Artemis, one of the most important goddesses of the Ionian Region, held great significance in the city of Ephesos. Dedicated to Artemis, who was referred to with titles such as “The Greatest Goddess Artemis” and “The Ruler of Ephesos,” this temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Pausanias, a writer who lived in the 2nd century CE, describes the magnificence and importance of the Temple of Artemis in his work Description of Greece:
“But all cities worship Artemis of Ephesus, and individuals hold her in honor above all the gods. The reason, in my view, is the renown of the Amazons, who traditionally dedicated the image, also the extreme antiquity of this sanctuary. Three other points as well have contributed to her renown, the size of the temple, surpassing all buildings among men, the eminence of the city of the Ephesians and the renown of the goddess who dwells there” (Pausanias, 1918, p. 4.31.8).
The construction, development, and transformation of the Temple of Artemis spanned long periods of Ancient Greek history. The first temple is believed to have been built in the second half of the 8th century BCE. At that time, a simple structure with six columns housed a wooden statue of the goddess. In 560 BCE, the temple grounds were expanded based on the original temple, and the structure was transformed into a large rectangular temple with columns. The temple was completed during the siege of Ephesos by King Croesus of Lydia. Because Croesus funded the construction and donated gifts to the temple, it was also referred to as the “Croesus Temple.”
In 356 BCE, a young man named Herostratos, driven by a desire to immortalize his name, set the temple on fire. Severely damaged by the fire, the temple, which had been built on marshy ground, required a higher platform during its reconstruction. The resulting structure followed a similar plan but was entirely made of marble and more magnificent. The Temple of Artemis, measuring 131 meters in length and 78 meters in width and consisting of 127 columns, each 20 meters high, was the largest Hellenistic structure built up to that time.
In the 3rd century CE, the temple struggled to remain standing due to a massive earthquake and was plundered during a Gothic invasion in the same century. By the 5th century CE, it had largely been destroyed.
In the late 19th century, John Turtle Wood, conducting excavations on behalf of the British Museum, discovered the remains of the Temple of Artemis. In the early 20th century, D. G. Hogarth excavated down to the temple’s foundation, uncovering significant artifacts. Today, some of the temple’s remains are housed in the British Museum, while other pieces uncovered through excavations are displayed at the İzmir Archaeological Museum.