35 Amazing Ephesus Facts: Learn About The Ancient Roman City

Ephesus, known as Selcuk now in modern-day Turkey, was a famous city in the ancient Mediterranean, and one of the 12 cities of the Ionian League.

Considered as the Roman Empire's second-largest city, it was built with many impressive buildings and saw the footfall of a lot of famous individuals of ancient times. Ephesus also has several biblical references.

Ephesus is considered one of the greatest outdoor, open museums of Turkey. Today, thousands of tourists visit this Roman archaeological site, regarded as the largest in the eastern Mediterranean.

Location Of Ephesus

This ancient city was located on the west coast of Anatolia, which is known as Turkey now.

Ephesus is situated on the coast of Ionia and is about 1.9 mi (3 km) southwest of the Izmir province in Turkey. Located about 5.4 mi (5 km) inland, Ephesus was originally built as a seaport.

In the ancient world, this city was significant for trade owing to its harbor. With the Temple of Artemis, Library of Celsus, and several other architectural marvels, Ephesus made its mark on the map for tourists to visit what seems like great outdoor museums.

The coastal city of Ephesus has Smyrna in the north and Miletus in the south, with the Aegean Sea about 6 mi (9.6 km) away. Over time, this city shifted in five distinct locations, mostly within a small area.

Ephesus is about an hour's drive south of Izmir, closer to the town of Selcuk. The nearest large town, Kusadasi, is about 12.42 mi (20 km) from Ephesus.

History Of Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus was founded in the Bronze Age and contains the Temple of Artemis, or Diana, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Antiquity.

The Temple of Artemis was constructed to honor Artemis, one of the three maiden goddesses of Olympus. This structure had to be rebuilt at least three times owing to fire, flood, and a mob that was determined to destroy it. It was way back in 800 BC that the first temple was originally built.

Ephesus stood as the center of worship for Artemis (or Diana), the hunting goddess, during the time of the Greeks and Romans.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World included the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and had 17 other deities being worshipped simultaneously at this place.

The Temple of Artemis brings most of the fame to Ephesus and was probably on the seaboard when originally founded in 600 BC, 1 mi (1.6 km) east by northeast of Pion. This magnificent structure took 120 years to build and consisted of over 100 marble pillars.

The temple was destroyed for the last time by the fifth-century AD after a man attempted to burn it down.

During the Classical period, while prosperity remained in Ephesus, taxes got raised unexpectedly under Cambyses II and Darius. The Ephesians condemned this and engaged in the Ionian Revolt against the Persian rule, in the Battle of Ephesus in 498 BC, ultimately ousting the Persians from the shores of Asia Minor.

In the Hellenistic period, Ephesus became part of the Seleucid Empire. Pharaoh Ptolemy III invaded the Seleucid Empire with his Egyptian fleet. Thus, Ephesus was briefly under Egyptian rule between 263 BC and 197 BC.

The ancient Romans knew the world's true shape back in the first century AD. This fact is depicted by Emperor Trajan's one foot resting on a round shape, symbolizing his rule on the world.

In 17 AD, Ephesus was struck by an earthquake that destroyed it. Soon after, Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, an ancient Greek who served as governor of Roman Asia in the Roman Empire, rebuilt the city on a larger scale. The Library of Celsus was built to honor Tiberius.

Ephesus was the birthplace and foster home of a lot of famous Greeks. This includes the sixth-century poet Hipponax, the fifth-century painters Parrhasius and Zeuxis, the Greek sculptor Agasias, and the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus.

Significance Of Ephesus In The Bible

All seven churches of the apocalypse are housed in Turkey, along with the one in Ephesus, which led to its mention as one of the Seven Churches of Revelation in the Holy Bible.

Jesus entrusted his mother to care for his beloved disciple, John, shortly before his death. John went on to live in Ephesus for several years and died here of old age. He opened over 20 churches, while John's tomb itself is in the church that is beneath the mosque.

The sixth century witnessed a great basilica built over John's tomb by Emperor Justinian, the ruins of which remain there to date.

The Virgin Mary is known to have lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of Ephesus, towards the end of her life. The first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary is situated in Ephesus.

The House of the Virgin, constructed on the site of the Virgin Mary's house in the ancient city of Ephesus, dates back to the seventh century. This ancient structure has been visited by Pope Paul VI and Pope Jean-Paul as well.

Officially declared as an important Catholic pilgrimage in 1892, The Church of Mary continues to be utilized for the Virgin Mary's feast days. The year 1967 witnessed a mass conducted here by Pope Paul VI.

By the end of the first century, Ephesus was the most important city for Christians. Jerusalem was in the first position, with Rome's influence growing in the early second century. Being the wealthy port city capital of Asia, Ephesus stood centrally amidst a thriving Christian population.

Saint Paul, the Apostle, was born in Tarsus, southeast of Turkey. He had delivered lectures in the Tyrannus Hall and the synagogue in Ephesus for two years, while on his third missionary journey.

Paul was accused of hurting the business of selling icons of Goddess Artemis when he spoke of the new religion. The belief systems, as well as the amount of donation money that the Artemis temple received, were affected.

Under the Roman period of rule, Ephesus was made the capital of Ionia and all of Asia. This gave it the title of the first and greatest metropolis of Asia, and what followed was the shifting of the headquarters of Christianity from Jerusalem to Ephesus.

Features Of Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus has been built four times throughout history.

Being one of the largest Roman archeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean, and with many well-preserved Roman ruins, UNESCO declared this a World Heritage site in 2015.

The main sites of attraction include the Temple of Artemis, the Temple of Hadrian, the Ephesus Theater, and the Library of Celsus.

The Artemis temple covers an area of 136.7x65.6 sq. yd (125x20 sq. m) and is as big as a soccer field. Today, only the foundations and one column remain of what was once the greatest temple in the ancient Mediterranean.

The Temple of Hadrian remains one of the structures of extreme beauty that has been well preserved and is located on Curettes Street. Emperor Hadrian was one of the five good Emperors. This temple was built before 138 AD and was dedicated to Emperor Hadrian.

The Library of Celsus was the third-largest, after Alexandra and Pergamum, and housed between 12,000-15,000 scrolls. There are still visible ruins of this library at the end of Curettes Street, which was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 262 AD and underwent major destruction later.

The front of the library has two stories, built with Corinthian-style columns on the ground floor, and has three entrances to the building. However, the interior facade of the library has three stories owing to the original architecture.

One of the greatest ancient theaters of the Roman world, with a 25,000 seating capacity can be found in Ephesus. Initially, this open-air theater was used for drama, and then for gladiatorial combats during Roman rule. The first evidence of a gladiator graveyard was discovered in May 2007.

Ephesus' marble road starts from the Great Theater, going to the Celsus Library and is a portion of the sacred pathway to the Temple of Artemis. Marble Street is 87.5 yd (800 m) long, while Curettes Street is 1,094 yd (1 km) long.

The Basilica of Saint John that was built in the sixth century AD, under Emperor Justinian I, over what is believed to be the site of the apostle's tomb, is now surrounded by Selcuk.

The Odeon, a small roofed theater, was a small salon for plays and concerts, with a 1,500 seating capacity. With 22 stairs in the theater, the upper portion of the theater was decorated by red granite pillars in a Corinthian style.

There's also the Gate of Augustus in Ephesus that was built to honor Emperor Augustus and his family.

Yet another eye-catching feature is the stone carving of Goddess Nike (the goddess of victory in ancient Greek religion).