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| Temple
of Artemis |
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History
- Temple of Artemis: Although the
foundation of the temple dates back
to the seventh century BC, the structure
that earned a spot in the list of
Wonders was built around 550 BC.
Referred to as the great marble
temple, or temple D, it was sponsored
by the Lydian king Croesus and was
designed by the Greek architect
Chersiphron. It was decorated with
bronze statues sculpted by the most
skilled artists of their time: Pheidias,
Polycleitus, Kresilas, and Phradmon.
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The temple of Artemis served as both a
marketplace and a religious institution.
For years, the sanctuary was visited by
merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings
who paid homage to the goddess by sharing
their profits with her. Recent archeological
excavations at the site revealed gifts
from pilgrims including statuettes of
Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings,
bracelets, and necklaces... artifacts
from as far as Persia and India.
On
the night of 21 July 356 BC, a man named
Herostratus burned the temple to ground
in an attempt to immortalize his name.
He did indeed. Strangely enough, Alexander
the Great was born the same night. The
Roman historian Plutarch later wrote
that the goddess was "too busy
taking care of the birth of Alexander
to send help to her threatened temple".
Over the next two decades, the temple
was restored and is labeled "temple
E" by archeologists. And when Alexander
the Great conquered Asia Minor, he helped
rebuild the destroyed temple.
When
St Paul visited Ephesus to preach Christianity
in the first century AD, he was confronted
by the Artemis' cult who had no plans
to abandon their goddess. And when the
temple was again destroyed by the Goths
in AD 262, the Ephesians vowed to rebuild.
By the fourth century AD, most Ephesians
had converted to Christianity and the
temple lost its religious glamor. The
final chapter came when in AD 401 the
Temple of Artemis was torn down by St
John Chrysostom. Ephesus was later deserted,
and only in the late nineteenth century
has the site been excavated. The digging
revealed the temple's foundation and
the road to the now swampy site. Attempts
were recently made to rebuilt the temple,
but only a few columns have been re-erected.
The foundation of the temple was rectangular
in form, similar to most temples at
the time. Unlike other sanctuaries,
however, the building was made of marble,
with a decorated façade overlooking
a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding
the building platform led to the high
terrace which was approximately 80 m
(260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan.
The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with
Ionic capitals and carved circular sides.
There were 127 columns in total, aligned
orthogonally over the whole platform
area, except for the central cella or
house of the goddess.
The
temple of Artemis housed many works of
art, including four ancient bronze statues
of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists
at the time. When St Paul visited the
city, the temple was adorned with golden
pillars and silver statuettes, and was
decorated with paintings. There is no
evidence that a statue of the goddess
herself was placed at the center of the
sanctuary, but there is no reason not
to believe so.
The
early detailed descriptions of the temple
helped archeologists reconstruct the
building. Many reconstructions such
as that by H.F. von Erlach depicted
the façade with a four-column
porch which never existed. More accurate
reconstructions may give us an idea
about the general layout of the temple.
However, its true beauty lies in the
architectural and artistic details which
will forever remain unknown.
Location:
The ancient city of Ephesus near the
modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south
of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey.
Seven
Wonders History |
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