The Ephesus
According
to legend, Androclus, son of King Codrus
of Athens, consulted an oracle about
where to found a settlement in Ionia.
The oracle answered in typically cryptic
style: ‘Choose the site indicated by the
fish and the boar’.
Androclus sat down with some fishermen
near the mouth of the Cayster River and
Mt Pion (Panayır Dağı), the hill into
which Ephesus’ Great Theatre was later
built. As they grilled some fish for
lunch, one of the fish leapt out of the
brazier, taking with it a hot coal,
which ignited some shavings, which in
turn ignited the nearby brush. A wild
boar hiding in the brush ran in alarm
from the fire and the spot at which the
fishermen killed it became the site of
Ephesus’ Temple of Artemis.
In ancient times the sea
came much further inland, almost as far as present-day
Selçuk. The first settlement, of which virtually nothing
remains, was built on the hill’s northern slope and was a
prosperous city by about 600 BC. The nearby sanctuary of
Cybele/Artemis had been a place of pilgrimage since at least
800 BC.
Croesus & the
persians
Ephesus prospered so much
that it aroused the envy of King Croesus of Lydia, who
attacked it around 600 BC. The Ephesians, who had neglected
to build defensive walls, stretched a rope from the Temple
of Artemis to the town, a distance of 1200m, hoping to win
the goddess’ protection. Croesus responded to this quaint
defensive measure by giving some of his famous wealth for
the completion of the temple. But he destroyed Ephesus and
relocated its citizens inland to the southern side of the
temple, where they built a new city.
Neglecting again (or
perhaps forbidden) to build walls, the Ephesians were forced
to pay tribute to Croesus’ Lydia and, later, to the
Persians. They then joined the Athenian confederacy, but
later fell back under Persian control.
In 356 BC the Temple of
Cybele/Artemis was destroyed in a fire set by Herostratus,
who claimed to have done it to get his 15 minutes of fame,
proving that modern society has no monopoly on a perverted
sense of celebrity.
The Ephesians planned a
grand new temple, the construction of which was well under
way when Alexander the Great arrived in 334 BC. Much
impressed, Alexander offered to pay for the cost of
construction in return for having the temple dedicated to
himself. The Ephesians declined his offer, saying tactfully
that it was not fitting for one god to make a dedication to
another. When finished, the temple was recognised as one of
the Seven Wonders of the World.
Lysimachus & the
romans
After Alexander the Great’s
death, Ionia came under the control of Lysimachus, one of
his generals. As the harbour silted up, it became clear the
city would have to move westwards. Unable to convince the
Ephesians to budge, Lysimachus blocked the old city’s sewers
during a downpour, causing major flooding. The Ephesians
then moved reluctantly to the western side of Mt Pion, where
the Roman city remains.
Little survives of
Lysimachus’ city, although it finally got a defensive wall
almost 10km long, which served it well as it allied itself
with the Seleucid kings of Syria, then with the Ptolemies of
Egypt, later with King Antiochus, then Eumenes of Pergamum,
and finally with the Romans. Long stretches of the wall
survive on top of Mt Coressos (Bülbül Dağı), the high ridge
of hills on the southern side of Ephesus. A prominent square
tower, nicknamed ‘St Paul’s Prison’, also survives on a low
hill to the west.
With its brisk sea traffic,
rich commerce and right of sanctuary in the Temple of
Artemis, Roman Ephesus was the capital of Asia Minor and its
population rapidly grew to around 250, 000. Successive
emperors vied with one another to beautify the city and it
drew immigrants from all around the empire. Despite the fame
of the cult of Diana, Ephesus soon acquired a sizeable
Christian congregation. St John supposedly settled here with
the Virgin Mary, and St Paul lived in the city for three
years (probably in the AD 60s).
For information and contact e-mail.info@turkeyephesustour.com
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