Ephesus, representing many cultures of bygone epochs, is the most famous of the cities of Asia Minör. This fame arises from the role which it played in the history of religions and from the govern- mental and economic Systems which it established and developed and finally from its place in the growth of various branches of the fine arts.
The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and, many believe, the most brilliant one, became one of the centers* of the pagan world for fifteen centuries.
Ephesus with the churches erected to the memory of St. John and St. Paul who successfully maintained the doctrines of Christ against paganism in this famous City, and to the memory of the Virgin Mary, gained an important place in terms of Christianity and became the çenter of religion and culture at that time.
The superiority of Ephesus in the economic field lies in the fact that it is at the junction of land and sea ways of trade and has a commanding geographic position between the three continents. Following the invention of money, the first bank to operate in the modern sense was established at Ephesus.
The industrious townspeople, having attained their fortunes by their financial and economic wizardry, later gave close attention, effort and wealth to the fine arts. The works depicting Artemisian festivals of music, dancing and theater vvritten by the ancient writers attract attention, even töday.
The people of Ephesus created masterpieces especially in the field of architecture, characterizing the periods in which they lived: lonian, Hellenistic, Roman, Seljuk and Aydtnoğulları periods. These works, with the support of the Turkish Government, are gradually being excavated. Next to the pagan and Christian works unearthed, which one observes with mixed surprise and excitement, the fine examples of Turkish – Islamic art representing the latest period of Ephesus attact the attention of the tourist. And here it should be noted that Ephesus has suffered not only from many wars in history but also from many earthquakes. And it is for these reasons that these relics lie in ruins.
İn the latter part of the 19th century wlth the discovery of the dwelling place of the Holy Virgin Mary where she spent her last years, Ephesus gained an important and sacred role in the Christian world. İn addition to the many visitors to the ceremonies held here every August, thousands visit this sacred place at ali seasons of the year.
RUİNS OF EPHESUS
From being one of the most famous cities in the Ancient World, its foundation in the realms of fable, Ephesus disappeared into darkness. İt passed through lonic, Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Aydınoğulları and Ottoman times and in the end was swallowed up with other dead cities.
İn the course of our visit to Ephesus we shall see ruins, most of vvhich are works of the Roman period. These occupy a large area between Panayırdağ (Mt. Pion) and Bülbüldağ (Mt. Coressus). İt is very easy to recognise those of the Heııenistıc perioa oy theır delicate style. The Byzantine, Seljuk and Aydınoğulları works are on the slopes of the Selçuk hill and in the modern district of Selçuk.
İt is not possible to see ali the ruins in one day’s visit. When time is not available unfortunately one must with difficulty content oneself with seeing only the most important places. The newly-established museum at Selçuk exhibits the most valuable works of art from the Ephesian excavations. This museum should not be missed.
The Gate of Persecution (4): Turning right at the starting point of the Selçuk – Kuşadası road, we come to the gate of the walls which surround the basilica built by Justinian. The two sides of the gate stand out from the line of the walls and have towers built on them. The upper part of the archway is decorated. First there is a leaf pattern, and then on the upper left there are grape-gathering Erotes in relief. On the right there used to be three scenes represen- ting Achilles’ life, but they are now kept at Woodham Abbey, in England. The Gate vvas called «the Gate of Persecution» by two Frenchmen, Choisseul Gouffier and Chandler, who mistook the representations for something connected with the history of Chris- tianity. İnside the archway and on both sides there are pictures of eight Saints. This gate is believed to have been built in the 6th or 7th century with material taken from older buildings, parti- cularly from the Stadium.
The basilica of St. John (5): After the acceptance of Chris- tianity in Ephesus many churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Saints rose above or beside those erected by idol-worshippers. The most interesting of these is the Basilica of St. John built on the Selçuk hill by the Emperor Justinian (527-565).
Plan of the Basilica of St. John.
The disciples of St. John built a chapel över the tomb of the Evangelist which became a çenter of Christian worship. So many pilgrims visited the chapel that by the 6th century the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora agreed to build a monument worthy of St. John in place of the previous construction which was of littJe artistic value. Justinian’s church, 130 metres long, with three naves, vvas built in the shape of a eross. The Central nave vvas covered with six large domes;the narthex vvas covered with five smaller ones. The main dome and central seetion of the church vvere supported by four square pillars. The tomb of the apostle vvas in a room under the part of the floor immediately beneath the large dome. According to tradition the dust from this room had healing povvers, vvhich brought many sick people to the tomb during the Middle Ages.
The floor of the church vvas covered with mosaics. The mono- grams of Justinian and Theodora can be clearly distinguished on the capitals of some of the columns. On the 26th of September, the probable date of the Evangelist’s death, commemorative ceremonies vvere held. Illuminations and processions attracted large crovvds from the surrounding districts. Second century coins found at the Saint’s tomb prove that already in the earliest times it vvas a place of pilgrimage.
The Isa Bey Mosque (7): To the vvest of the Basilica of St. John on the Selçuk hill is the mosgue of İsa Bey, a Turco-lslamic
work. Many forelgn travellers have praised this fine work of art, which was built by the Aydınoğullan (1300-1423). The architect was Ali, son of Dimikli.
The front of the mosque is faced with marble. İt overlooks a grassy plain to the west. The door and window frames are richly decorated. An asymmetric construction dominates the front. İt is quite obvious that the ceiling is a masterpiece of workmanship. The «stalactites», inscriptions and colored stone relief ornaments are a concrete expression of this delicate art which appeals to the eye and the heart.
The mosque was built with two domes. These domes were sup- ported by four black granite columns taken from the Harbor Baths at Ephesus and used to form slender arches. But materials from an earlier period were also used in the construction, especially from the ruins of the nearby Temple of Artemis. The architect showed great skill in creating this fine work of art from these ancient materials.
The Temple of Artemis (12): The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, is situated to the right of the present-day road to Kuşadası, 350 metres from the Isa Bey Mosque. The foundation of the temple dates from legendary times.
Archaic Artemision |
Later Artemision. |
According to Pausanius the temple from the point of view of sculpture and art was the most perfect made by man. Another ancient said, «I have seen the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, the immense construction of the Pyramids and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus but when my eyes lighted upon the temple at Ephesus al) the other wonders of the world lost their brilliance for me.»
The temple of Artemis was four times bigger than the Parthenon. İn Asia size rather than harmony was considered to confer splen- dor. According to the early vvriter, Pliny, it was 425 feet long and 225 feet wide; it was surrounded by 127 lonic columns sixty feet high, each one representing a king; at the lower pdrts of thirty six of these was a statue of Artemis, made either from cedar or ebony.
Pliny writes that the temple was despoiled seven times but each time was more magnificently rebuilt. Until the night of the birth of Alexander the Great the temple remained undamaged. That night a madman, Erostratos, wanting his name to go down in history, set fire to the temple. The goddess Artemis, protectress of the temple, having göne to be present at the birth of Alexander, was unable to protect her temple from the fire. Later, when Alexander come to Ephesus and offered to rebuild the temple completely the suggestion was refused on the grounds that «one god does not build a temple to another.»
To complete the new building the women of Ephesus contributed ali their jewelry. A subsequent temple was destroyed on the orders of Nero and a later one was finally destroyed because of the triumph of Christianity.
Some of the columns from the temple of Artemis were used in- the building of the Church of Santa Sophia in İstanbul.
Temple of Artemis.
Temple of the Vedius Gymnasium.
The Gymnasium of Vedius (13): Leaving the Selçuk – Kuşadası road and going towards the ruins of Ephesus, facing us on the road the first ruin is a majestic Gymnasium. According to an inscription found in the course of the excavations, the Gymnasium was built about the middle of the second century by P. Vedius Antoninus, a very rich man, sometimes calied the second founder of the City. İt was dedicated to the goddess, Artemis, to the Emperor Antoninus Pius, her friend and protector, and to Ephesus, her beloved birthplace.
Planned symmetrically, the Gymnasium is entered by a monu- mental gate, (Propylaeum). One passes through a magnificent hali decorated with statues to the courtyard (Palaestra), the sides of which are colonnaded.
İn a good state of preservation on the western side of the courtyard are the public lavatories, with marble seats and a constant supply of running water. From here one passes to the hail of cere- monies.
On the west of the hail of ceremonies is a large dressing- room (Apodyterium), with cold-water (Frigidarium), warm-water (Tepidarium) and hot-water (Caldarium) rooms. The waf(s were covered with slabs of colored marble. İn empty places in the lowest Parts of the building were lockers to hold valuable goods.
İt was possible to keep the rooms at the required temperature by means of hot air produced by furnaces which can stili be seen.
The Stadium (14): About 70 yards from the Gymnasium of Vedius is the Stadium which was built during the time of the Roman Emperor hlero (54 – 68 A.D.). The gate of the Stadium, however, belongs to the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Stadium of the Hellen- istic period also stood here, but it was smaller.
İt was in the Stadium that athletic games, horse and chariot races and gladiator fights were staged. İt is 765 feet fong and 100 feet wide. As almost ali the seats were removed to the hill of Aya- suluk in the Mı’ddie Ages, to be used in the construction of the Byzantine wall, it is impossible for us to determine the exact arran- gement of the spectators section. We only know that its seating capacity was 75,000.
At an excavation to the west of the Stadium, 14 pillar bases, marble slabs with reliefs of prizes such as a palm branch, a vase, a rabbit and six pairs of columns hove been found. These can be seen at the Stadium.
The Double Churches (19): Jf we descend from the hill of the Acropolis and follow the path which turns to the right we shall in a few minutes reach the Double Churches, the most important bu- ilding of the Christian era in Ephesus.
At the beginning of the second century, when the City was stili under Roman rule, an impressive building called the «Museion» was built in the middle of the City. This building, which was 98 feet wide and 883 feet long, was either used as an exchange or as a meeting place. The vvestern part of this building was transformed into the first Christian basilica and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. When the basilica, with its high columns and mosaics, was too old to be used, the eastern part of the Museion was turned into a domed church. İt is for this reason that these ruins are called the Double Churches.
The baptismal section of the Double Churches was a fine building with many works of art. While complete immersion was the rule for the baptism of pagan converts, merely sprinkling water över Christian children was sufficient.
The Ecumenical Council of 431, attended by 200 bishops, met here and proclaimed the three dogmas of Cattyolicism:
- Christ’s personality is one and divine.
- The Virgin Mary is the Mother of God.
- During the execution of his religious duties the Roman Pontiff acts with a high and divine authority.
İt is on account of this council that Ephesus will shine forever as a bright star in the history of Catholicism.
The Arcadian Way (23) : The Arcadian Way, the main Street of the old city,- ran from the Great Theater to the harbor, a distance
of 500 metres. The Central part of the Street Is paved with large marble slabs to a width of 11 meters. Under this paving there is evidence of a drainage System running the length of the Street down to the harbor. This Central part of the Street was flanked on either side by a 5 meter-wide covered gallery which had a mosaic floor. At the back of the galleries there were rows of small shops selling various goods. An inscription telis us that at night the Street was lit by lanterns and that the name of «Arcadia» comes from the fact that the Street was restored in the time of the Emperor Arcadius (395-408 A.D.).
There were monumental gates at both ends of the Arcadian Way built in the form of Victory Arches. The gate at the Great Theater end is too completely destroyed to make any reconstruction possible.
Judging from the remains of the gate at the harbor end and of parts leading out of the Street, included in the gate’s structure were columns with lonic capitals, these gates were probably built in the first years of the imperial period.
Three of four pillar bases are stili to be seen in the middle of the way. İt is probable that there were statues of the four Evan- gelists on top of these large pillars. Some ornamentation leads us to think that this work belongs to the 6th century A.D.
The Great Theater (25): The Great Theater, magnificently set on the western slope öf Panayırdağ, is undoubtediy the most interes- ting of ali the ruins in Ephesus. Building was begun in the reign of the Emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54) and completed in the reign of the Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.). The theater could seat 24,000 people but most of the seats have been removed and used İn the cons-
Plan of the Great Theater truction of later bulldings. A wide arcaded staircase led up to a columned gallery around the top of the theater, thirty meters above the orchestra.
İn Hellenistic times the orchestra was used for plays but in the Romon period a stoge (logeion), 2.7 metres higher, was used for the same purpose.
The façade of the three-storied proscenium was richly decora- ted with columns, reliefs and statues. The first two stories were built in the reign of Septimus Severus (193-211). There were ramps leading to the stage from the right and left and a staircase from the front. The columns which carried the marble floor of the stage are stili to be seen. There were, at the front of the theater, five doors with statues above them, and three rows of columns. İn early times the Great Theater was given över to the celebrations of the Festival of Artemis, protectress of the City, during the month of April. At this time 89 golden idols donated to the temple were brought to the theater in procession with singing and dancing, and plays were performed before a huge crowd of visitors.
The Library of Celsus (27): The famous Ephesus Library was situated to the south of the Agora. This elegant monument was built in A.D. 135 by Julius Aquila in memory of his father, Celsus Polemaeanus of Sardis, Roman Senatör and Proconsul of the province of Asia. After passing through a marble-paved courtyard twenty-one meters wide one reaches the main reading-room by nine wide marble steps. There are four bases for statues at the top of the staircase The floor of the main reading room is built on arched vaults and the inner and outer walls are separated by a corridor, thus protecting the library from damp. The vvalls and floor of the room were completely faced with colored marble. Across the main. reading room there was an exactly placed niche for offerings; to the right and left of the round niche and on the side walls were square niches containing cupboards to hold the rolled manuscripts. On the front of the library there was a two- storied gallery.
A section sixteen meters high was very richly decorated with a raised column, door ornaments and sculptural architectural monu- ments, carving and decoration. These carvings are to be seen in the Vienna Museum.
İn a burial chamber in the lower part of the library can be seen a decorated white marble tomb in which Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus was buried. The life of Celsus is related in Greek and Latin on the bases of the statues on each side of the library staircase.
The Agora (29): Built in the form of a square, the Agora was surrounded by a double colonnade. İn the çenter of the Agora rose
a monumental «horologion» combining a sun-dial and a waterclock.
The eastern part of the Agora was attractive, because the shops behind the eastern gallery were joined with a gallery on the west of the marble Street. This gallery with Doric columns was built by the Emperor Nero. Many of the columns can stili be seen in their original places.
The statues and busts of famous citizens and statesmen were erected in the main square and galleries of the Agora.
The Temple of Serapis (30): To the West of the Agora there is a square, measuring seventy-three by one hundred and six meters. Columned galleries surrounded the square on three sides, the fourth (south) side being a prostyle temple. This is the temple of Serapis vvhich was found during the excavations of the square carried out between 1913 and 1926.
The front of the temple was twenty-nine meters wide, fifteen meters high and decorated with eight enormous monoliths, Cor- inthian columns, carved out of massive blocks of marble. Similar blocks seem also to have been used in the construction of the ornate roof and door supports. A huge door (the leaves of which were mounted on wheels to facilitate opening and closing) gave access to the Cella. Under the paving-stones and in various places in the Cella there were water conduits. No inscriptions have so far been found to indicate to whose worship this very costly building and the surrounding constructions were devoted. İt is wrong to cali it the temple of Claudius, since in style it belongs to the second half of the 2nd century A.D. Considering the popularity of Oriental gods at this time and the particularly close trade relations betvveen Ephesus and Alexandria it seems likely that the temple was dedicated to an Egyptian god such as Isis or Serapis. An Egyptian temple is known to have existed at Ephesus, and the theory that the temple was a Serapeum is supported by the presence of a piece of Egyptian granite and an Egyptian’s dedication to his Serapis- vvorshipping countrymen.
The Marble Street and Street of the Curetes (26-31): These are typical examples of the pillared streets characteristic of cities of Roman civilization. Lit at night by lanterns, many of these streets were covered över at the top. İn this way it was possible to walk about comfortably in times of heavy rain or excessive sunshine. One of the main streets of Ephesus, the Marble Street begins at the north- eastern Koresos Gate, passes the Great Theater and the Agora, then from the front of the brothel turns away to the south east of the City and further on ends at the Magnesia Gate. İt is lined with columns and contains a covered section from the. Arch of Hadrian
I .1
ı
I
EPHESUS. The Temple of Hadrian
to the Magnesia Gate, this section was called the Street of the Curetes.
The excavations have been completed in recent years and there are now to be seen various public buildings and shops on either side of the Street of the Curetes. Extending on both sides of the Street in front of the gallery were rows of statues of the town’s high – ranking public servants. These statues were made of bronze and marble. The bases of these statues may be seen stili in place. On both sides of the Street many capitals, incriptions, reliefs and parts of roofs stand in a line, witness to the elegance of the city. One notices the perfect drainage channels lining the Street.
The Brothels (32): The City brothels stood right at the corner where these ruins date from the 4th century A.D. They were unearthed in 1955. The main entrance to the building is on its western side. A narrow passage leads into diverse halis and rooms, ali dedicated to Aphrodite Pandemos At the extremity of the passage on the left, there is a small basin where visitors had to wash the dust and dirt from their sandaled feet and address a prayer to a statuette of Aphrodite before entering into the brothels proper. Visitors were then admitted to the halis, it is here that they met the professional female inmates of the establishment. Then they retired to the lateral small rooms. These rooms have no windows, and are lit by candle light. İn one of the rooms, the figures in mosaics of four ladies can be seen on the pavement. They represent the four seasons, signifying that ladies can be procured throughout the four seasons, or they may be the portraits of four of the principal inmates of the establishment. On the right of the mosaic-paved room stands a stone divan, the use of which needs no explanation. Wine was a necessary aid to the conviviality of the establishment, and the wine press and wine vault are near the mosaic-paved room. The baths on the eastern side were used for vvashing and resting. There is a sacred well (furnished nowadays with a hand pump) at the spot leading to an exit to the Street of the Curetes, on the western side of the brothels. İt was supposed that sterile vvormen who bore children after drinking from the sacred vvater demonstrated their gratitude by throvving an offering into the well. During excavations, a statue of Priapus, the god of the phallus, 120 pieces of ceramics, and a gold earring were found in the well. The statuette of Priapus has a sexual organ of very exaggerated size. A hole on the top of its head indicates that it was hung aloft to swing as the wind blew. Six candles with figures in relief were found also in this well.
The Temple of Hadrian (38): Turning from the Marble Street into the Street of the Curetes one is immediately struck by a very beautiful and decorative building on the left. This is the Temple of
Hadrian built between 117 and 138 A.D. İt measures 7.20 by 5 meters. The triangular pediment is supported by four Corinthian columns. The middle two columns support a rounded arch which has as its keystone o büst of Cybele. According to the Roman oracles, if it were possible to bring to Rome the sacred statue of Cybele from Pessinus in Asla Minör, Rome would conquer Carthage. The statue was taken to Rome and in this way, since Rome was victorious över Carthage, Cybele became the emblem of Rome and of Italy.
İnside the temple on the wall immediately opposite, there is a low relief of a Medusa keeping watch with her fearful eves. On either side of the Medusa there is a frieze depicting gods, goddesses and other mythological figures connected with the foundation of the City. ■There are stili four pedestals for statues outside the front of the buil- ding. The temple was built in the 2nd century A.D. but was alvvays in danger from earthquakes. İt was repaired at a later date at which time the relief of gods and goddesses was added.
Baths of Scholasticia (39): A staircase along the right of the Sanctuary of Hadrian leads up to the second floor of Scholasticia’s thermal baths. This bathhouse fell into ruins and was reconstructed by a woman named Scholasticia during the 4 th century A.D. The bathhouse contains different sections, the Frigidarium, Tepidarium and Caldarium: The Tepidarium and Caldarium are for tepid and hot water respecti- vely. İt was the place where people perspired. The Frigidarium gene- rally has a marble-lined swimming pool of cold running water. The bath house had enough room for a lot of bathers of both sexes.
Coins found in the bathhouse in 1958 indicate it was in use until the 8th century A.D. The huge hearths where water was heated were situated on the first floor. The third floor was a replica of the second floor.
The Palace (40) : Opposite the temple to Hadrian a five- storied building was unearthed during recent excavations. There was a white marble atrium on the third floor with three porticoed sides. The side walls were covered with green and white veined marble. İn the middle of the courtyard was a long pool with fountains at each end. There were statues above the walls of the pool. Beyond the courtyard was a spacious hail with a fountain on the right continuously pouring water. İn the form of a semi-circle the fountain had three niches in front and two niches on either side which contained small statues.
Now the fourth and fifth stories are completely ruined.
The Fountain of Trajan (42): On the left of the Street of the Curetes beyond the Temple of Hadrian there was a two-storied building, a fountain bearing the name of the Roman Emperor Trajan.
İt vvas built betvveen A.D. 98 and 117. The basin measures 12 by 1 meters. A vast statue of the Emperor Trajan stood on the second storey of the fountain. According to an existing inscription there was a statue of his father Nerva (Emperor from 96-98) in a niche on the left at the front and another of his mother on the right. The statue of Nerva is today in the Selçuk Museum.
The Triumphal Arch (44): As we advance tovvards the Square of Domitianus along the Street of the Curetes, we encounter a Triumphal Arch decorated vvith reliefs of Heracles. İt has been im- possible to restore this arch, built about the end of the 4th Century A.D. and the beginning of the 5th and similar to the Gate of Constan- tine in Rome, as its other architectural pieces have not been found.
Traces of tvvo roads, paved in marble, skirting the Triumphal Arch and leading to the slope of hill, were also discovered.
The Monument of Memmius and the Hydreion (45) : A short distance away from the Triumphal Arch are the remains of a large monument vvhich embellished the Square of Domitianus. According to the inscription of the monument, vvhich vvas found intact, it was built in the name of Memmius, a grandson of the Dictator Sulla, in the 1st Century A.D. during the reign of the Emperor Augustus.
The base of the monument is decorated in the rustic style, while the higher parts are embellished with various reliefs. İn the 4th century, a large fountain (Hydreion) vvas added to the North- west face of the monument.
The Temple of Emperor Domitianus (46): İn front of the Hydreion and beyond the Street of the Curetes is a vvide space vvhich vvas önce the courtyard of the temple of Domitianus. There were shops and Stores of ali kinds on either side of the temple. The massive vvalls rising on tvvo sides of the courtyard served as terraces for the stupendous architecture of the sanctuary, vvhich rose on the Southern terrace. The stairs leading to the top are in a fairly good State of preservation. The emperor’s colossal statue stood on the top of this terrace. The statue is novv in the Archaeological Museum at İzmir. The heaps of broken carved pieces lying ali över the courtyard were found as they stand now, during the excavations. They belonged to buildings vvhich stood in the other quarters of the cily.
The Fountain of Pollio (47): On the Square of Domitianus, a ruined, large fountain decorated with a monumental arch attracts attention. The fountain, built in 93 A.D. by C. Atilius in the name of C. Sextilius Pollio, poured its vvater into a pool lined with marble slabs. The fountain, vvhich vvas restored in recent years, vvas deco^ rated with statues. The statues of the Ulysses and Polyphemos group, as well as the Reclining Warrior, vvhich are novv in the Ephesus Museum, vvere taken from here.
The Town Hail (Prytaneum) (49): The town halis of ancient Capital cities were seats of prime importance, because they were the seats of the government of the city-states. The town hail of Ephesus is near the Hydreiön. On its farther side it adjoins the Odeon. The vast, complex building has a main porticoed courtyard, which gave admission to an inner rectangular hail. This Central portion of the edifice is flanked by different sections, halis, and rooms where the town councils met. The «holy of holies» of the city was the rectangular inner hail. On the foundation of a new colony or city, fire was taken from this altar and transported to the new settlement. The roof of this hail was supported by four triple columns of Corinthian style. Three of these can actually be seen standing. İn front of the altar in an arched niche stood the idol of the goddess of the hearth, Hestia in Greek, and Vesta in Latin. İn Christian times this sacred precinct was transformed into a church. The place where the altar stood is a black square on the white marble pavement. İn the above-mentioned main courtyard, a large statue of Artemis was found during the excavations. This indicated that she also was worshipped as the mighty protectress of the city. The foundation walls of the earlier Hellenistic Prytaneum can be seen near the Odeon. The Roman Prytaneum had toppled in the 4th century A.D., and its remains were used in the cons- truction of the Baths of Shcolasticia.
The Odeon (50) : Follovving the path towards the southeast one soon finds this beautiful little theater on the Southern slope of Panayırdağ. The Odeon was used for poetry-readings, small con- certs and prize-giving ceremonies. İn Hellenistic times, theatres and odeons were as important as temples in the life of the peopie. Enjoyment for the Romans meant food, games and spectacles. The cry of the decadent peopie for «Bread and Circuses» is witness to the countless mad spectacles that were provided.
Built into the slope of the hill, the amphitheater could seat 2,200 peopie. The upper closed part of the building was entered by two side doors. The twenty-three rows of seats were divided by a diazoma into two sections, thirteen below and ten above. The lower seats seem to have been vvider than those above. The highest part of the theater was decorated with Corinthian columns made of red granite.
The stage was not in fact very high but gave the impression of being richly ornamented with inscriptions and carving. The Odeon was built during the second century by Publius Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Papiana.
Celebrations in the Odeon formed a large part of the festivals of Artemis.
Plan of Odeon.
The house of The Virgin Mary (61): The Lord Jesus, bleeding on the Hill of Calvary, showed His Mother to St. John and sald, «Here is your mother.» Pointing out St. John to His Mother He said, «Here is your son.» These words bound them together.
İn the year 431 the Council of Ephesus, meeting in the Church of Mary said that this was the tradition: «The very precious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with St. John, who took on the duty of looking after her in the place of Christ, set out for Asia Minör to spread Christianity, dvvelt in Ephesus and died there.»
The place of residence of the Virgin Mary in her last years long remained veiled in mystery. Following the revelations of Sister Catherine Emmerich, the scholar Young, with a commission from the government, uncovered the ruins of a building in the right place according to Sister Catherine’s descriptions.
The conclusion was reached that this ruin, which had been a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the fourth century, was, in the İst century A.D., the house of the Virgin. Local tradition sup- ported this.
The Virgin Mary’s last dwelling place is on a site with wonderful views, 9 km. from the smafl town of Selçuk, on Aladağ (Solmissos), 420 metres above sea-level.
Pope John XXIII on the 18 th August 1961 proclaimed that the House of the Virgin Mary at Ephesus is a sacred place where religious ceremonies may be celebrated.
The building is in the form of a «T». A door opens into a hail from which the chapel is entered. On each side of the fireplace, where today there is a statue, one may enter the chapel. The bed- room was to the right of the chapel, the kitchen to the left.