Great is Diana of the Ephesians

This is an old paper I did in college but what else can you add about the Greek worship of Diana (Artemis) Her temple must have been incredible and if I could go back in time this is one thing I would love to see. I read that the columns used in the Agia Sophia came from the ruined temple of Artemis. I sadly never made it to Ephesus when I was in Turkiye.

Great is Diana(Artemis) of the Ephesians!
                   By eaglecap
In 57 A.D. the Apostle Paul entered the ancient city of Ephesus to spread the Gospel, but in the process he had angered the temple silver smiths. These artists had the task of making images of the temple and of the Greek goddess Artemis for her worshipers and tourists as souvenirs. “St. Paul on one of his missionary journeys, came there. He was a brave man for attacking the goddess on her own home, and as eloquent as brave for the people listened to him.”1 The silver smiths raised feared that this new religion (Christianity) would put an end to their trade so they started a riot. The followers of the goddess became angry with Paul and according to the Apostle Paul in books of Acts the rioters shouted, “Great is Diana (the Greeks called her Artemis) of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion.”2 According to Edgar Banks this was the first assault on this ancient Greek goddess and soon her glory would be eclipsed by a new belief.
     By the time of Alexander the Great the Temple of Artemis was one of the great wonders of antiquity but who was this goddess and what made her temple so famous? In the following essay we will explore the myth and history of this ancient goddess and not only see what her place in history was, but also the transformations that she took through history as she came into contact with other cultures and took over the identity of other goddesses. Finally we will explore the temple’s dimensions and some of the more recent excavations that took place in the 1970’s and 1990’s.
     The myth of Artemis begins in the Bronze Age long before the Hellenic period of Alexander the Great. It was according to an ancient legend that she fell out of the skies, as a wooden statue, into a thicket of bushes. The brush wrapped around the statue and held it upright and after finding her statue in this thicket the men began to offer her homage. “Some say that the goddess was Artemis, and the place she fell was in Greece. Others say that she was Cybele, the Asiatic Mother goddess of the Earth.”3 Regardless, the area in which she fell would become the western coast of Anatolia or modern day Turkey.
     Even though she is Hellenic in some parts of the Greek world such as western Anatolia her cult had some oriental influences. Little is known on the exact origin of Artemis but there are references about her as far back as the Mycenaean period. (1000-1100 B.C.) According to Hugh Lloyd-Jones, writer for the Journal of Hellenic studies, “Few in Orestia have been more debated in recent times than that of why Artemis sends the calm that detains the Achaean fleet at Aulis.”4   Evidence points to her existence long before the Greek period and historian Lewis Richard Farnell states that evidence of Artemis can be found in the Arcadian and Athenian rites and legends and provides us proof that she had existed at a much earlier date than Homer. Marija Gimbutus says, “Artemis had many epiphanies: the bee, the moth, the butterfly. Her butterfly epiphany is an image descended from the Neolithic era and then the Minoan period in Crete.”5   “Tradition tells us that long before the days of Homer, a migrating band of Amazons settled in the valley with a party of Greeks from Ionia and then begins the story of the Greek city Ephesus…it was the great religious center of all the Orient.”6
      The ancient Greeks believed that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and that she was the twin of the god Apollo. She was born in a grove of trees in Ortygia and she was the goddess of the hunt. She was often shown with bow and arrow and with animals at her side, later the Romans called her Diana. According Banks she was the goddess of newly born babies and the mother’s would offer the child’s clothing to Artemis. Artemis was also called the goddess of nature. “She was the Mistress of the Mountain, forest, stones, animals, springs and healing forms. In earlier forms she was seen as the huntress with her bow and arrow,”7 but at Ephesus she takes on a different form with what appears as multiple breasts, or are they breasts or decorations adopted from other cult statues? Her cult image in Ephesus shows the transformations that she probably took because of influences from oriental cults that she encountered in Asia Minor. In a period earlier than Homer she was not a goddess of chastity or the twin sister of Apollo, but rather she was connected with such things as the waters and wild vegetation and the beasts. Her divinity was worshipped as the huntress and this reflected the primitive stage of her early worshippers. “ …Greek poetry and art more usually described her as the huntress and destroyer of the older religions…more familiar with the conception of her as the protector and patroness of wild animals… especially those that were young.8
     The Artemis of Ephesus was covered with multiple breasts because she was the mother of the Earth. The lower end of her statue terminated into a pillar shape with images of animals carved onto it. The multiple breasts found on the cult image of Artemis, in Ephesus, was a motif found not only on her but was used in other cult images. “ This motif of the chest area adornment is found on the religious statues of other cities in Hellenistic and Greco-Roman Anatolia, both independent and prior to its appearance in association with the Ephesian Artemis.”9 There has been some argument that it could be something other than breasts such as; eggs or even scrota sacs from a bull. “ While the the Ephesian Artemis has long been called “the many breasted mother of Asia. Dr. Franz Miltner discoverer of this figure, holds that what is actually represented on her bosom is a bodice spangled eggs.” 10 It appears that since this motif was used in previous cult statues and that it was not intrinsic to Artemis of Ephesus, but rather reflected a style of adornment rather than breast or scrota sacs from a bull. “…adornments for Anatolian cult statues that became increasingly popular throughout the Hellenistic period until it was eventually adopted by the Ephesians.”11
      Toksoz states, that the reason she is portrayed with many breasts could symbolize the vitality of the Earth. Artemis is the goddess of nature, and productivity as well as the protector of wild game and sailors.”12 Her association with sailors is probably why her cult spread throughout the Mediterranean world.
     What is the history behind this ancient goddess in Ephesus and of what importance was she to the Ephesians? In accordance with Greek historians Strabo and Pausinias the founders of Ephesus were Ionians and had found the area occupied by the Carians and Lydians who had been living around a sanctuary of an Anatolian mother goddess. The Greek founders adopted this goddess under the name of their own goddess Artemis. The coastline of Western Anatolia was colonized by the Greeks about 1000 B.C. and theoretically they took the natives goddess and adopted her and combined the qualities of their own goddess Artemis. “The ancient Greeks were always ready to incorporate strange gods into their own household of deities.”13 “Artemis incorporated various local goddesses who had inherited certain features of the mistress of animals.” 14
     The main function of Artemis and the relationship that she had with the Ephesians was for protection and to provide sustenance to the city of Ephesus. The relationship between the Ephesians and Artemis resembled the religious affairs of many Greek cities. “ The goddess of Ephesus acted in the realm of history as a potent symbol whose involvement with people and events may reflect attempts to understand new and shifting political arenas.”15
     One month a year was set aside for a celebration in honor of this goddess. It was more of a holiday and nobody worked, but instead people went to the stadium to watch athletic games, races and plays at the theater and the ceremonies performed in her honor were spectacular. "In Ephesus there was a very efficient organization which tried to attract visitors to the Temple from other cities. Apart from enjoying the protection of the goddess visitors to the temple were provided with all kinds of entertainment.”16 The ceremonies performed at the temple were oriental in character and the best offerings of animals, plants and fruits were offered to the goddess, but these were consumed by the priests rather than burnt at the altar. “The procession took place on the twenty-fifth of May, the day the statue of the goddess is said to have fallen from heaven.”17     
     Toksoz also explains that Ephesus was a priestly city and that the temple had a large hierarchy of priests, both male and female. First was the Megabizes and the eunuchs who were attended by female priests and young virgins, also amongst the temple personnel were supervisors, drummers, and scepter bearers, religious acrobats. The temple of Ephesus was also a place of asylum for people escaping the law, but it often became a haven for criminals when the boundaries were stretched beyond the temple. “Alexander extended the limits of the protected area to a distance of one stade all around the temple; Mithridates determined them by shooting an arrow from the corner of the temple roof…”18 Mark Anthony doubled that distance so part of the city was included, but Augustus did away with it altogether because it was providing a haven for criminals in the portion of Ephesus that was under the asylum of Artemis.
     In legend, the thicket where her first statue fell turned into a grove and the statue was put into the hollow part of a large cypress tree. This had been her first temple, but it was the temple of Alexander the Greats time that would become one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (356 B.C.) In the course of time her temple changed many times. The first temple was replaced by a second temple platform in the eighth century B.C.   He fame grew and pilgrims came from all over the Greek world and often brought costly presents such as gold, silver, ivory with sculptors and artist’s donated their best pieces to Artemis, so in 650 B.C. a larger third temple was built. Shortly afterwards it was plundered and burnt down by a nomadic race known as the Cimmerians, who had overrun Anatolia from the Russian Steppes. “ …the wild Cimmerians overran the country and burned the temple, yet they spared Ephesus. The people said that Diana had saved the city.”19 The fourth temple was built immediately afterwards and her increasing fame had brought more and more pilgrims to worship at her ancient shrine. As more pilgrims came to visit the temple her wealth accumulated and her temple could not contain all this wealth, so a fifth temple was built. In the sixth century B.C. Ephesus was attacked by the Lydian King Croesus, possibly attracted by this wealth.
          “The first Greek city that Croesus attacked was Ephesus. The
           Ephesians, when he laid siege to them, ran a rope from
           their walls to the temple of Artemis, putting the town,
           by means of this link, under the goddess protection.”20
     Croesus was not a threat to the Greeks and respected the sanctuary of Artemis. In fact, this newer temple was supported by the Lydian King Croesus around 550 B.C. “ Referred to as the great marble temple or temple D, it was sponsored by the Lydian King Croesus and was designed by the Greek architect Cheriphron.”21 This temple was completed somewhere between 430 and 420 B.C. Even though Croesus spared the temple he did destroy the city and forced it inhabitants to relocate further inland.
     It was during the period of the Kings Peace that Ephesus fell into the hands of the Persian Empire in 386 B.C. Even though the Persians had destroyed many shrines they spared the Temple of Artemis and Xerxes showed great respect to the goddess and her temple. It was shortly afterwards in 356 B.C. that a mad man named Herophratus, who wanted fame and immortality, burnt down the temple. According to legend Artemis did not protect her temple because she was in Macedonia helping Olympias give birth to Alexander the Great in Macedonia.      
          “However this maybe, Alexander was born the sixth day of the month
           Hecatombaeon, which the Macedonians call Lois, the same day on
           wich the Temple of Artemis was burned down…he said it was no
           wander the Temple of Artemis was destroyed, since the goddess was
             busy attending the birth of Alexander.”22
     The Ephesians started work right away on her sixth temple and it was still being built upon the arrival of Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. Alexander had wanted to make a financial contribution to the temple but his offer was turned down. “ Alexander made the Ephesians a very generous offer, “…much impressed by what he saw he offered to defray all expenses, past and future, of the building, if he might be permitted to make a dedicatory inscription in his own name.”23 The offer was, most likely, not accepted because Alexander would have had too much control over the temple if his offer had been accepted. “ This handsome gesture was courteously declined, on the ground that it was not fitting for a god to make a dedication to another god.”24 When this temple was finished by the Ephesians it became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
     In 57 A.D., at the time of St. Paul, Ephesus was a Roman province and with this new religion the faith of Artemis slowly declined. In 262 A.D. a Germanic tribe known as the Goths invaded and not only destroyed the city but also the great Temple of Artemis of the Ephesians.   Banks states that it was a final blow to her ancient temple and afterwards a smaller temple, her seventh, was built on the old site, but it was destroyed by the Christians and her followers were persecuted. Finally, the Roman Emperor commanded all the pagan temples to be closed. Thus ended the history of this great and ancient goddess. The memory of this ancient goddess would have been forgotten, but because of the ancient text found on papyri, parchment, and stone inscriptions as well as the spade of modern archaeologists her memory has spanned the centuries.
     What was the architectural layout of this temple from Alexander’s period? The sixth temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and compared to such structures as the pyramid in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Colossus of Rhodes.   The sixth temple was still being constructed upon Alexander’s arrival to Ephesus. This later temple would become a prototype of Ionian style and according to the Roman historian Pliny the temple was completed in 220 years from contributions from all over Asia. Its dimensions were as follows: 425 feet long, 225 feet wide and it had 127 columns that were each sixty feet in height. “ Thirty six of these (columns) were decorated with high relief and one at least is known to be the work of Scopas, a well known sculptor of the time.”25 Inside of this spectacular temple stood the cult statue of Artemis that was either made of ebony or cedar. From the ceiling a curtain hung to the floor and hid the statue from sight, so that the outside visitors could not view it during its worship time. “Ancient writers who had seen the Temple could not help being impressed by its splendor and by the great number of fine pieces of art which had been assembled there.”26
     After centuries of being buried in the mud the temple was rediscovered by an English engineer named J.T.Wood. According to Beans, "The position of the temple was unknown except that it was sure to be deeply buried, and for a long time no was clue was available.”27 The story goes that Wood had worked at Ephesus from 1863 to 1874 and had spent a lot of time trying to locate the temple through soundings and eventually a clue was found. It was a fragmentary inscription located in the theater that stated that the sacred images should be carried to the theater from the temple and afterwards returned to the Temple. “The route prescribed was by way from the Magnesian Gate.”28 Wood had to find this gate first, which should face the direction of magnesia and then follow a road called the “Sacred way”. Wood did find the street deep underground and it proved to be very well preserved and it led to the precinct wall. This eventually led to the Temple of Artemis that was only 15 feet below the surface of a marshy area. Banks states that Wood’s excavations, in December of 1869, brought to the light of day a foundation and a few scattered sculptured stones and inscriptions under 20 feet of swamp. Future finds would have to be up to another archaeologist.“ …this task remained for G.D. Hogarth in 1904, when fabulous foundation deposits came to light.”29   Excavations by the archaeologist Hogarth of the British museum led to the discovery of the foundation stones of the Croesus temple and below that were traces of a still earlier and smaller temple. “Hogarth had to labor under difficult conditions; the building was below the level of the water table, and he was forced to use pumps constantly.”30Despite the difficulties he discovered the ruins of several temple construction periods.
     It was not until 1963 that a trench was dug along the west side of the temple that would bring to light the sacrificial altar and in time more information emerged from earlier temple periods. Numerous artifacts were recovered such as bones of animals burnt for sacrifice and many small votives along with pottery shards. “We also uncovered several small ivories. One the lower parts of a female, maybe a fragment from a statuette of a priestess or a goddess.”31 They also found an ivory of a ram that was possibly attached to furniture. The close relationship between Hogarth discoveries, found within the temple, and the excavations in the 1970’s raises several ideas about the earlier nature of the cult of Artemis. “It is difficult to say but the original inhabitants may well have worshipped their nature goddess in a location separate from the one the Greeks selected for the practice of their cult.”32 If this is true then the archaeological evidence shows that at the beginning of the Hellenism Cybele, an Asiatic goddess, and Artemis had existed side by side in the great sanctuary. “Their assimilation must have been a gradual process, for later are we certain that a single great nature goddess was worshipped at Ephesus.”33 Bammer also points out that the only remains found at the temple site, from the Hellenistic period, associated with the altar was the head of a horse.
      According to Banks the excavations of her temple continued in 1974 and later in 1984 for 15 years by the Austrians. “The most interesting find was that of a group of transparent crystals. The concave surface produces a reducing effect. “ These rock crystal “lenses,” as we might call them, have counter parts on Thasos, Paros, and Samos, where they have been identified as pedestals for alabastra or oil jars.”34
     In more recent times excavations led to the discovery of the road between the temple of Artemis and Ephesus but finding this lost road took modern technology. A very effective tool called Georadar was used to solve this puzzle. Georadar is a ground penetrating radar that is used to recover items such as ancient artifacts, burial items, and to locate chambers such as tombs. It is also used in Forensics to recover bodies, weapons and drugs that have been buried. “The first problem was the interconnection between the city and the Temple of Artemis. By historical records it was made by two Sacred procession roads…Only small parts of these roads were discovered in the ruins or excavated…Then the whole area was prospected by georadar. As a result a plan of georadar indications could be drawn.”35 In short, the indications allowed the archeologists to map this ancient city and locate the unknown parts of the road that joined together and continued to the entry of Artemis’ temple site.
        There are no current excavations going on at this ancient temple site, but with the increase in technology new discoveries might be made in the future. New technology could reveal more about this ancient goddess than ever anticipated and provide a deeper look at the lives of those who worshipped her in the great city of Ephesus. Great is Diane of the Ephesians! (no doubt this part is outdated now)     

The idol's most extravagant temple was at Ephesus. It became one of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world. Constructed over the span of 220 years, of pure marble, it measured 345 feet / 105 meters long, by 165 feet / 50 meters wide, and was supported by massive columns each 55 feet / 17 meters high. Inside was a bizarre statue of the "fertility" idol, the original of which was apparently carved from a meteorite that had "fallen from heaven." (Acts 19:35) (Note: It is not uncommon for meteorites to strike the earth. For example, in 1922, a 20-ton piece of space rock entered earth's atmosphere and struck the ground near Blackston, Virginia - but no one made an idol out of it). The cult of Diana, or Artemis, was so powerful and widespread (religiously and economically) in the first century that it caused a very dangerous environment in some places for those who preached the Gospel of God, as the apostle Paul found out during his third missionary journey.

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When I was there, I saw some Germans stealing pieces of marble from the site.  I decided not to tell the Turkish security because I was young and had seen the movie Midnight Express.   Today, I would immediatly tell the security and would hope that the two idiots got a taste of the uhmm... Express.

Originally posted by Alizxa The idol's most extravagant temple was at Ephesus. It became one of the "seven wonders" of the ancient world. Constructed over the span of 220 years, of pure marble, it measured 345 feet / 105 meters long, by 165 feet / 50 meters wide, and was supported by massive columns each 55 feet / 17 meters high. Inside was a bizarre statue of the "fertility" idol, the original of which was apparently carved from a meteorite that had "fallen from heaven." (Acts 19:35) (Note: It is not uncommon for meteorites to strike the earth. For example, in 1922, a 20-ton piece of space rock entered earth's atmosphere and struck the ground near Blackston, Virginia - but no one made an idol out of it). The cult of Diana, or Artemis, was so powerful and widespread (religiously and economically) in the first century that it caused a very dangerous environment in some places for those who preached the Gospel of God, as the apostle Paul found out during his third missionary journey.___________________facebook backgrounds

It is interesting how some of the columns were used to build the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. It is an interesting note that some of the columns I walked by in the great Church were used in the Temple of Artemis. Both the Agia Sophia and the ancient temple of Artemis are/were architectural wonders. I made it to Troy but I did not make it to Ephesus sad to say but I will someday.

When I was there, I saw some Germans stealing pieces of marble from the site. I decided not to tell the Turkish security because I was young and had seen the movie Midnight Express.   Today, I would immediatly tell the security and would hope that the two idiots got a taste of the uhmm... Express.

I also saw that movie when I was a kid and I would probably have reported them or at least confronted them today. My mother picked up a piece of a column in the great coliseum in Rome. I really don't believe they would have faced the same fate as the guy on Midnite Express. I heard that the actors that played the part of Turks were really Armenians. I also heard about some drunk Germans Vandalizing a remote church in some famous gorge on Crete. I am glad I did not catch these fools for destroying our heritage but I am sure most German tourist are fine.

I would love to see what little is left of this temple and Ephesus in general but maybe in the winter when there are less tourist.

Edited by eaglecap - 15-Nov-2010 at 15:56

Originally posted by opuslola Eaglecap, from your essay above are these words; "The people said that Diana had saved the city.”19 The fourth temple was built immediately afterwards and her increasing fame had brought more and more pilgrims to worship at her ancient shrine. As more pilgrims came to visit the temple her wealth accumulated and her temple could not contain all this wealth, so a fifth temple was built. In the sixth century B.C. Ephesus was attacked by the Lydian King Croesus, possibly attracted by this wealth.           “The first Greek city that Croesus attacked was Ephesus. The            Ephesians, when he laid siege to them, ran a rope from            their walls to the temple of Artemis, putting the town,            by means of this link, under the goddess protection.”20 " It would be obvious to anyone visiting the area, as it is to me, that the quotation mentioning the "rope" from the city to the temple, is either a lie, or a bad translation, or an indication that the "city" in question, was in reality the high ground above the temple, now with the ruins of St. John's basilica and the medieval fortress! Other wise the "rope" whould have had to have been thousands of meters long since the present ruins presented to visitors exists a few thousand metres away! Google Earth could show you the real position of both! You should know that the only reasonable place for a rope to be connected to the Temple would be from the medieval fortress just North of the Temple! But, bad for history, this fortress was only built in the 5th-6th century CE, by the Byzantines! See; http://travel.mapsofworld.com/turkey/cappadocia-tourist-attractions/uchisar-castle.html Sorry, actually the castle above is merely a spelling mistake on my part the correct site is Ayasuluk Castle; http://stronghold2.heavengames.com/history/cw/cw105 From the above site; "At the beginning of the Byzantine era, Ephesus was still predominantly at its harbor location. Around 614, however, part of the city was destroyed, most likely from a combination of an earthquake and an attack by the Sassanian Persians. This devastating blow would "represent a break in the life of the city, and the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages."* It also resulted in the splitting of the city. A wall was built to enclose the old city at the harbor, reducing its size to about half the previous size. This was because a smaller wall and city would be easier to defend against attacks. The parts of the city that were destroyed, the Upper Agora and Embolos, were abandoned outside the new wall. Ayasuluk Hill, meanwhile, was now looked to as a defensive site. The citadel on Ayasuluk Hill, with two sets of walls, was built around this period. 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. Following the upheaval of the invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries, Ephesus again enjoyed a time of prosperity. The harbor was re-dredged, making it a major port and a military and naval base, defending against pirate attacks. The city was a popular destination for pilgrims, both in and of itself, as well as for people stopping by on their way to the Holy Land. Over the years, however, people from the harbor site gradually migrated towards the citadel on the hill as the harbor continued to silt up and they battled malaria. By the end of the Byzantine period the harbor was abandoned, and Ephesus was centered around Ayasuluk Hill." So, was this the citadel that Croesus attacked? Sccording to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croesus Croesus died about 547 BCE! So, a thousand years (or more) seems to now seperate the Citadel with the rope attached to the Temple, and the actualy date of the building and use of the citadel! Weird huh? Regards, interesting and thanks Opus Regards,

Opus it is in the white but I did not say much due to time.

So, eaglecap, I have given you almost 24 hours to formulate a reply!

Will there be one?

Regards,

Edited by opuslola - 18-Nov-2010 at 18:50