The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, whose photo today depicts only a few columns, is rightfully considered one of the wonders of the ancient world.
According to legend, Artemis - the twin sister of Apollo - took care of animals and plants, took care of livestock and wild animals, could cause the growth of trees, flowers and shrubs. She did not deprive people of her attention, giving them happiness in the family and a blessing for the birth of children. Women often made sacrifices to her as the patroness of procreation.
The first temple of Artemis was built in the sixth century BC in the Greek city of Ephesus, which is currently the Turkish province of Izmir. In the middle of the fourth century BC it was burned by Herostratus, then rebuilt and again destroyed by Gothic barbarians.
The Temple of Artemis stood on the site of the sanctuary of the Carian goddess, the patroness of fertility, who was in this area. Funds for its construction were donated by the famous Lydian rich king Kroes, whose inscriptions are still preserved on the bases of the columns, and the project, according to Strabo, was developed by the architect Khersifron from Knossos. A colonnade was erected under him and walls were erected, and when he died, the construction was continued by his son, and after that by the architects Demeter and Peonius.
The huge white-stone temple of Artemis caused admiration and surprise. Accurate information about exactly how it was decorated inside, did not reach us. It is only known that the best masters were engaged in the sculptural decoration of one of the wonders of the Ancient World, and the statue of the goddess herself was created from ivory and gold.
This sacred place was used not only for religious services and ceremonies, it almost immediately became the business and financial center of the city of Ephesus. Since it was managed by a college of priests only, it was almost independent of the city government.
In 356 BC, the night that Alexander the Great was born, the vain Herostratus, wishing to become famous, set fire to this magnificent temple. However, by the beginning of the third BC, the Temple of Artemis was completely restored and got its former appearance. The money for the reconstruction was allocated by Alexander the Great, and the architect Heinocrates carried out the work, which this time raised the building to an even higher base. The dimensions of the temple were impressive: 51 meters wide and 105 meters long. The roof was supported by 127 columns in eight rows.
The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, whose photo, unfortunately, today depicts only one restored column, was decorated with statues and reliefs of Skopas and Praxiteles inside. The Ephesians, in gratitude to Alexander the Great, ordered his portrait, which depicted a great commander like Zeus - with a lightning in his hand.
And in the middle of the third century the sanctuary of Artemis was destroyed by the Goths. Later, a small church was built in its place, which was also demolished.
Facing marble slabs were looted, the roof was dismantled, soon the columns began to fall due to violation of the unity of the structure. Falling stone blocks eventually sucked the swamp on which the temple of Artemis was built. And several decades later, the place where one of the best architectural works of Ionia stood was even forgotten.
The English explorer Wood took many years to find at least some traces of the temple, and in 1869 he was finally lucky. Opening the foundation of the temple was completed only in the last century, and at the same time traces of the columns of the very first version, burned by Herostratus, were found.