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History of Ephesus |
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Well-known from earliest times, this
city was established on the delta of
what is now called the Lesser
Menderes River. The sheltered harbor
of that period was the beginning of
a royal road the ended at the gate
of Susa, the capital or the Persian
Empire, which secured the city its
importance. It became the capital of
the Roman province of Asia under
Augustus and had a population of
perhaps 200,000 in the second and
first centuries BC. In the 6th
century BC science, art and culture
were prominent here along with
Miletus. The famous philosopher
Heraclitus, interpreter of dreams
Artemidorus, the poets Callinos and
Hipponax, grammarian Zenodotus and
the doctors Soranus and Rufus were
all from Ephesus.
The oldest finds are from the Neolithic Age dated 6000 years before
Christ, found at the Çukuriçi Höyük.
There was a Hittite settlement on
top of Ayasuluk Hill from the Old
Bronze Age. The name was then
Apasus, according to Hittite
inscriptions found there. Linguists
believe the name Ephesus came from
this Hittite name.
According to Herodotus, colonists came from the west and settled here
about 1000 BC while the Karyali and
Leleg people of Anatolia were in
residence in the area. The colonists
gave the name Artemis to the mother
goddess Kybele. The temple to
Artemis from that period became one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World. The city was attacked
successively by the Kimmer people in
the 7th century, the Lydians in 560
BC, and later the Persians. It
regained its freedom under Alexander
the Great, after whom his general,
Lysimachus, established his kingdom.
Based upon finds from this latest
time, he set up his city based upon
the "Gridiron Plan" found in the
Miletus Hippodrome. The streets thus
intersected one another in a regular
pattern.
Under Roman rule the city became the largest and richest in the province
of Asia thanks to both land and sea
trade. There were marble monuments
everywhere in the city. It was the
first city built entirely out of
marble. In the 4th century AD trade
had declined because the harbor was
silting in. The Emperor Hadrian had
the harbor dredged several times.
The harbor was finned in by silt
from the Marnas River and the Lesser
Menderes coming from the north. In
time the city was increasingly
distant from the sea. In the 7th
century Arabs attacked the coastal
areas. The city moved to Ayasuluk
Hill for better defense. When the
Turks came in the 13th century
Ephesus was just a small village.
They built mosques, caravanserais,
and baths typical of Turkish
civilization.
There are two entrances to the city today. For an easy tour, begin at the
Magnesia Gate (Upper Gate) located
on the road going to the House of
Mary. Immediately to one side is the
East Gymnasium at the foot of
Panayir Mountain. The first
monumental work one comes to is the
Odeion with the Varius Baths beside
it. Ephesus had a bicameral
legislation, the first being the
Congress of Councillors, which met
here, hence the name "Bouleterion".
In front of the Odeion was business
council called the "Basilica."
Beside this was the Municipal
Building, the "Prytaneion" with its
massive columns. The Prytan
functioned as the mayor of the city.
His most important function was to
keep alive the flame that had been
burning in the building for
centuries. This was done in the name
of the local deity Hestia. The
Artemis statues on display in the
Ephesus Museum were found in the
vault of the Prytaneion.
The area in front of the Odeion was the State Agora (Upper Agora). In the
middle was a temple to the Egyptian
goddess Isis. In 80 Laecanus Bassus
erected AD a fountain in the
southwest corner of the agora. From
the agora one proceeds to the Square
to Domitian where things like the
Pollio and Domitian fountains, the
Memmius Monument and the Heracles
Gate are clustered together.
The famous Avenue of the Curates leads west from the Upper Agora. Things
along this avenue include the Trajan
Fountain, the façade of the Temple
to Hadrian and the Scolasticia
Baths. Immediately beside the Temple
to Hadrian are the Bordello and the
Latrines. On the left side of the
avenue are the "Terrace Houses."
These houses are the most beautiful
examples of peristyle houses and
were as comfortable as houses are
today. They all had frescoed walls
and mosaic floors. Each had a
heating system and bath. These
houses are eminent in archeological
literature and well worth seeing. At
the end of the avenue is that most
beautiful structure of Roman times,
the Celsus Library. When Ephesus
governor Celsus died in 106 AD, his
son had the library built as his
monument and grave. The sarcophagus
is under the west wall of the
library. One of the most interesting
structures in Ephesus is the Temple
to Serapis, immediately behind the
Library. Beside the Library is the
Mazeus Mithridates Gate that leads
in the Market Agora (Lower Agora).
Agora is the starting point for the Marble Avenue. This is where St. Paul
preached. At the end of the avenue
is the world's largest theater, the
Grand Theater, with a seating
capacity of 24,000. Presently the
theater is the site of months of
various cultural and musical
activities. At the corner of the
theater is the Hellenistic Fountain,
the smallest structure in Ephesus.
The Theater Gymnasium and Baths
across from it were built in the 2nd
century AD.
The longest street in Ephesus is the Harbor Avenue (Arcadian Avenue) once
lined with statues, and stretching
from the theater to the presently
silted-in harbor. The Four Apostles'
Monument was in the middle of the
avenue. At the end of the avenue was
the Harbor Gymnasium and Baths next
to the ancient harbor. In the
complex there stands the Church of
Mary, site of the General Church
Council of 431 AD.
At the city's northernmost point is the Vedius Gymnasium with Byzantine
walls beside it. There is also a
stadium built in the time of the
Emperor Nero. |
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