athens, hence the area was called Ionia.
After the colony was started by the Greeks, they found that the local deity was the mother goddess Cybele, as was common in all of Anatolia. They identified their goddess Artemis with Cybele, a syncretism which pleased both the Greeks and the Anatolian natives. A small temple was built, which would later become the great Temple of Artemis. The city was built in the port of Koressos, and is now under water. Koressos was the ridge to the southwest, with Mount Pion to the northeast.
I hope you all found this historical account on the Greek (and later Roman) city of Ephesus. I definitely have, and it has made me more knowledgeable in an area that is very important to the overall framework of our glorious Greek history.
Due to significant bickering and fighting (which I, admidettly, was part of) revolving around the origins of Epehesus, I decided to do some research on this matter because, after all, facts speak louder than any rude comment or "made-up" theories. Therefore, I have posted below some interesting facts and essays on the ancient city of Ephesus and its various theaters, monuments, statues, and temples. I have bolded certain words and phrases that are key to understanding the accurate history of Ephesus. I have not posted any pictures because we all saw the amazing pictures Icy posted. I feel it is important to enjoy these magnificent pictures, but even more important to understand, and accept, the history behind them. I hope you all enjoy!
First I deal with the Great Theatre of Ephesus, since it is the most recognized feature of the area:
The ancient city of Ephesus is located outside the modern city of Selçuk on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Turkey. Although the region was settled as early as 5000 BC, the city whose ruins we see today dates from 300 BC and is the product of Hellenistic city planning and Roman renovations. Lysimachus, the Thessalian general of Alexander the Great, relocated Ephesus to its present site and constructed the city using the then modern principles of urban development envisioned by Hippodamus of Miletus.
The magnificent theatre is set into the side of a steep hill at the center of the ancient city. Its design, location and conception are from Hellenistic influences but its size and ornamentations are the products of Empirical Rome. The theatre was built at the end of the Hellenistic period, but it was significantly altered and enlarged by the Romans during the following three centuries.
A major Hellenistic construction phase in Ephesus at the end of the second century BC produced the initial theatre that featured a cavea with a single tier of seats, an orchestra with a drainage channel, and a simple one-story scaenae (stage house). Under the Romans, beginning about 40 AD, the theatre was expanded and renovated to become the massive structure that we see today.
Now that the Great Theatre of Ephesus has been examined, lets look at data dealing with the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus:
In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium (a colossal Ionic temple dedicated to Artemis the fertility goddess) which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and its medical school.
(Quoted from Catherine Slessor's Housing History.)
Ephesus: Ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes River, in what is today West Turkey, South of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the greatest of the Ionian cities, it became the leading seaport of the region. Its wealth was proverbial. The Greek city was near an old center of worship of a native nature goddess, who was equated with the Greek Artemis, and c.550 B.C. a large temple was built.
Lastly, A look at Another Possible Breakdown of the Origins of Ephesus:
.....Greek-speaking Dorians had entered Greece a century before and had been ravaging and dominating the land ever since. Then during the 11th century, the Greeks came to the west coast of Anatolia. This was part of the same group of migrations that brought the Peoples of the Sea to the nations bordering the eastern Mediterranean. Greece was going through a "Dark Ages" period, with people looking for opportunity elsewhere. While the Peoples of the Sea were moving into Palestine, and also causing problems in Egypt, Greeks were moving away from their homeland. By about the 10th century, the major cities of Ionia were settled. The Greeks which founded Ephesus and most other nearby cities spoke the Ionian dialect of Athens, hence the area was called Ionia.
After the colony was started by the Greeks, they found that the local deity was the mother goddess Cybele, as was common in all of Anatolia. They identified their goddess Artemis with Cybele, a syncretism which pleased both the Greeks and the Anatolian natives. A small temple was built, which would later become the great Temple of Artemis. The city was built in the port of Koressos, and is now under water. Koressos was the ridge to the southwest, with Mount Pion to the northeast.
I hope you all found this historical account on the Greek (and later Roman) city of Ephesus. I definitely have, and it has made me more knowledgeable in an area that is very important to the overall framework of our glorious Greek history.