Ephesus (Efes)
The best-preserved large Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean and home to the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — Ephesus (Efes; İzmir Province, Turkey; UNESCO WHS 2015) was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and the most important commercial city of the ancient Aegean for over a thousand years.
At a glance
Ephesus (the most precisely EphesusEfes single Greek foundation 10th century BCE Croesus Lydia Cyrus Persian Alexander Great 333 BCE Lysimachus harbor silting Roman province capital 250000 inhabitants 1st century CE Library Celsus 114 CE Great Theatre 25000 Artemis Seven Wonders Temple Artemis Herostratus UNESCO heritage: the city’s position (Ephesus was built on a natural harbor at the mouth of the Cayster River (now called the Küçük Menderes River); the city depended on its harbor for commercial dominance; the silting of the harbor over centuries (due to the river depositing sediment) was the primary reason for the city’s decline; the harbor is now approximately 5 km inland (the ancient sea is now a swamp and agricultural field); the site (the current excavated site covers approximately 1.8 km² and is estimated to represent less than 20% of the total buried city; the Austrian Archaeological Institute has been excavating Ephesus continuously since 1895 CE; excavations reveal new buildings and inscriptions every season); the scale (at its maximum population in the 1st-2nd century CE, Ephesus had an estimated population of 200,000-250,000 people (making it the third or fourth largest city in the world at the time, after Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch); the main thoroughfare (the Marble Street and the Curetes Street (the main east-west avenue of the city; 530m long; still paved with the original marble); the Street of the Arcadians (the 600m colonnade from the harbor to the Great Theatre)) — the most precisely EphesusEfes single Greek foundation 10th century BCE Croesus Lydia Cyrus Persian Alexander Great 333 BCE Lysimachus harbor silting Roman province capital 250000 inhabitants 1st century CE Library Celsus 114 CE Great Theatre 25000 Artemis Seven Wonders Temple Artemis Herostratus UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
Key facts
- The Temple of Artemis: the most precisely EphesusEfes single Temple Artemis Seven Wonders Ancient World 550 BCE Croesus Lydia rebuilt 356 BCE Herostratus Alexander Great 323 BCE single column standing swamp 1869 John Turtle Wood British Museum UNESCO heritage — the ancient wonder: the Temple of Artemis (Artemision; Αρτεμίσιον; one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in every ancient list; the original temple (approximately 7th century BCE; a peripteral Ionic temple built over an earlier sacred site); the Croesus temple (550 BCE: the Lydian king Croesus (the richest man in the ancient world) funded the rebuilding of the temple to an unprecedented scale; the temple covered 6,040 m²; 127 columns (18m tall) in a double ring); the Herostratus burning (356 BCE: the night Alexander the Great was born, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to the ground to make his name immortal; he was tortured, executed, and all mention of his name was banned (damnatio memoriae) — but historians recorded it anyway, ensuring his wish came true)); the reconstruction (323 BCE: Ephesus rebuilt the temple on a podium (to prevent future floods) at even greater scale; this was the temple admired by the ancient world (no ancient writer who saw it failed to praise it)); the destruction (262 CE: the Goths sacked Ephesus and destroyed the temple; the marble was burned for lime or incorporated into later buildings; the site was rediscovered in 1869 CE by the British engineer John Turtle Wood (working for the British Museum; he excavated for 11 years to find the temple buried under 6m of swamp mud); the British Museum holds the most important surviving fragments))
- GPS: 37.9395° N, 27.3411° E
History
From Luwian sacred site to Roman metropolis to Christian city (the most precisely EphesusEfes single Bronze Age Luwian Arzawa Greek Androclus 10th century BCE Croesus Persian Alexander Lysimachus 294 BCE new harbor Strabo Paul Apostle AD 52-54 Acts Apostles Council Ephesus 431 CE Mary Nestorian House Virgin Mary decline harbor silting Turkish Aydinoglu 1304 CE UNESCO heritage: the Greek foundation and the Persian period (the Greek tradition holds that Ephesus was founded by the Athenian prince Androclus (son of King Codrus of Athens) in approximately the 10th century BCE (the historical kernel: Greek colonists from Attica settled an earlier Luwian/Anatolian settlement near the Temple of Artemis); the city passed through Lydian (under Croesus, 560-547 BCE) and Persian (547-334 BCE) control before Alexander the Great freed it in 334 BCE); the Hellenistic refounding (294 BCE: Lysimachus (one of Alexander’s Diadochi (successor-generals)) moved the entire population of Ephesus 1-2 km to a new site on the slopes of the Bülbül and Panayr hills (the current archaeological site) to give it a better harbor; he used the street grid of Hippodamus of Miletus)); the Roman period (the most productive centuries for the city; Ephesus became capital of the Roman province of Asia in 133 BCE (when Attalus III of Pergamon bequeathed his kingdom to Rome); the 1st-2nd century CE is the apogee: the Temple of Artemis, the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre (capacity 25,000; the largest theatre in Asia Minor), the Prytaneion (the eternal flame of Hestia kept here), the Terrace Houses (the luxurious multi-story residences of the wealthy; still being excavated; among the most significant current Roman-period finds in the world); the Apostle Paul (Paul preached in Ephesus approximately 52-54 CE; Acts 19 describes his two-year ministry and the riot of the silversmiths (who feared that Paul’s monotheism would destroy their trade in silver figurines of Artemis)); the Council of Ephesus (431 CE: the Third Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church; held in Ephesus at the Church of Mary (now visible on the site); the council declared Mary to be Theotokos (God-bearer) — the first formal declaration of Marian doctrine in the Church)) — the most precisely EphesusEfes single Bronze Age Luwian Arzawa Greek Androclus 10th century BCE Croesus Persian Alexander Lysimachus 294 BCE new harbor Strabo Paul Apostle AD 52-54 Acts Apostles Council Ephesus 431 CE Mary Nestorian House Virgin Mary decline harbor silting Turkish Aydinoglu 1304 CE UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
What you see
Marble street, Library of Celsus, and the Terrace Houses (the most precisely EphesusEfes single Curetes Street marble shops fountains Trajan Fountain Hadrian Temple Gate Hercules Library Celsus four statues wisdom Lower Agora Great Theatre 25000 Terrace Houses mosaics Prytaneion Austrian Institute ongoing dig UNESCO heritage: the visitor circuit: the Upper Gate (the Magnesia Gate entrance; the most common entry point for visiting groups; the Curetes Street begins here leading downhill to the Library of Celsus); the Curetes Street (530m; the main commercial street of ancient Ephesus; the pedestrian pavement of white marble slabs (worn smooth by 2000 years of feet); the ruins on either side: the Trajan Fountain (102-104 CE; the statue of Trajan stood on a globe above the fountain basin; the foot of the statue is still in place); the Temple of Hadrian (118-138 CE; the ornate four-column Corinthian temple dedicated to Hadrian; the frieze with the myth of the founding of Ephesus and the figure of Medusa above the entrance arch)); the Library of Celsus (the most photographed monument in Turkey; the restored two-story facade (12 columns; 4 niches with the allegorical statues of Wisdom, Goodness, Intelligence, and Knowledge); the interior held approximately 12,000 scrolls stored in niches in the walls; the sarcophagus of Celsus (the founder; buried in a marble tomb beneath the apse of the library (a rare honor))); the Great Theatre (on the western slope of the Panayır Hill; 25,000 seats; used for gladiatorial combat, theatrical performances, and public assemblies; still used for concerts (the Ephesus International Festival)); the Terrace Houses (the highlight for connoisseurs; a separate entry (approximately ₺1,000 additional); a protective modern structure covering the ongoing excavation of 6 luxurious Roman houses; the well-preserved mosaic floors, wall paintings, and the everyday objects (cooking vessels, children’s toys, writing tablets) on display in situ)) — the most precisely EphesusEfes single Curetes Street marble shops fountains Trajan Fountain Hadrian Temple Gate Hercules Library Celsus four statues wisdom Lower Agora Great Theatre 25000 Terrace Houses mosaics Prytaneion Austrian Institute ongoing dig UNESCO heritage in any UNESCO world heritage site)).
Practical information
- Getting there: from Izmir (İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB); connections to Istanbul IST (1h; THY/Pegasus); to Izmir Alsancak Station (intercity train; 1h; ₺100 approx); from Izmir Basmane or Alsancak Station to Selçuk (the railway station nearest Ephesus; 45 min by train; ₺50 approx); from Selçuk (3 km to the Lower Gate of Ephesus; taxi (₺50) or on foot (40 min); the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk (the most important artifacts removed from the site: the Artemis statues, the inscription collection, the gladiator graves discovered in 1993 CE)); entry fees (approximately ₺1,500 for the site; the Terrace Houses approximately ₺1,000 additional; combined tickets may be available); the best time to visit (the site is enormous (3 km walking) and fully exposed in the sun; visit before 10:00 AM or after 16:00 in summer; the site receives approximately 2 million visitors per year and is crowded from 10:00-14:00)); the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryemana; 7 km from the site; a small stone building on Mount Koressos believed to be the house where Mary lived and died (or was assumed into heaven); a pilgrimage site for Catholics; visited by multiple popes (Paul VI in 1967 CE, John Paul II in 1979 CE, Benedict XVI in 2006 CE, Francis in 2014 CE))
Getting there
Fly to Izmir (ADB). Train to Selçuk (45 min), then 3 km to site. Entry ~€40. Visit before 10 AM in summer. GPS: 37.9395, 27.3411.
Nearby
- Pamukkale and Hierapolis — 180 km east (the UNESCO WHS 1988 (ref 485); the white calcium carbonate travertine terraces (the “Cotton Castle”; Pamukkale literally means “cotton fortress” in Turkish; the terraces are deposited by the hot spring water (36°C; calcium carbonate precipitates out as the water cools and CO₂ outgasses)); the Roman-Byzantine city of Hierapolis above (the necropolis (the largest in Turkey; over 1,200 tombs); the theatre (15,000 seats; 2nd century CE; the best preserved in Turkey); the Plutonium (the cave dedicated to Pluto (Hades) through which poisonous CO₂ vapors rose; used by the priests to demonstrate the power of the gods by leading animals into the cave (where they died from asphyxiation) and emerging themselves (by keeping their heads above the CO₂ layer))))
- Çeşme and Alaçatı — 80 km west (the Çeşme Peninsula; the town of Alaçatı (the most gentrified Greek-style stone village in Turkey; boutique hotels in the former Greek merchant houses; windsurfing (Alaçatı Bay is one of the top 5 windsurfing spots in the world; Alaçatı hosts the PWA World Windsurfing Tour); the weekly market and the herb-based cuisine))
Sources
- Wikipedia, Ephesus; Library of Celsus; Temple of Artemis, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Ephesus, WHS reference 1018, inscribed 2015
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