Temple of Artemis: Repeated destruction was destined

But when I saw Artemis, it seemed as if everything else was covered in shadows. Artemis seemed to be shining only as the sun.

The famous Greek poet Antipater of Sidon thus describes Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Built in the 6th century BC, this temple is also called Artemisium. Artemis was first created in 800 BC. However, not much is known about the first. Only the later temples are known. However, there is no doubt that the first one was made for the goddess Artemis like the rest of the temples.

The temple of Artemis is located in Ephesus, one of the oldest and largest cities in Asia Minor, Turkey. This huge temple was built by the then emperor of Lydia, Croesus. The place was originally a land devastated by the floods. Artemis is the world's first marble temple. One of the strangest things about the Seven Wonders temple is that it was destroyed seven times in the last ten centuries for various reasons.

For whom and how is this temple?

This temple in Turkey was built for the goddess Artemis. The east coast of Ephesus was inhabited by the Greeks in the 8th century BC, and the people of the area began to believe in the goddess. The Greek goddess Artemis was also important to the people of Ephesus, as she was born on the island of Ortigia, near Ephesus. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, the king of all gods, and the twin sister of the god Apollo. She was simultaneously the goddess of hunting, the moon, chastity, childbirth and nature.

Ephesus had good or bad relations with Lydia, his neighbor. However, there was a bond of similarity between them in terms of culture. Because of this, when Croesus, emperor of Lydia, conquered Ephesus, he ordered the construction of some more temple buildings to be dedicated to the goddess Artemis. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Croesus donated only a few pillars. Even some of these Artemis columns say "Dedicated by Artemis".

In the irony of fate, the sacred place like the temple was destroyed several times and rebuilt several times. However, the people of Ephesus had more faith in the temple that was built first. Due to which they established a connection between the old temple and the city with a rope of 1243 meters. They believed that this connection would prevent the Lydians or any other enemy from attacking them.

Temple of Artemis

Most of the external information on Artemis is obtained from the tourist Pliny. He describes the Temple of Artemis and six other wonders in his book, Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to Pliny the Elder, the temple is 377 feet (114.915 meters) long and 225 feet (54.864 meters) wide. It is larger than the Parthenon of Athens, built in the 5th century BC. Artemis looks a lot like a football field and is made almost entirely of marble.

The temple has 127 pillars, each 60 feet long. Inside Artemis are beautiful paintings. The entire temple is filled with remarkable sculptures, paintings and pillars decorated with gold and silver by famous Greek sculptors. The outer pillars depict characters from Greek mythology.

Artemis and Herostratus

The temple was burnt down in 356 BC by a man named Herostratus. Artemis was rebuilt but destroyed six more times. Yet this reconstruction work went on several times. The most famous of these is the incident of setting fire to Herostratus in the temple.

It is said that Herostratus did this not out of revenge, but only to gain fame and influence. This kind of work creates a new term ‘heroistic fame’, which means gaining or trying to gain fame in a destructive way. Alexander the Great was born on the night the Artemis temple was set on fire. It is said that the goddess Artemis was so busy arranging the birth of Alexander that she failed to save her own temple.

Herostratus is also called aerostratus. Herostratus knew in advance that he could do no great damage to the marble temple. However, according to him, if he can damage the furniture of the temple, it will be a huge achievement for him. He was so addicted to showing off his strength that he stood there even after setting fire to the temple of Artemis and proudly praised himself for it.

When he later surrendered to the temple authorities, a law was passed to dispose of not only his punishment but also his hopes for fame, according to which no one in the country could name him. But even after all this, his wish has been fulfilled. Not only the people of Ephesus, but the whole world still remembers his name.

The temple of Artemis at a later time

Although Alexander later offered to pay for the reconstruction of the ruined Artemis, the Ephesians never accepted it. Although construction began shortly after the demolition, it took time to complete. The Greek writer Strabo said of this, "They (the people of Ephesus) say that money for the worship of one god cannot be taken from another god." Later they completed this work with their personal money and gold ornaments.

The Temple of Artemis is located mainly in a wetland area, and given its geographical location, the chances of an earthquake there are extremely slim. Yet in 262 AD there was a mysterious earthquake here. Due to the constant spread of Christianity, faith in the goddess Artemis in Ephesus waned, and in the same vein, the temple was burned down again in 268 CE by some barbarians.

The temple was completely closed by the Roman emperor Theodosius in 391 AD, when he proclaimed Christianity the state religion. However, the last time the temple of Artemis was destroyed was in 401 AD. This happened due to the riots and facades caused by religion. From this time Ephesus also began to disappear. The economic situation became miserable and it became difficult to make a living there. From this abandoned place many things are stolen, ruined or buried. John Turtle Wood first discovered the temple in 1869.

The Temple of Artemis was a very important part of the city of Ephesus, from all religious, cultural and social contexts. Much remains unknown about the mysterious temple hundreds of years ago, but at least its location remains a mystery.

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