Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World-- The Temple Of Artemis

Hearing the name "Temple of Artemis" anybody might wonder that how could a simple temple gain a place in the list that contains some great creations like lighthouse of Alexandria, hanging gardens of babylon, great pyramid of Giza and so on. But the only people who have actually visited this temple can understand the reason behind why the temple is one of the "Seven Wonders" list. The reason is this temple was the most beautiful structure on earth. It was built in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting, wild nature, and fertility. The temple of artemis was located in the ancient city of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey.

Such a wonderful structure carries a great history with its existence. Although the foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC, the structure that earned a spot in the list of Wonders was built around 550 BC. 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 Chersiphron. The Temple was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled artists of their time: Pheidias, Polycleitus, Kresilas, and Phradmon.

The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings, bracelets, and necklaces... artifacts from as far as Persia and India.

On the night of 21 July 356 BC, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to immortalize his name, which he did indeed. Oddly enough, Alexander the Great was born the same night. The historian Plutarch later wrote that the goddess was "too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple". And when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he offered to rebuild the destroyed temple, but the Temple was not restored until after his death in 323 BC.ÃŠ The temple was eventually restored and is labeled "Temple E" by archeologists.

When St Paul visited Ephesus to preach Christianity in the first century AD, he was confronted by the Artemis' cult who had no plans to abandon their goddess. And when the temple was again destroyed by the Goths in AD 262, the Ephesians vowed to rebuild. By the fourth century AD, most Ephesians had converted to Christianity and the temple lost its religious glamor. The final chapter came when in AD 401 the Temple of Artemis was torn down by St John Chrysostom. Ephesus was later deserted, and only in the late nineteenth century has the site been excavated. The digging revealed the temple's foundation and the road to the now swampy site. Attempts were recently made to rebuilt the temple, but only a few columns have been re-erected.

The temple of artemis was made of marble, which made it different from any other sanctuaries. But it was pretty similar to other temples in the way that just like other temples, it was rectangular in shape. The steps were made of marble and surrounded the building platform. The terrace was as high as approximately 80 m or 260 feet by 130 m approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan430 feet in plan. The columns were made with Ionic capitals and had circular sides and had a height of 20 m or 60 ft.

The tempple was full of man art works and statues. There were golden pillars and silver statuetts. The temple included four bronze statues of Amazon. The statues were built by the finest artists of that time. The temple of artemis does notsurvive any more. But the early descriptions of this temple helped many archeologists to reconstruct it. Many reconstructions of this temple was built after it didn't exist anymore, but none of them could present the exact beauty of the temple of artemis. That's because the true beauty of this temple lies in the architecturul and artistic details of the temple of artemis which will remain unknown forever.