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Temple of Artemis

Temple of Artemis - Selcuk, Ephesus, TurkeyTemple Of Artemis - Selcuk Ephesus, Turkey
The temple of Artemision is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. It had been built in the vicinity of Ephesus on a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp. Today one can only see the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age, entirely made of marble and full of sculptured columns, capitals and shafts. The most beautiful remains of this temple are today exhibited in the London British Museum.


The oldest remains found date back to the 6th century BC. The structure originally consisted of 36 huge columns, later enlarged upon from the orders of the Lydian King, Kreisos, during the 6th century BC. Most of the exhibits in the London British Museum belong to this period.


A new Artemision was rebuilt in the 2nd century BC. Located on top of the previous one, it had tremendous dimensions: 125 columns each 17,5 meters high. Unfortunately this one was also destroyed by fire, reconstructed and again demolished by earthquakes, rebuilt and at last looted by Goths one year later.


The statue of the many-breasted Artemision was the symbol of the temple but also of abundance, hunting and wild life. The genuine statue of Artemision, removed during the fire, is today exhibited in the Selcuk Museum. Many copies of this statue were found during the latest excavations and date back to the Roman period. 


Aphrodisias was changed to Stayropolis and then to Caria which became Geyre years after. The ruins which are worth seeing inAphrodisias are listed below:


When the Greeks first arrived under the leadership of Androklos, Kybele (Rhea) was the major deity in all of Anatolia. The Greeks introduced the worship of Artemis and later Artemis and Kybele eventually became the same goddess. Artemis is the goddess of hunting, wild animals, childbirth, and nature.


According to the famous historian Strabon, the Temple of Artemis was built and destroyed seven times. It was always rebuilt on the same site. Some of the different architects were Theodoros from Samos, Chersiphon and his son Metagenes from Knossos of Crete, and Dinocrates.

The temple foundations date back to the 7th century BC. At first, it was a small shrine to Kybele. In around 550 BC Cretan Chersiphon, a Greek architect, designed the final temple. This initial building was sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus.


Temple of Artemis - Selcuk, Ephesus, Turkey
​"I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon and on the Zeus by the banks of the Alpheus, I have seen the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Helios, the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus" ​ by Antipater of Sidon

Temple of Artemis - Selcuk, Ephesus, Turkey


​"I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon and on the Zeus by the banks of the Alpheus, I have seen the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Helios, the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus"
​
by Antipater of Sidon

 What Our Clients Are Saying - 

Absolutely the best tour option for Ephesus if you want to see it properly
Chris, Mehmet and Mete, thank-you for the most fantastic day at Ephesus. I research many options online in advance of my holiday bookings to find the best options for us and I wanted the Ephesus experience that would give us the most time at the archeological site seeing the things we wanted to see. We got that with a really engaging driver (Mehmet) and guide (Mete) as well. We were met at the ferry port terminal right on time and Mehmet and Mete were waiting for us as promised. Mete is the best guide - so engaging and knowledgable about his subject matter, and just such a genuine person too - so wonderful to talk to over lunch. We loved seeing the Terrace Houses at the site - don't miss this as it really gives you a perspective on life during the peak time in Ephesus. We did the trip as a day trip from Samos in Greece where we were staying. In the end it was easy but no one can confirm the ferry times from Samos until the end of May (for the summer season), so don't even try organising it before then if you are trying to do it from Samos. If you are intending on doing it from Samos, once the ferry times are confirmed, it was very easy to do. The trip took a bit over one hour from Samos. Both ferries out and back were on time.

The booking process for our Ephesus tour was made very easy by Chris (who is a native English speaker) and all communication was really clear and prompt. We would love to come back and see more of Turkey and we would definitely use No Frills again (and perhaps get to meet Ted the dog next time!). We are generally independent travellers but found that the quality of the guide with No Frills really made the day great for us at Ephesus and added to the quality of the experience. I'm not sure why anyone would use any other company for their Ephesus Tour. They are very professional, friendly, do what they promise, and the guide is top quality.

Visited October 5, 2017

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No Frills Ephesus Tours Location
Selcuk, Ephesus, Turkey