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| The Temple of Artemis |
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The
Artemision, considered one of the seven wonders of the world, was a
building of unparalleled splendour. It was the largest building in the
Hellenistic world and also the first work of monumentalproportions ever
to be constructed of marble. Sadly virtually nothing remains but a part
of the foundations. It has nevertheless been possible to draw
reconstaructions and the Didymaion has close similarities , so that one
can begin to visualise what it would have been like. |
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the Greeks the site was sacred to the mother goddess Kybele. The first
hellenistic building was probably constructed in 7th century B.C.. In
570 B.C. work had begun on a large temple on Samos. Not to be outdone
by a rival city the Ephesians brought Chersiphron and his son Metagenes
from Crete and they enlisted the services of the architect Theodoros,
who had worked on the Heraion, on Samos, to construct a temple to
replace the earlier smaller temple. Like on Samos the temple was built
on swampy ground. What emerged an Ionic temple, the Archaic Artemision,
that was a work of art, in every way more beautiful and more mature.
The stylobate of the temple measured 55 by 115m. Pliny, who saw the
later temple, relates that the total number of columns was 127 of which
36 were in front and were carved with reliefs. The temple contained 22
columns on long side and 9 on the short side. It is likely the earlier
temple had the same plan. The columns were 19m in height, twelve
times the lower diameter. The statue of Artemis stood in a naiskos
inside the unroofed cella. In 356 B.C. a man called Herostratos, to
achieve eternal fame set fir to the Archaic Artemision which completely
destroyed the ceiling and inner architrave of wood. |
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marching into Persia Alexander the Great offered sacrifices in the
ruins and expressed a wish for its reconstruction. It was decided to
rebuild to the same design on the foundations of its predecessor,
although this was now a higher 13 stepped crepidoma 2.7m high. This was probably
the only difference between the two buildings but it was now one of the seven wonders of the Hellenistic world.The
cult satue (below) stood in the cella and was probably of the Roman
type known as the Artemis Ephesia (now in Selcuk museum). The height of
the columns was 18m, 10 times the lower diameter. |
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Artemis |
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The
archaeological museum in Selcuk is one of the finest localmuseums in
turkey. Here are many of the works of art brought to light during the
excavation of Ephesus and its environs. Prior to the First World War
most of the finds are in Vienna., whilst thiose discovered after the
war went to Izmir. The most important items are the two statues of the
Artemis Ephesia, the sarcophagus and columns from the Belevi mausoleum,
the altar of the Temple of Domitian and various statues from differnt
monuments. |
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Isa Bey Mosque
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| One of the major works representing Turkish Seljuk art is the mosque on
the hill at Ayasoluk, built by Isa Bey a member of the ruling family in
Aydin iand completed in 1375 A.D.. This is the oldest known example of
a Turkish mosque with a courtyard. The details of the ornamentation is
typical of the Turkish style ttransitional between the Seljuk and
Ottoman periods. |
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| Selcuk Castle |
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The
citadel on Ayasuluk Hill, with two sets of walls, was built around the
6th century . From the 7th to the 9th century, the city of Ephesus
was divided between the harbor town and the citadel on the hill, a mile
away. Both were designed for defense against constant attacks by Arabs
and pirates. The walls around St. John's were reinforced, using marble
blocks from the previous site of Ephesus. The combination of the marble
façade and the mortared rubble made the walls 4m thick. The
citadel walls are 1.5 km around with 15 towers. Entry to the citadel
from the south is through the Gate of Persecution, which leads into the
Basilica. The Gate used to have a frieze of Odysseus discovering
Achilles, and when it was mistakenly thought to depict the persecution
of Christians, the gate acquired its name. In the 8th century the
square towers on either side of the gate were made pentagonal, aiding
in their defensive capabilities. The Despite efforts to keep the
harbour from silting up gradually the population moved to around the
castle and it was witness to the numerous upheavals in the area over the following centuries,
as the Turks tried to displace the Ottoman occupiers .Both the First
and Second Crusades passed through occupying the castle. It finally
surrendered to the Seljuks, in 1304, who plundered St John's Basilica
and killed or deported its inhabitants. Once the Ottomans came to power
in the 15th century, the port became unusable and Ephesus was abandoned
the population just drifting away.
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| St John's Basilica |
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According
to Christian legend St John, the disciple, lived on thisAyasoluk hill
and was buried here. At first this grave was marked with a memorial
which was then enclosed with a 4th century church and then by a domed
basilica erected by Justinian (527-565 A.D.). Entry to this cross
shaped building was gained from the west through a courtyard leading
into the narthex to the east and so into the nave. Six domes formen the
roof of the nave and transept while galleries stretched over the aisle.
St John's grave is situated in the most central domed section.
This was one of the most important shrines in the Christian world
throughout the Middle Ages. |
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| Belevi Mausoleum |
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stands about 11km from Ephesus on the road to Tire. It was the largest
and highest tomb in Anatolia after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassos,
another of the seven wonders of the world. Its core was local rock
faced with marble with a central burial chamber hollowed out containing
the sarcophagus now in Selcuk museum. On the top stood a peristasis of
the Doric order with 8 columns on each side. Statues of lion-griffins
the size of a lion stood on the edges of the roof. The final
height was 23m without the roof. This structure was of a very high standard
although it has been disputed whom it was built for. It may have been
the Seleucid king Antiochos II, Theos, who died at Ephesus in 246 B.C. |
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| The Cave of the Seven Sleepers |
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Legend has it that during the persecutions of the Roman
emperor Decius, around 250, seven
young men were accused of Christianity. They were given some time to recant
their faith, but instead gave their worldly goods to the poor and retired to a
mountain to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed. Decius
died in 251 and many years passed during which Christianity became the
major religion of the Roman Empire. During the reign ofTheodosius II (408 - 450) — the landowner decided
to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen and found the sleepers inside.
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slept but one day. The bishop was summoned
to interview the sleepers; they told him their miracle story, and died praising God. An early Christian catacomb
came to be associated with it, attracting pilgrims. A chrch was
constructed at the site of the cave, the 'Grotto' of the Seven
Sleepers, which contains a number of graves which were dated to the
5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers
were found on the walls of the church and in the graves. |
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| The Aqueducts |
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| Aqueduct of C Sextilius Pollio |
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Sirince aqueduct |
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| At its highpoint in the 2nd century A.D., Ephesos had roughly 250,000
inhabitants. Their private residences, six large bathing complexes, many
nymphaea, and the public latrines all needed to be supplied with enormous amounts of
water. The earliest aqueduct was established by King
Lysimachos in the
first half of the 3rd century B.C. to supply the city, delievring water between the two city hills from a
source not far outside the city. This was probably no more than a single course of terracotta pipes . The Aqua
Throessitica was probably established during the 2nd century B.C. again
supplying the greater city by means of two courses of terracotta pipes laid on
berms. Another course
of pipes was added on during the Augustan period, when C. Sextilius Pollio accessed a
water source on the slope lying opposite, and caused it to flow into the Aqua
Throessitica over a particularly monumental aqueduct bridge constructed by him
and running across the road leading to Magnesia. This aqueduct had attained a
total length of 8 km. and was carried into the city over six bridges. This aqueduct lies on the road to
Aydin a few kilometres out of Selcuk. It is easy to miss as you ascend
the hill as it sits in a narrow valley to the left of the road. |
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An additional aqueduct, which may be Hellenistic but is at least certainly Roman
in date, is the Sirince Aqueduct. This runs into the city
from the east over a distance of 6 km. with numerous terracotta pipe
courses. In the 6th century A.D. this same alignment was used for a new
conduit, which supplied the settlement which had grown up around the Justinianic Basilica
of St. John.
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| The 656 m. long bridge over the valley, with its 125
pilasters, dominates still the modern city centre of Selçuk. During the
Selçuk period, the Sirince Aqueduct was again used to supply the Isa Bey Mosque
and its environs with water; however, the two terracotta pipe courses were not
carried over the large aqueduct bridges, but instead along the ground on their
south side, and over the so-called Suterasi towers, in order to reduce air in
the pipes and to reduce pressure. |
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