Temple of Ephesian Artemis

Timeline

1. Late 8th century BCE

   Earliest peripteral temple

   A peripteral temple with a hard-packed clay floor stood here, possibly the earliest Greek peripteral temple on the Asian coast, confirmed by 1987-1988 re-excavations

2. 7th century BCE

   Destroyed by flood

   A flood buried the primitive temple under over half a meter of sand and debris, including the North-Syrian ivory griffin plaque and amber drops from the cult statue

3. c. 650 BCE

   Cimmerian raid

   Cimmerian nomadic invaders sacked the rebuilt sanctuary, destroying the structure once again

4. c. 550 BCE

   Croesus' marble temple

   Funded by Croesus of Lydia, the Cretan architect Chersiphron designed the first all-marble Greek temple, a peripteral structure with 36 sculpted columns

5. 21 July 356 BCE

   Herostratus' arson

   Herostratus burned the temple seeking infamy; on the same night Alexander the Great was born, a coincidence recorded by Plutarch and Cicero

6. 323 BCE

   Third temple completed

   After Alexander's death the Ephesians funded the magnificent reconstruction with 127 columns, securing the temple's place among the Seven Wonders

7. c. 50 CE

   Paul and the silversmiths

   The silversmith Demetrius led a two-hour protest against the apostle Paul's preaching, recorded in Acts 19 as one of the New Testament's most vivid scenes

8. 262 CE

   Gothic destruction

   Under emperor Gallienus the Goths crossed the Hellespont, plundered the temple, and set it ablaze in their sweep through Asia Minor

9. 401 CE

   Final abandonment

   Under Theodosius II a religious edict closed the sanctuary; the marble was quarried away to build a nearby Christian basilica, ending the temple's life entirely

10. December 1869

    Rediscovery by John Wood

    British Museum engineer John Wood located the lost ruins beneath 4.5 meters of silt, pioneering scientific excavation in the ancient Near East before Schliemann at Troy

11. 1904-1905

    Hogarth campaign

    British archaeologist David George Hogarth identified three superimposed temple buildings, reaching back to prehistoric occupation

12. 1972

    Re-erection of the column

    The Austrian Archaeological Institute under Anton Bammer assembled excavated fragments into a single re-erected column, the iconic landmark visible today

Detailed History

The history of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus reaches back to the Bronze Age. Re-excavations in 1987-1988 confirmed a peripteral temple with a hard-packed clay floor in the second half of the 8th century BCE, perhaps the earliest such Greek temple on the Asian coast. In the 7th century BCE a flood destroyed this temple under half a meter of sand. Among the debris were a North-Syrian ivory griffin plaque and amber drops that adorned a wooden effigy of the Lady of Ephesus. Around 650 BCE a Cimmerian raid destroyed the reconstructed shrine. Around 550 BCE, funded by Croesus of Lydia, Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes designed the first full marble temple of the Greek world. Measuring 115 by 46 meters with columns some 13 meters tall, it was according to Pliny the first Greek temple in marble. Thirty-six of its columns carried sculpted reliefs, and inside stood an ebony cult statue by Endoios. To resist earthquakes, the architects laid charcoal and wool beneath the foundations — an engineering choice Pliny described in detail. The temple stood until 21 July 356 BCE, when an arsonist named Herostratus set it ablaze. On the same night Alexander the Great was born, and Plutarch wrote the goddess could not save her burning temple. Alexander later offered to pay for rebuilding, but the Ephesians declined; only after his death, in 323 BCE, did reconstruction begin. The new temple by Paeonius and Demetrios soared to 127 columns each some 18 meters tall — the largest in the Greek world. It flourished through Roman times until 262 CE, when Gothic raiders crossed the Hellespont under emperor Gallienus, plundered the temple, and set it on fire. As Christianity spread through Ephesus, the cult faded; by 401 CE the temple was abandoned, its stones quarried for nearby Christian basilicas. The site was lost until December 1869, when British Museum engineer John Wood located the ruins beneath 4.5 meters of silt — predating Schliemann's Troy. David George Hogarth continued work in 1904-1905, and from 1965 the Austrian Archaeological Institute under Anton Bammer revealed the temple's stratigraphy. In 1972 the institute re-erected a single column from fragments — the lonely pillar with storks nesting on top.

Cultural Significance

The Temple of Artemis was one of seven structures listed by Antipater of Sidon in the 2nd century BCE — the canonical roster of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, alongside the Great Pyramid. Philo of Byzantium produced a variant list also including the temple. The reason for inclusion was not only the size and beauty but also its location at the eastern edge of the Greek world — a marker of Alexander's empire and a frontier site for Greek travelers. The Artemis of Ephesus differed sharply from the chaste huntress of mainland Greece. With multiple breasts symbolizing fertility, a mural crown, and a lower body tapering into a column-like form, she belonged to the Anatolian mother-earth tradition assimilated into the Greek pantheon. She wore symbols of Cybele — the mural crown, the snake-pillar — and was distinct from the Roman Diana. The cult drew worshippers from across the Mediterranean. Acts chapter 19 records the protest of silversmith Demetrius against Paul's preaching in the 1st century CE, when the crowd chanted 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians' for two hours in the theater — one of the most famous scenes in the New Testament. The excavated remains are now scattered across great museums: the British Museum, the Ephesus Archaeology Museum, the Istanbul museums, and the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna — earning the site the nickname 'the wonder scattered abroad.'

Architectural Details

The Temple of Artemis is one of the defining monuments of the Ionic order of Greek architecture, and the first temple built entirely in marble. The second temple (c. 550 BCE) measured 115 by 46 meters and was peripteral, surrounded by a double row of columns roughly 13 meters tall — 36 of them sculpted, according to Pliny. The third temple, reconstructed in 323 BCE, surrounded the cella with 127 columns each approximately 18 meters tall in a double colonnade, making it the largest temple of the entire Greek world. Its capitals carried the volute scrolls characteristic of the Ionic order, surmounted by a three-part entablature of architrave, frieze, and cornice, with triangular pediments at each end. The interior consisted of a pronaos, a cella or naos, and an opisthodomos. In the main hall stood the cult image of Artemis some 15 meters tall, face and limbs gilded and jeweled. Sculptors including Scopas — the master of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus — are said to have competed on the relief carvings. The foundations themselves are an early monument of engineering: the choice of marshy ground was deliberate, to absorb earthquakes, and Pliny describes how charcoal and bales of wool were laid beneath the stylobate to cushion the structure. The marble came from quarries near Aphrodisias and Ephesus, of unusually fine grain.