Temple of Artemis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The site of
the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• Great Pyramid of Giza
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• Temple of Artemis• Mausoleum of Maussollos
• Colossus of Rhodes
• Lighthouse of Alexandria
The
Temple of Artemis (Greek:
Ἀρτεμίσιον Artemision, Latin:
Artemisium), also known less precisely as
Temple of Diana, was a temple dedicated to Artemis completed, in its most famous phase, around 550 BC at Ephesus (in present-day Turkey) under the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire. Nothing remains of the temple— not the first on its site— which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The temple was a 120-year project started by Croesus of Lydia. It was described by Antipater of Sidon, who compiled a list of the Seven Wonders:
I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, ''Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught (anything) so grand." (Antipater, Greek Anthology
)
The temple was also described by Philo of Byzantium:
I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.
Contents
1 Location
2 Ephesian Artemis
3 History
4 Destruction
5 Architecture and art
6 Cult and influence
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
//