Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis
Located just outside the township of Selcuk, the Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The first temple was completed in 800 BC, and subsequently 3 more were constructed after each were destroyed. According to legend in 356 BC, a young Ephesian set fire to the temple’s wooden roof burning it to the ground. It is somewhat believed that the same day, Alexander the Great was born and the Goddess Artemis was so pre-occupied with his birth, that she was unable to save her temple from destruction. The largest temple dedicated to Artemis was 425 feet x 225 feet with 127 columns of 60 feet in height. The Acropolis in Athens is less than half this size. Unfortunately today, the Temple of Artemis is a marshy field, with a single stone column erected to resemble the once great piece of architecture.
Located just outside the township of Selcuk, the Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The first temple was completed in 800 BC, and subsequently 3 more were constructed after each were destroyed. According to legend in 356 BC, a young Ephesian set fire to the temple’s wooden roof burning it to the ground. It is somewhat believed that the same day, Alexander the Great was born and the Goddess Artemis was so pre-occupied with his birth, that she was unable to save her temple from destruction. The largest temple dedicated to Artemis was 425 feet x 225 feet with 127 columns of 60 feet in height. The Acropolis in Athens is less than half this size. Unfortunately today, the Temple of Artemis is a marshy field, with a single stone column erected to resemble the once great piece of architecture.
‘I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the Statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus…But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.’
Antipader of Sidon
