Ephesus (Roman form of the name), Ephesos (pre-Greek), or Efes; located on the outskirts of the modern Turkish town of Selçuk, about 5 miles inland from the Aegean Sea. The ruins are spread over the slopes of two hills--Mount Pion (Penayir Dagi) and Mount Koressos (Bülbul Dagi)--and the valley between them, where the harbor, now silted up, once carried its bustling trade.

Historical setting:

Ephesus was located about 47 miles south of Smyrna (modern Izmir) and about 3 miles inland from the Aegean Sea in the Roman province of Asia (today western Turkey).

The earliest inhabitants of Ephesus, the Leleges and Carians, built their settlement at the the mouth of the Cayster River, inland from the Aegean Sea. Around 1000 BC, they were driven out by Ionian Greek settlers. The new inhabitants assimilated the native religion of Anatolia (the ancient name for Turkey), the worship of Kybele, which they identified with their own goddess, Artemis (Roman Diana). But this Artemis bore no resemblance to the merry virgin huntress of the Greek pantheon. She was a dark-skinned fertility goddess endowed with a hundred breasts.

In the mid-6th century BC King Croesus of Lydia conquered Ephesus and forced the inhabitants to build a new city farther inland, closer to the location of modern Selçuk. A magnificent temple was constructed in honor of Artemis on the original shrine of Kybele. The Artemision, as it was known, was built of white, red, blue and yellow marble of the finest quality. Gold was reputedly used between the joints of the marble blocks instead of mortar. Multitudes of priests and priestesses (temple prostitutes) were connected with temple rituals.

In 546 BC Ephesus, along with the rest of Anatolia was invaded by the Persians. The city maintained friendly relations with Persia for about 50 years. In 478 BC the Persian king, Xerxes, returning from his failure in Greece, paid homage to the goddess Artemis, although he had sacked other Greek shrines, and even left his children for safety in Ephesus.

After 454 Ephesus appears as a regular tributary of Athens. Ephesus participated in a general revolt of 412 BC against Athens, siding with Sparta in the Second Peloponnesian War, and remained an effective ally of Sparta down to the end of the war. Threatened by Persia, Ephesus served in 396 as the headquarters of King Agesilaus of Sparta. In 394 the Ephesians deserted to the anti-Spartan maritime league, but by 387 the city was again in Spartan hands and was handed by Antalcidas to Persia.

In 356 BC, disaster struck when the Artemision was destroyed by a fire started by a lunatic named Erostratus who wanted to be famous. Alexander the Great, who was reportedly born the same day as the fire, took over the area in 334 BC. According to legend, Artemis, a protectress of women in childbirth, had left for Macedonia on the day of the fire to help deliver Alexander. When he came to Ephesus in 333 BC, the temple was still under construction and he offered to finance its completion if the city would credit him as the builder. The city fathers didn't want Alexander's name carved on the temple and diplomatically refused his offer, stating: "It is not fitting that one god should build a temple for another god."

The rebuilt temple (picture 1), completed in 250 BC on the site of the first temple, was ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World--four times larger than the Parthenon at Athens. It was 425 feet long, and 220 feet wide, with 127 columns, each 60 feet high, in double rows. (In comparison,the Parthenon, was 230 feet long, 100 feet wide and had 58 columns.) The building is thought to have been the first completely constructed with marble and it had 36 columns whose lower portions were carved with figures in high-relief. The temple featured many works of art including four bronze statues of Amazon women and it was thought to house the very image of Artemis "which fell from heaven," possibly a meteorite, or an image so old that only a heavenly origin could be attributed for it (see Acts 19:35). The temple was a source of great civic pride. There were Artemision festivals, not only in Ephesus, but in all the other towns of Lycia and Phrygia (i.e., Perga and Sardis). One month of each year was devoted to her worship and Artemis missionaries spread her cult throughout Asia Minor. The Artemis temple was therefore, amongst other things, big business. One of the city's chief industries was the sale of idols to pilgrim worshipers from all parts of the world, bringing enormous profit. They were supposed to charm away evil spirits and protect the devotee from danger. Another major source of income was the sale of scrolls on mystical arts, magic, charms, and incantations. Known as "Ephesian Letters," they were said to contain remedies for illness and infertility, and ensure success in any undertaking.

Upon the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, one of his generals, Lysimachus, took control of Ephesus. But the gradual silting up of the harbor necessitated his moving the city to a new location and, in 286 BC, he began construction of a new fortified city in honor of his wife, Arsinoeia, in the valley between Mounts Pion and Koressos (the site of today's ruins). Apart from the walls he only completed a theater, stadium, agora (marketplace) and harbor. On his death the construction was abandoned and the city came under rule of the king of Pergamum.

Though situated three miles from the sea, the channel of the Cayster River, on which the city stood, was navigable as far up as the city, although attention was required to keep it free from silt. As early as the 2nd century BC, king Attalus Philadelphus of Pergamum built a breakwater to keep the harbor from filling in. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect and made the harbor shallower.

In 133 BC Ephesus was handed over to the Romans and it became part the Roman Province of Asia. Under the Romans, Ephesus thrived, reaching the pinnacle of its greatness and the Artemision continued to attract pilgrims from all over the Graeco-Roman world. The Romans constructed many public buildings, and gates, baths and temples were donated by the rich. The canny city leaders were able to curry the favor of the emperors by dedicating temples and other monuments to them. In 29 BC, a temple was erected to the goddess Roma and the deified Julius Caesar. From then on the cult of emperor worship was promoted there. In return the emperors honored and beautified the city. Under them, Ephesus became the governmental center of the province of Asia, replacing Pergamum. By imperial edict it was made the gateway to the province of Asia. Stamped on coins found in the ruins of Ephesus are the titles, "First of all the greatest," and "The first and greatest metropolis of Asia." The city's beautiful location, together with the fertile soil and excellent climate, made it a very desirable place to live. Several important Roman highways met at Ephesus. Because of its location on the most direct sea and land route to the eastern provinces, Ephesus had few equals anywhere in the world. However, despite the efforts of no fewer than two of the emperors, the harbor continued to silt up. Unexpectedly, Nero's plan almost worked; the masterful Hadrian's scheme was doomed from the start.

Meanwhile the Christian church began to win converts. Through the efforts of Paul, Timothy, Apollos, Aquila, Priscilla and many others whose names we'll never know, Ephesus was destined to become one of the most important centers of Christianity. However, the transformation was not as immediate as implied in Acts. The bizarre cult of Artemis flourished for another two and a half centuries.

The decline of Ephesus

In 262 AD, the Goths sacked both the city and the world famous Temple of Artemis, and neither ever recovered its former splendor. In the 4th century AD, the Roman emperor Constantine rebuilt much of the city, but he refused to restore the temple. He had become a Christian and had little interest in fostering the old pagan beliefs. Despite his efforts, Ephesus declined in importance as a crossroads of trade.

In 431 AD Ephesus was the site of the third ecumenical church council at which Nestorius was banished for teaching that Jesus was only an exalted person, not the son of God, and the phrase "Mother of God" (Theotokos) was applied to Mary. In this matter, here is a commentary from the book "Paul, the Mind of the Apostle" by A.N. Wilson:

"When the region eventually adopted Christianity, it is unsurprising that the cult of the goddess (Artemis) transferred to that of Christ's Mother. The temple eunuchs (priests of Artemis), now turned Christian celibates, had no shortage of folk-tales with which to interest the credulous-stories of St. John or Luke escorting the Blessed Virgin from Jerusalem to this city in Asia Minor. Even as late as the 19th century, it was possible to discover, thanks to the visions of a German nun, the very house in the rugged mountains outside Ephesus where Mary had lived before her Glorius Assumption.


A few years later, according to legend, the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (a group of 3rd-century Christian martyrs) were miraculously raised from the dead. They too became the object of a famous cult. In the 6th century AD, the emperor Justinian built the basilica of St. John (You will see the ruins of this structure in the next segment of this tour).

By the early Middle Ages, the city was no longer useful as a port and fell into decline. In the end the city was left sitting isolated and many of the inhabitants left the swampy lowland to live in the surrounding hills, using the ruins of the temple of Artemis as a source of building materials for houses. Many of the temple's fine sculptures were pounded into powder to make lime for wall plaster. By the 9th century AD Ephesus was an inland city. With the loss of its waterway and the trade it brought, the city lost its commercial value. Its population declined so that by the time it was captured by the Selçuk Turks in 1090 it was a small village.The story is told that in 1100 AD, Crusaders stopped at site of the once great city and found only a muddy little village. In ancient texts they had read of a large seaport with many ships docked in its bay. The sea was three miles away, the village was located in a swamp and there were no ships. They accosted a nearby man:

"Sir, is this the city of Ephesus?"

"It was once called that; now it is named Ayasuluk."

"Where is your harbor? Where are the trading ships? And where is the magnificent Greek temple that we have read about?

"Temple? What temple? he replied, greatly confused. "We have no temple here."

Some 800 years after its destruction, the great Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, had been forgotten by the residents of the town that had once boasted of it with such pride. Even the site of the temple remained unknown until 1869.

After a period of revival in the 14th century, Ephesus was completely abandoned. The nearest town, north of the archaeological site, is Selçuk.

Walking in Paul's footsteps--Ephesus:

At the time of Paul, Ephesus had a population of around 250,000, ranking it with Rome in Italy, Corinth in Greece, Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt as one of the foremost cities of the Roman Empire. Even after thousands of years, this white marble city continues to attract visitors from every corner of the world and is on the itinerary of almost every tourist visiting Turkey. What they see are remains which were buried under layers of silt, uncovered and rebuilt by archeologists from different countries over some 125 years. No modern city was built over the site and the central area has been restored. Visitors can freely wander the great marble streets, the marketplaces, the temples, the town hall, and the great theater where plays were performed and where the city silversmiths rioted against Paul. No one who visits Ephesus will ever forget it. At most sites it takes a great amount of imagination to fill in the gaps between ruins; here, only your eyes are needed to appreciate its former beauty and grandeur.

First, we enter the main archaeological site from the east and walk along one of city's main east-west thoroughfares. Archaeologists called it Curetes Street (photo 2) for the Curetes (pronounced "crates"), an order of priests who dealt with religious and state affairs. It is also known as the Sacred Way from the procession that passed along it on the annual feast-day of Artemis. On the left side to the street is the State Agora, a large open area surrounded by several structures, including:


Odeum - A 1,500 seat theater (photo 3) built in the 2nd century AD by wealthy Ephesians P. Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Papiana. This was the scene of concerts; also the meeting place for members of the city council. The lack of drainage indicates it was once covered by a wooden roof.
Prythaneion or Town Hall (photo 4) (begun 1st century BC) - Begun 1st cent BC), it was the center for managing the city's religious and ceremonial functions. Architecturally, it was built like a private home, and contained an assembly hall, administrative rooms, the state archives and a dining hall in which officials and foreign visitors were welcomed. In front of the assembly hall was a Doric courtyard. A perpetual flame, representing the well-being of the city, was kept burning here at a shrine to Hera Boulaia, goddess of the hearth. The city's elite families were responsible for maintaining the flame. They also performed daily sacrifices to the different gods and goddesses and covered all the expenses. Three statues of Artemis were found here, two of which are now displayed in the Ephesus Museum (photo 5). Apparently they were deliberately buried to protect them from Christians bent on destroying pagan idols.
Temple of Domitian (the emperor at the time Revelation was written) (photo 6) - During the Roman period, the Ephesians erected many buildings and temples, and dedicated them to emperors in order to secure good relations and the support of Rome. The Domitian Temple is one of them. The two pillars seen here were once part of a three-story platform that supported a small temple dedicated to the worship of the emperors Vespasian (69-79 AD) and his successors (and sons) Titus (79-81 AD) and Domitian (81-96 AD). Upon its completion, Ephesus was called "the protector of the Roman emperor's temple," a great honor for the city. A special category of the priesthood, the "Arkhierus," cared for the temple. They belonged to a rich and influential class of the city and they were expected to finance all maintenance costs. In return, they retained positions of influence in the city's commercial dealings. Originally there were 13 columns on each side and 8 on the front and back. The second level featured sculptures of gods and goddesses, two of which are seen here. It symbolized the deities of the empire supporting and protecting the emperors who were worshiped in the temple above. In the substructure of the building, parts of a huge 25-foot-high were excavated. Sculpted of wood and stone, only the stone parts, the head and arm, have survived, and they are now in the Ephesus Museum (photo 7). Originally it was thought to represent Domitian and it is the reason that the building was named for him. But according to more recent research the statue is actually that of the emperor Titus (Titus Flavius Vespasianus), Domitian's brother and predecessor. During his reign, Titus spent great sums on games and monuments, including the Colosseum, and he dispensed generous aid to the victims of the famous eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and the plague and fire in Rome in 80 AD. The Domitian/Titus temple it is believed to be the first erected in Ephesus to the cult of emperors.