Highlights of Ephesus

Ephesus, Turkey's premier archaeological site, was one of the most important cities in the classical world. Famous for its great Temple of Artemis, it became the capital of the Roman province of Asia and had as many as a quarter million inhabitants. Although only about 5% of the city has been excavated, this fraction contains some of the most spectacular ruins anywhere. Ephesus was founded on a sheltered natural harbor, where the river Kastor flowed into a bay of the Aegean. That harbor was directly in front of us. Originally, the coast was not far from the theater, where we're now sitting. But over the centuries, as silt filled the harbor, it receded toward the horizon. By the Roman period, the harbor basin was in the distance, at the end of that avenue. Today, the sea is miles away. As we see it today, Ephesus was founded by Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. Though the city was already centuries old, Lysimachus moved the inhabitants here to a planned settlement with neatly gridded streets and a vast new wall. Although some of the most prominent buildings in Ephesus, including this theater, were begun in the Hellenistic era, almost everything now visible dates to the Roman imperial period. The theater, partially restored in the 20th century, was one of the largest in the classical world, with seats for 24,000 spectators. The stage building has mostly vanished. When it was intact, this was an elaborate marble screen, decorated with dozens of statues. This monumental avenue, which connected the harbor with the city center, was laid out during the 2nd century on reclaimed land. We see it now in its late antique incarnation, when it was called the Arcadiane, after a son of Theodosius I. By that period, the street was lit at night. Ephesus had several agoras, of which two have been excavated, variously called the Lower Agora, or Tetragonus Agora. This space appears to have been set aside for commerce. Behind the two-story stoas that ringed this space were a series of shops and storerooms. At the center was a circular horologium, a monumental sundial and water clock. Like the Arcadiane, this form was rebuilt in late antiquity after an earthquake, and most of the columns are reused from other buildings. We're now approaching the most iconic space in Ephesus, the Triodos, so-called because three major thoroughfares met there. On the right is the reconstructed gate of Meseus and Mithridates, which led into the Lower Agora. Built in the reign of Augustus by two imperial freedmen, its dedicatory inscription was written out in letters of bronze, in both Greek and Latin. Originally, the gate was flanked by towers, which likely held the tombs of the dedicators. Ahead of us is the famous library of Celsus. Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemianus was a distinguished Roman official who held a series of important offices, commanding a legion, elevated to the rank of consul, and finally serving as governor of the province of Asia. Celsus seems to have retired to Ephesus, and after he died in the reign of Trajan, his son presided over the building of this library, which doubled as Celsus's tomb. The facade, destroyed by a medieval earthquake, was re-erected in the 1970s. As you can see, it was impressively elaborate. The columns are of Phrygian marble, shipped from the interior of Asia Minor. The four statues in the first story—these are replicas—represent the virtues of Celsus—Sophia, wisdom, Arate, nobility, Enoia, good judgment, and Episteme, knowledge. Equestrian statues of Celsus flank the stairs. Fasces, symbols of Celsus's consular rank, are worked into the rich decoration of the doorframe. Inside the library, books were arranged on three levels. The usual estimate is that the building held around 10,000 scrolls, stored in cabinets along the walls. Celsus himself was buried in a sarcophagus beneath the apse—a signal honor, since burial is usually forbidden within the city limits. His bones remain there still. From the Triodos, we turn to the most important street in Ephesus—the Ambalos, also known as the Street of the Curites. The street connects the upper and lower agoras, following the natural valley between Mount Pion and Mount Caressus. Paved with marble, it was lined with colonnades and a series of imposing monuments. Here at the base of the Ambalos were a number of monumental tombs, including one for Arsinoe, the youngest sister of Cleopatra, who was murdered at Ephesus in 41 BC. I'm standing on the steps of Arsinoe's tomb. Across the street are a reconstructed latrine and a structure described, probably incorrectly, as a brothel. Beside them are the Baths of Varius, which date to the second century, but were restored by a Christian lady named Swastika more than 200 years later, using materials taken from other public buildings. The so-called terrace houses, partly covered by this protective structure, were occupied from the 1st to the 7th centuries, with some interruptions. Two full blocks, each containing about a half-dozen living units, have been uncovered. The living units, centered on courtyards, were luxurious and richly decorated. Over time, some were converted to non-residential purposes, ranging from banquet hall to Christian chapel. Across the street from the terrace houses, and at the very heart of the tourist maelstrom, is another famous building, the so-called Temple of Hadrian. This structure may not have been dedicated to Hadrian. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in late antiquity, and its stones may have come from another monument. But since its reconstruction in the 1950s, this has been one of the symbols of Ephesus. The façade is certainly striking, with that arcuated lintel and lushly carved decoration. The four statue bases in front of the temple carried statues of the Tetrarchs, Diocletian and his co-emperors, who ruled at the turn of the 4th century. Here we have the partially reconstructed Nymphaeum of Trajan, a monumental fountain with a two-story façade, erected in the early 2nd century. A gallery of statues filled its niches, splashed with light reflecting from the fountain's basin. Now, at last, we come to the upper, or state, agora, the civil heart of Ephesus. Let's go left to right. This side of the upper agora was dominated by the two-story Basilica Stoa, a multi-purpose structure with judicial and official functions. It was built during the reign of Augustus, and featured colossal statues of the first emperor and his wife, Lybia. Behind this building, just ahead of us, was the Prytaneion, a courtyard-centered structure used by civic officials, which featured facilities for public banquets. It was here the city's hearth, Sacred Hestia, burned day and night. Next to the Prytaneion, to the left of that there-like structure, was the Temenos, a sacred area likely connected with the imperial cult. Beside it was the Bouletarian, and that is the there-like structure. It was here that the boulet, the city council, met. Since it had about 1,500 seats, it likely also served as an odeon, used for rhetorical performances. It dates to the second century. Beyond that was a second-century bath complex, still only partly excavated. We're more familiar with a temple that stood on the platform that dominates the western end of the agora. This was a sanctuary dedicated to Domitian. After that emperor was assassinated and his memory condemned, it was hastily rededicated to Vespasian, Domitian's father. We'll conclude with the Gate of Hercules, named for these reliefs of the hero. There is a stone from older structures. The gate likely dates to the late fifth century. By the time it was built, the Western Roman Empire was already gone, little more than a century after, Ephesus itself would fall into terminal decline. The people drifted away and debris covered the city. Much of it, as we have seen, remains buried. But the fragments that have been uncovered evoke, with a vividness rivaled only by Pompeii, the life and death of a great ancient city.