Temple of Artemis

Temple of Artemis is one of the seventh wonders of the world which is located in Turkey

Nowadays the temple is near the town Selcuk in Ephesus in the south of Izmir.

It’s dedicated to the local cult of Artemis. Artemis is the goddess of hunting, а fertility, а female chastity and а patroness of all life on Earth. She blesses for happiness in а marriage and helps with childbirth

The temple overlives 3 life cycles

The earliest version of the temple (temenos) dates back to the Bronze Age. The Alexandrian scholar and poet Callimachus attributed a construction of the temple to the Amazons (whose existence hasn’t been confirmed) in his Anthem to Artemis. In the 7th century BC the temple was destroyed by a flood.

The second stage was its reconstruction about 550 BCЕ, and in fact it was construction of a new temple but bigger than previous one.  It had being built for 2 centuries and only in 380 BCЕ it had been finished by architects Demetrius and Paeonius

In 356 BCЕ the temple was burned down by Herostratus , but after all it was rebuilt with the funds allocated by Alexander the Great.

It’s unknown how many times was between closing of the temple and its final destruction. Some of the temple’s elements in the end was used for construction other buildings.

Scientists identified the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus by the only surviving column.

The temple of Artemis in Ephesus surpassed the Parthenon in size, and in terms of the number of engineering developments and the richness of the interior, it deservedly stands on a par with other wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately, it was destroyed again and shared the fate of the Colossus of Rhodes and the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, leaving only a memory of itself.

The temple with such an amazing and fascinating history can’t stay away from you during your trip in Turkey!

Visit it if it will be possible. I promise you will be impressed!