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The Church of St. John

     According to the historian Eusebios, St. John returned to Ephesus with Mary after being banished from Jerusalem between 37 and 42 A.D. He continued to write the Bible after the execution od St. Paul and after a period he died here at Ephesus. Following his will, he was buried in the sothern foothills of Ayasuluk Hill. First a wooden-roofed Early Christian Church was constructed in the 5th century over a simple graveyard and crypts were established within this church. In the middle of the 6th century, a monumental cross-in-plan basilica with domes was constructed by Emperor Justinianus ( Jutinian ) replacing this earlier church. With the moving of the Ephesians to Ayasuluk, the Basilica of St. John took over the position of the earlier Bishop’s Church at Ephesus.

     Ayasuluk Hill was encircled with walls constructed in the 7th century A.D. to protect the basilica and the related structures against Muslim raids. The material collected from the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, which had been largely demolished, were reused in the construction of these walls. The outer part of the walls was also constructed from material brought from other structures at Ephesus; its inner parts were filled with mortar and rubble stone and it was lined with towers to increase its strength. In the construction of these supporting towers, a pentagonal plan was generally employed; with a circular plan used in the West and tetragonal plan in the South. The wall had a total of four Gates and twenty towers. The strong, main entrance gate in the South was known as the “ Gate of Pursuit”. There were two square-in-plan towers on either side of this gate. There was an arched entrance in the middle of these two towers. On the arch there were a frieze with ivy, figures of Eros gathering grapes in the vineyard and a piece of a tomb which had a carved relief of grape vines. In the 19th century a second piece of this tomb, which depicted young girls narrating “the recognition of Achilles by Odysseus among the daughters of King Lykomedes on the Island of Skiros” and armed men, was taken to England and is today in the Museum at Woburn Abbey. Two phases of construction were observed in the walls surrounding and supporting the Basilica. The first of these phases was the construction of an additional terrace to the church during the reign of Justinianus, with Stones and bricks employed in the construction of these walls. The second phase, comprised those walls constructed as a defence against Muslim raids in the 7-8th century A.D., with the inner parts of these walls filled with mortar and rubble stone. The Basilica, which is of a cross plan, is 130 m. long and was entered through the Narthex Gate.

     There were five Gates from the narthex leading into the middle and side naves. It had a court (atrium) which was covered, with supporting columns in its middle. The middle and side naves were covered by 6 domes. These domes covered the burial grounds with the middle dome larger and higher than the others. The columns separating the naves were monoliths of blue marble. On the Byzantine Ionic capitals were carved the monograms of Emperor Justinianus and his wife Theodora. These monograms provide proof thatthe Emperor contributed to the construction of this church. There was a large ambon in front of the dais in the middle nave. The dais or burial grounds were two steps higher than the floor of the church. It ıs known that one of them belonged to St. John. There was a crypt under the dais. There were three tombs in the crypt, one of which is understood to have belonged to St. John. the chapel, having been constructed outside the northern transept and planned together with the Office of Revenues, was actually turned into a chapel in the 10-11th century and the depictions in the apse, of St. John on the right; Jesus Christ in the middle and an unknown Saint on the left, are in a very well preserved condition.  

    The Office of Revenues, situated to the left of the chapel, was a two-storey structure with a centralized plan. There were cross-in-plan parts and corner rooms surrounding the circular area in the middle. The sacred relics and treasures of the church were stored within these rooms. Furthermore a Baptistry was constructed in the 5th century A.D., with the basilica, with the remains of the wooden roof belonging to the period prior to the reign of Justinianus still to be seen today as, when the new church was constructed, it was preserved and its function continued. The apsed chamber to the east was the sacred chamber in which prayers after baptisms were performed. The central area of the Baptistry is reached from the western door of this octagonal-in-plan structure. There was a circular pool for baptism in the middle of the floor, with the sides of this pool consisting of stairs of three steps. The adjacent square pool was where the sacred water was kept. The apsed chamber to the far West, a symmetrical copy of that in the east, was used for the same purpose.

The Mosque of Isabey

      When looking down from the Church of St. John, at the entrance to the plain, which has been infilled through alluvial deposition brought by the River Cayster over the centuries, there stands the Mosque of Isa Bey. It was constructed by order of Isa Bey of the Aydınoğulları Emirate in 1375. It has a tetragonal plan, close to a square, measuring 56.53×48.68 m. In the Mosque of Isa Bey the minarets were located in the west and east corners of the actual area of worship. Today only western minaret made of bricks, remains in part, standing. Glazed bricks were used in the construction of the pedestal and in the body of both of these minarets.

     Even though the eastern and northern facades of the mosque, constructed from ashlar masonry, are plain, the western front was covered with marble slabs. The portal, in the middle of the western facade, has some of the characteristics of earlier 13th century Seljuk architecture.    The monumental portals was made of White and yellowish stone and surrounded by a carved moulding and the window frames draw attention with their elaborate embellishments.  

     The inscription ( Kitabe), which was above the door and measuring 1×6 m. has been lost. There is a construction notice below the door arch and iy states “ the Mosque was constucted by an architect from Damascus named Ali on the order of Isa Bey of the Aydınoğulları Beylik in 776 (H)”. On proceeding into the court from this highly decorated gate, one sees in the courtyard a polygonal water-tank with a fountain, the court surrounded by porches on three sides.The columns and the columns capitals used in the porches were reused material. It is known that the porches were covered by wooden roofs. The area where acts of worship were carried out in the mosque was reached by passing through the jagged arched three Gates, supported by small columns. This area for prayer was divided into two sections by four great granite columns. The mihrap was covered by two domes, each with a diameter of 9 m. The interior of the domes was covered in blue and turquoise glazed tiles. The marble mirhap has been restored.

The Baths of Isabey

       There were four baths in the city of Ayasuluk, today called Seljuk, dating from the rule over the city by the Aydınoğulları Emirs and the Early Ottomans (1350-1450). The fact that baths were frequently constructed and were elaborate, exhibiting the characteristics of their periods indicate these bath were erected during the golden age of the city of Ayasuluk, when it was the capital of an important and wealthy Emirate-state, in part because Ayasuluk was a majör trade centre, visited by many merchants from the Latin West in the 14th and 15th centuries and was alsothe focus of a rich agriculturel hinterland. For sound seismic, as well as for decorative reasons in the constructions of these baths, courses of stone and courses of bricks were used in the walls and only bricks for the domes and vaults. The decorations in the baths extended to the domes and on the pedentives of the domes. Despite the similarities between these four baths, all of them had different plans. The relative position of the dressing-robing areas in these four baths is today unclear. In the period before the excavation of the Baths of Isa Bey, the warm section, the higher walls of the furnace, with the domes and vaults covering these rooms, had been demolished. During the excavations the floor of the magnificent dressing area was unearthed; however the walls and the superstructure were not found. From current information it is thought to have had a wooden roof and a cross-like and four cornered celled plan was employed in the construction of this bath house. With later additions, it was converted into a double bath. The stucco (a mixture of plaster and marble powder) decorations on the inside of the domes and roofs are exceedingly fine.

The Temple of Artemis (Artemission)

     The Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World by ancient writers, was situated by the marshes to the southwest of Ayasuluk Hill. Its first construction was by the seaside. However this temple that stood by the seashore is today 5 km. inland, due to the alluvial infilling of the bay. Today there remains a 14 m. high column (its original height was 18.40 m.) in the northeast, which was erected in 1973 with the aid of pulleys, an archaic column pedestal, a part of which can be seen, and a pedestal dating from the Late Classical period, which stood insitu right above the column. On the western side, the court walls of the Archaic temple, the point where the doorpost were attached, the traces of the Archaic marble stylobates, the southern anta in the classical covering of the Archaic temple, the West and North edges of the Archaic and Late Classical temples and the foundations of the hekatompedos can still today be seen. The structures connected with the foundation of the stairs leading to the platforn of the Late Classical temple from the western court, the structures in the South of the foundation of the hekatompedos (naiskos, channel, road and the apsed structure) and the Archaic and Late Classical altar foundations can be seen. In the excavation area covered with ground water, from time to time earlier structures in the court, the traces of Temple C., the naiskos of the Temple or Kroisos and the cella walls of the peripteros can be seen but this depends upon the level of the water within this excavated area. According to Strabo this temple had been repeatedly ruined and reconstructed. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World. The oldest traces of the temple, which underwent many construction phases, date from the 8th century B.C. This first temple was a peripteros planned structure with 4 columns on its short sides and 8 columns on its long sides. In this peripteros, the tetragonal platform surrounded by 6 columns functioned as the pedestal ( baldaken) for the religious statue. From this earliest structure only the pedestals of green schist that supported the wooden columns were found during the excavation. This temple was believed to have been ravaged by the Cimmerians.

     The dipterous plan of the magnificent Temple of Hera in Samos made the Ephesians jeleous and it was then that they decided to construct a temple more magnificent than the Temple of Hera at Samos. Herodotus indicates this structure was called the Temple of Kroisos because of the financial and mortal support of the Lydians including the columns that were donated by Kroisos during the construction of this Temple. Around 560 B.C. the construction of the first great marble dipterous began on the east-west axis, known to have been the Temple of Kroisos. The architects of the Archaic temple were from Samos, Theodoros, Metagenes and Khersiphron. The Temple was situated in the marshes and in order to create foundations in this marshy ground the recommendation of the most prominent Samian artist, architect and sculptor, Theodoros, to put wood charcoal and fleece under the foundations (temeun), was followed and traces of charcoal and ash remains were found in the excavations. The foundation were created by putting big slates on these chunks of charcoal. Above this layer, polygonal marble panels, which constituted the surface of the Stylobate, were bonded and the floor of the temple was created, measuring approximately 55×115 m. Each of the columns (approximately 106 in number ) were adorned with carved patterns on their lower sections ( Columnae Caelatae ), with the load system on the Stylobate carrying the weight, each section weighing more than 100 tons, with the marble roof pediments carrying carved figurines and with carved marble roof tiles. However this roof didnt cover the whole of the temple but only covered the peristyle. The inner area, called the Sekos, was open to the sky and this was where the covered structure containing the religious statue in the naos was kept. The construction of this 6th century temple, that which is considered to have been one of the Seven Wonders of the World, lasted for 120 years. However in 356 B.C. it was burned down by someone who wanted through this action to immortalize his own name. Herostratos and this layer of fire damage was found during the excavations.

     After the temple was burnt, the Ephesians began the reconstruction of th etemple. The architects of the new temple were Paionios, Demetrios and Kheirokrates. In the 4th century B.C. due to be rising sea level, a platform was constructed to prevent the ground water from flooding the temple. Another line of columns was added to this structure with stairs. In addition an opisthodomos was added to the West facing rear side of the temple for the protection of the gifts that were donated to the Goddness Artemis. Thus there were three lines of 9 columns in the rear by the short sides and three lines of 8 columns in the front facing West. When observed from the sides, it had 21 columns on each side in two rows. This temple had in total 117 columns. In the depictions of the temple on coins, a door in the roof was observed and it is said this door was made and functioned as the place through which the Goddess Artemis watched the sacrifices that were made in her honnor. According to the writings of Plinius (Pliny), the columns of this Hellenistic Temple of Artemis were 18.40 m. high. When Alexander the Great visited Ephesus, he offered to help in the construction of the temple and requested that an inscription with his name be put in the temple. Thus Alexander the Great would be famous, just like Kroisos was with his temple. However the proud Ephesians politely turned down his offer, flatteringly replying to his offer with the words” One God cannot give present to another”. Despite this reply, Alexander the Great made financial contributions to be construction of the temple and this wonderful temple was completed before the end of the 4th century B.C. The commotion caused by the civil wars in Rome, the economic problems and the alluvial infilling of the bay strained the financial resources of the Temple of Artemis. The organized precautions, began under the Council in the 6-5th centuries B.C., came into effect during the reign of Emperor Augustus and all the borders, paths and drainage within the temenos wall, which was made of ashlar stone blocks covered in inscribed notices, were inspected and repaired. According to Strabo, the temenos wall was 1 stadion’s distance from the temple and the temnos wall marked the border for those people seeking sanctuary under the protection of Artemis. Later during the reign of Emperor Titus (79-81A.D.), large scale renovations were conducted in the sacred place.

     The Artemision was ravaged by the Goths in 263 A.D. but the real devastation came in 400 A.D. when the cult of Artemis ended and the altar, along with the surrounding colonnade and pediment were destroyed. The torn down temenos wall was reused during the Late Antique period in the construction of the Church of Mary and the erection of the Bishop’s Place. Much material from the Artemision was reused in the Basilica of St. John and in the construction of its outer walls. The Temple of Artemis was discovered for the British Museum in 1869 by the English railroad engineer J.T. Wood after a seven year seacrh, during which he suffered badly from malaria. In these lengthy searches Wood found another classical platform upon an Archaic podium, in the traces of the foundation of the Late Classical temple and sent them to England, to the British Museum. His successor on behalf of the British Museum, the Englishman D.G. Hogarth recommenced excavations in 1904/05. Not only did he investigate the temple of Artemis, but also the older foundations within the court of the temple. New excavations, initiated by the Australian Museum of Archeology in 1965, continue today.

The Cave of the Seven Sleepers

     The modern path, leading out from the city walls, leads to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers on Mount Pion (panayır Dağı). According to written accounts, this is the place where seven young men and their dog came to after running away from the city because of the persecution of Christians during the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251A.D.) and after falling asleep, they woke up 200 years later during the reign of Emperor Theodosios ll. When these seven men and their dog woke up after the passage of 200 years, Christianity had become the official religion of Rome. The same story is also known and believed by Muslims (it is related in the 18th Sura of the Holy Koran). This account has been associated with many other caves in Anatolia. The next most important of these other cave of the Seven Sleepers was the sacred cave at Arabissos in Cappadocia The oldest part of the sacred place at Ephesus is the graveyard section, established in the 4th century A.D. around this wide fissure in the foothills of Mount Pion. There was a small, two-storey graveyard structure and ten crypt chambers under the ground, where the seven men were thought to have been burried and a church was then constructed over this place. Legends record it was constructed in the middle of the 5th century A.D. during the reign of Emperor Theodosios ll and this date accords with the archeological finds, the date of the traces of mosaic and murals. The church was connected to these underground chambers via stairs in the norhern wall of the front entrance. The church had a main chambers with domes and mosaic floors, theater-like built-in benches of square section, a synthronus, upon which the bishop and this presbyters sat, and an apsed presbyterion with an altar. There was a vaulted and covered crypt on the western side of the church. When the crypt became full, various new crypts were constructed of brick and about 700 of these crypts were found here. The cave, which was accepted as the site of the cave of the seven sleepers by Christians, has been visited not only by Christians but also by Muslim pilgrims since the Middle Ages.

The Cave of St. Paul

     Around 1900, the cave in the foothills of Mount Bülbül at a height of 100 m. to the North of the Temple of Serapeion was found by O. Benndorf.  The cave of St. Paul was made by being roughly carved into the bedrock; producing an approximately 15m. long aisle and a slightly larger chamber. Today the chamber, whose floors have been flattened and joined by steps, can be entered from the aisle decorated with reused materials. There are two niches of different sizes on the landing on the southern side of the aisle. The larger niche on the right side of the entrance reached the ground; but was only roughly and irregularly carved. The arches and aisle walls were covered in many layers of plaster. There was an antique panel carrying carvings of various prayers beneath the 20th century plaster of the uppermost layer. On this panel are invocations to St. Paul and”God, please help your disciple Timotheos!” During the conservation and restoration work in 1998 the murals depicting stories from the life of St. Paul and St. Thekla were found.

The Stadion

     It was situated on the Northwestern foothills of Mount Pion ( Panayır Dağı) on the path leading to Seljuk from from the Koresos gate of Ephesus. When first constructed there was seating on the southern hillside, a running course in front and a Hellenistic apse on its western side. The Roman Stadium was constructed by C. Stertinius Orpex, a freed slave, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.) and it was then transformed into a monumental structure with aid from a foundation. While the Stadium was being turned into a monumental structure,  a very large chamber, a vaulted infrastructure and seating benches on the southern side. There were interior stairs leading to this seating area. The high northern front, constructed of ashlar masonry, had a monumental appearance. The arched Gates of the magnificent western front led to the tunnels beneath the seating benches. Beside the running course there were bossed orthostatic panels and the track had a floor of pressed earth and was approximately 180 m. long and the stadium could hold 30.000-people. İt is not certainly known how the elliptical area (sphendone=pit area) leading to the corner in the east was used during its first phase. Athletics, chariot races and gladiatorial games were held in Stadium. After the earthquake of 262 A.D., even though the southern gate and the western side were repaired, it is thought that the Stadium was greatly damaged after the eartquakes of 356 and 366. In the 5th century a church on the western end of the northern tunnel was added, only the entrance atrium was exposed in excavations and graveyard was created around this church. This late phase of use continue at least until the 12th century.

The Temple of Serapeion

          The Temple of Serapeion was located in a termenos in the foothills of Mount Bülbül to the West of the Tetragonos Agora. The temenos of the temple was surrounded with two-storey columns and was on a terrace orientated in a North-south direction built on top of Late Hellenistic structures at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. in part carved into the bedrock and in partupon infill material. As no inscription was found in the excavations, to which particular god this temple was dedicated is not certainly known. It was first called a Monumental Fountain (Nymphaion), then the Temple of Claudius; however in 1926 it was called the Serapeion and front that date it has been referred to by this name. In the 2nd century it was constructed as a temple resembling a pro-style with podiums and was devastated in the fire that broke out during the earthquake in the 4th century A.D., and was then converted into a small church during the reign of Emperor Theodosius l. It stood on an eight columned porch, a landing and stairs of two levels. One-pieces columns, 14-15 m. high carried Corinthian column capitals. It had three entraces below its richly ornamented pediment. The main entrace to the tepmle was on the narrow side in the North; but the temple could also be entered through the magnificent stairs from West Street. Begining in Late Antiquity other stairs from the southwestern side of the Agora provided direct entrance to the temple. There were six small niches on the long wall of the Naos and there were small niches on the both sides of the large niche in the middle of the southern wall that held the religious statue. Water channels passed beneath the niches on the inner walls of Naos. The water flowing from the vertical cracks in the large niches was led out via the channel in the floor. The extensive use of water in this temple indicates worship in the temple was connected to a Goddness Of Health. There were five niches outside the Naos walls The trace remains of two bronze statues found during the excavations on the northeastern side of the temenos Show this temple endowed with rich decorations. The rear wall of the stoa, at least on the ground floor, was covered in marble panels, positioned in accordance with the columns in the front and was divided into sections by wall supports which had postaments with relief and Corinthian capitals.

The Harbour Baths

     This grand complex, in the North of Arkadiane Street, consisted of a bath, a gymnasium and a sports area. It was planned symmetrically along an east-west axis. Constructed started in the period of Domitianus; it was reconstructed after earthquake damage in 262 A.D. and it was finally complated in the 4th century A.D. “ Atrium termarum Constantianarum” is recoded on an inscription here, which is why this baths is called the “Baths of Constantius”. There is an entrance into a monumental court dating from Late Antiquity from the three- gate entrance in Arkadiane Street. Opposite the entrance to the South is an exedra adorned with statues. A pool was constructed in front of the exendra in Late Antiquity. There is a 45 m. entrance section in front of the bath. This structure was surrounded on three sides by a peristyle with mosaic pedestals. A large quantity of resued marble was employed in the pavement of the court. The relief elements of the Monment of Parth were amongst the reused materials. The stairs on the northern side, with two wreathed columns, opened into a hall. Right next to the stairs there was a fountain basin decorated with bull capitals on top and garlands between them. The aitrium by the side of the door has a three-naved plan. The outher walls of the atrium were separated into sections by brick pillars. The atrium provided entrance to the bath section to the North and the bath section was arranged symmetrically. There were three long spaces in the east of the bath. In the middle section there was the section (Frigidarium) with a huge, cold water pool (Natatio) inside and there were the adjacent rooms for dressing and resting (Apodyterium). There was an entrance from the cold section into the warm section (Tepidarium), and to the three central chambers amongst the nine in the middle section of the bath. The hot section (Caldarium) was a large chamber,  which stood on an outer ledge on the western front of the bath. It had large Windows facing West and six hot water pools in the niches on the wall. The three chambers on boths sides of the warm section (Tepidarium) were used for ball games, boxing, gymnastics, cosmetic work, body care and massage. The large number of insitu fixing elements on the walls and the floor of the chambers indicates they were covered by marble revetments. The bath was heated with hot air circulating under the pavement, termed a “Hypocaust”.

The Church of Mary

     The small path on the right side of the exist gate of Ephesus leads you to the Church of Mary. In the 4th century A.D. a church complex 145 m. long was constructed on the western side of the southern Stoa of Olympieion. It was the first church to be constructed in the name of the Virgin Mary. This church was used as an educational center for Ephesian Christian clergymen. The church and the additions made to it were constructed on top of an already extant long structure. According to an inscription here, this structure had for a long time been a school of medicine, although some archeologists think this structure was not the school of medicine but was a basilica of three naves. The church that was dedicated to Mary underwater many phases of construction. In the first construction phase there were an atrium, resembling a peristle, where the pedestals were covered with inscriptions dating from the Roman Imperial period, a cross-wise narthex and a three naved church, with the middle nave supported by 40 columns on the West side of the church. On the east edge of the middle nave there was a large apse, constructed of ashlar masonry from the Roman Stoa. There were pastophorion chambers on both sides of the apse, where ritual objects were stored. On the northern side of the atrium there was a niched baptistery of octagonal shape with a baptism chamber coveredin marble resembling a “tholos”, and a pool was added to this structure,  constructed in the middle of the floor for the baptism of adults. The church, which was demolished in the eartquakes of 557 A.D. was then rebuilt with great changes. In this second phase, the eastern part of the church, whose columns were removed and separated in the middle, was turned into a basilica with a narrow narthex and columns. The western part of the church was rebuilt in a very different way.

 

     The church constructed of bricks had narrow side-naves, a low vault supported by elephant feet and a dome over the middle nave. There were pastophorions on both sides of the apse end, appering like chapels next to the middle nave. An inner narthex (ezonarthex) was added to the western side; consequently a collection of religious buildings were erected, the eastern side was given to the Bishop, the western side to the congregation. The Bishop’s Church was used until it was sacked by Muslim raiders in 654/5., However, it is understood from the doors opening to the apse od the brick church that it served as a graveyard until the 11th century and there was a graveyard on the northern side until the 14th century, so this area didnt entirely lose its function and association with Christianity. It began being used as a graveyard during the second construction phase in the second half of the 6th century. From research it is known that only the Bishops were buried in the narthex on the eastern side. Later a large graveyard was created, not only inside the brick structure but also on the outside. The continued use of this cementary into the 14th century shows the Christians were able to continue using their sanctuaries in Ephesus, even after Ephesus came under the rule of the Aydınoğulları Emitare. On the 22nd of June 431 a Council gathered in this church and 195 Bishops participated in this Council where, amongst other issues, the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ was discussed, and it is certain that the Church of Ephesus, which earned a good reputation for housing the deliberations of this Ecumenical Council, was the Church of Mary. At this Council the question as to wheather Mary was the Mother of God or not was put forward for discussion and the Bishop of Constantinople (ıstanbul), Nestorius, stirred up a hornet’s nest and was excommunicated when he said that Jesus Chist was not the son of God but merely a good man. The Patriarch of Alexandria, Cyrillus (Cyril), defended the understanding that Jesus Christ had one personality but two entities and that Mary was actually the Mother of God. In conclusion, the views of Cyrillus were favored and the theology that stated Jesus Christ had a divine form and Mary was the Mother of God were confirmed by this Ecumenical Council. Recent research indicates the Chiristian structures were constructed in this place after 431 and that the whole of the Council or just a part of it may have taken place in the adapted stoa; as at that time this was not yet the Church of Mary. The Council records, compiled at a considerably later date, that indicate the Council gathered in a place called the Church of Mary, conflict with the archaeological evidence and this will only be resolved after the thorough examination of the latest philological and archeological evidence. (In 1967 Pope Paul IV, who visited Ephesus, prayed in this church.)

The Theatre Gymnasium

     This is the Bath-Gymnasium stucrute lying North of the Theatre Court, at the begining of Arcadius Street. It has a 70×30 m. palaedtra (wrestling) court surrounded on three sides by stoa, whose podiums were covered in marble. A tribüne, consisting of four rows of seating stairs was constructed on the northern side of the Gymnasium. A slightly pitched area was added to the tribüne, constructed for the standing audience on the side facing the Baths. Because it was very close tothe theatre and its palaestra had a stadium, this structure is thought to have been used to train the theatre actors; and in consequence it was named “ The Theatre Gymnasium”. There was a bath complex just behind the tribüne North of the Gymnasium. The excavation of this baths has begun but remains incomplete. There were lines of rooms on the southern and northern sides of this bath complex. The rooms on the southern side of the Bath were dressing rooms (Apodyterium); a hot bathing section (Calidarium) and hot water pools. The rooms were slightly larger than the order rooms, which were in the middle of the Baths. The Bath had a long U-shaped area (warm section- Tepidarium), which was for recreation and visiting in the outer area of the northern and southern rooms of the Baths. The second U shaped area inside the Bathwas called the cold section (Frigidarium) and in the middle section there was a swimming pool (Nation). The Baths was heated through the hot air that circulated under the paved floor, the system termed a “Hypocaust”.

The Arkadiane (Harbour Street)

          This marble Street that extends from the theatre to the harbor is 11 meters wide and 528 meter long (equal to 1.800 foot or 3 stadion). This Street was an importance structure of the city, as from the Early Roman Period many kings, emperors, council from other cities and merchants coming by sea to Ephesus were officially greeted here. There is also a huge sewage channel under this Street, which comes from the Marble Street and extends to the harbor. This Street established in the Early Roman period, was restored after the earthquakes of 359-366 A.D. by Emperor Arkadius(395-408A.D.)with reused materials and the stoas on both sides of the Street were rebuilt. It is known that there was Street lighting on the Arkadiane in the 5th century A.D. The Street starts with a gate and ends in another gate. In the 6th century A.D. there was a structure in the middle of the Street, constructed of four great columns, situated randomly on square pedestals with stairs. The 2 m. high circular pedestals adorned with the symbols of Christianity are decorated with niches and columns on the sides. There are columns postaments, a grand column and a column capital on top of the circular pedestals. It is thought that there were statues of the four Evangelists on top of these four columns capitals. Thus the Christianity of the Ephesians was demonstrated to visitors to the city who arrived at the harbor.

The Hellenistic Fountain

     The fountain is by the side of the Theatre Court, North of the stage structure. It is the best preserved Hellenistic work of art in Ephesus. It was constructed from marble blocks and side fountain were turned into anta walls and completed with anta capitals. Two fluted columns with Ionic capitals were placed between the anta wall as supports. There was an architrave with fascia over the capitals. The architrave carried a dentil border and the line of the cornice on the exterior and a slabbed marble roof on the inside. In the inscription on one of the columns it is recorded that the, “water here was brought from Great Marnas River”. The water brought via pipes, poured into the pool through the three lion heads on the marble rear wall. The front of the fountain is simply decorated, with only the Ionic capitals. This fountain erected by the side of an important court of the city must have ben decorated with painwork, as was the case for many other structures. During the Roman period, this simple Hellenistic structure was extended by 2 meters to the front and two columns were added to its porch facing the road.

The Grand Theatre

     As in all ancient city theatres, the theatre of Ephesus had its seats on the slope (of Mount Pion). This great city of Anatolia had one of the grand theatres of Anatolia constructed to accommodate 25.000 people after the modifications made to it during the Roman Imperial period. It stands on the sacred route between the Magnesia Gate and the Koresos Gate. Theatres were significant centers in urban life and the assembly places of ancient cities, of great importance to the social structure of the city because the theatres not only displayed presentations and artistic contests, but also varius assembies such as the council of the elders, the youth council, public unions and the meeting of theologians. The date when the theater was first constructed is unknown. However, the presence of the theatre in the Hellenistic period is known from the erection of a small fountain ( the Hellenistic Fountain) in the Northwestern corner of the stage structure, dating from around 100 B.C., Further this relates to the orchestra, which used to be a water channel, with a seating bench surrounding this structure. It the Augustan period came the rapid expansion of the city of Ephesus and, parallel to the expansion of the city, the theatre was also increased in size. A richly decorated storey was added to the stage between 87 and 92 A.D., from the inscriptions following the construction boom during the rule of Domitianus and probable date of foundation of the Asian state of Anatolia in 133 B.C. Initially the first structure was a small and simple stage and then of Nero. The orchestra was also expanded by adding a low proskenion (front stage) fort he orchestra and a logeion on the stage of the theatre. In this period a second series of seating benches were constructed on top of the vaulted foundations adjacent to the analemmata (side walls). The sating benches were divided with a cross- wise broad path (diazoma) and the upper seating benches were accessed through the stairs from this diazoma.

 

     The lowest seating benches were divided by narrow stairs into individual seating section called kerkides, forming 11 wedge shaped areas. The number of stairs providing Access was doupled in the second and third seating sections, forming 21 kerkides in each. The seating sections of the first level reached 19, the second level 20 and the third level 23. There were stone seats(prohedria) on the second diazoma, which was wider, for the director of the plays and for the judges of the contests that were held in the theater. We learn from the inscriptions the sections of the theater in which each of the following city bodies sat as a group: the city council (boule) (the municipality assembly), gerousia (the council of the elderly), phyle( the clans), the theologes(the lectures of ceremonies) etc.). According to one of the architrave inscriptions, the third seating section was accessed by the  stairs constructed on broad and high vaults and which was finished a litte after 100 A.D. One of the long inscriptions in the theatre records that a person named C. Vibius Salutaris made a generous donation to the religious rites in 104 A.D. and he had made the silver  statues of Artemis and Emperor Traianus that were displayed during public assemblies. It is known from the inscriptions that the sunshade, whichwas installed in the theatre in the middle of the 2nd century A.D., was repaired in 205-240 A.D. Above the second seating section there was kind of the tribüne (a sacred area dedicated to Nemesis, the God of Contests), which was on the uppermost level of the theatre and had a line of columns in front and the 3rd seation, which was situated on the in-part higher vaulted structures. A second diazoma separated the second and the third seating section. The third seating section was entered though the stairs from the diazoma and from the stairs, constructed with broad and high vaults, in the analemma wall from outside the theatre known, but it is thought to have been before 262 A.D. It is understood from the murals on the stage wall that after the great earthquake in 262 A.D., most od the theatre was destroyed, the top section of the analemma was never used again and a more popülist approach to public entertainment ensued, such as violet games and gladiatorial fights, instead of the former repertory of classical theatre entertainment. Further, the theatre was again damaged by earthquake in 359 and 366 A.D. and was then altered through being included within the defense system cobstructed in the 8th century. Its current appearance is the result of repairs that were made to it during the Late Antique period. According to the Bible, Demetrios Argued aganist the Christian disciple Paulos (Paul) in this theatre and made the Ephesians chant “Artemis of Ephesians is the greatest”. Sometimes concerts were held in this theatre at night.

The Marble Street

     Kuretes Street ended at the corner of the Library Agora. The Marble Street started from the side of the Library Agora, passed from the eastern corner of the Tetragonos Agora and reached the Theatre Court without spoiling the integrity of the street. This was main Street of Ephesus during the Empire period and it was at the same time the primary religious ceremonial (processional) street and this street was completely paved in marble. There were stoas for pedestrians along both sides of this street, along which vehicles passed. The main sewage pipes passing under Kuretes Street at the Library Court divided into two, with one section continuing to the Western Gate beneath the Tetragonos Agora. The other running beneath the Marble Street. There was the Stoa of Nero on the western side of the city and another stoa which ended by the analemma wall at the northern side of the grand theatre to the east. There were one-room lodgings employed for trade purposes behind the columns of the eastern stoa and there were the entrances of the humble and multistoried residences, only few of which have been excavated. The Stoa of Nero extending along the western side of the Marble Street, was elevated 1.70m. above Street level and there was an arched entrance gate near its northern edge. The terrace wall of the Stoa of Nero was constructed with bossed masonry blocks. There was a depiction of a heart punctured with an arrow and a foot, and an effigy of a woman of Polos engraved on a marble block that were found close to the middle of the stoa. The depiction of the heart indicates the love houses and the effigy of the woman of Polos indicates the library as noted above is related by some. In later periods this street intersected with the city walls adjacent to the rear wall of the theatre strage building where a “city gate” with grand marble doorpost was constructed from reused blocks. Widening out behind this gate, the street continued to the Arkadiane and to the Theatre Court, where large stairs provided entry to the theatre.

The Stoa of Nero

      The Stoa of Nero was located east of the Agora. It was a basilica of two naves,  which extended beside the Marble Street for 150 meters. This stoa was dedicated to “Artemis of Ephesus,  Nero and his mother Agrippina and the people of Ephesus”, as recorded in its inscription and was called the Stoa of Nero. The terrace wall of the Stoa of Nero facing Marble Street was faced with bossed masonry blocks and was 1.70 m. above street level. The main gate in the South of the basilica was entered from the stairs in the Library Agora. The western nave of the Stoa of Nero, which was constructed on the rooms of the eastern stoa of the Agora, was completely demolished and consequently there is no precise information concerning the appearance of the stoa facade facing the Agora and whether it had a connection to the main atoa adjacent to it on its western side.

The Tetragonos Agora

     This was the trade area recorded as the “Tetragonos Agora” in the written sources. The conditin of the Agora in the Late Antique period was revealed during excavations in 1901-1907 during excavations in the plain to the West of the Marble Street. Traces of the Hellenistic Agora were found 3 m. below the present ground level during deep excavations in the Agora in 1977. The Hellenistic Agora was only half as large as the Roman Agora. It is thought from the architectural pieces recovered from teh excavations building with two rows of rooms stood on the southwestern corner of the Agora and the stoa which lay at the end of the road next to the Western Gate, were constructed successively in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., during the reign of Lysimachus. The Agora had rectangular rooms around its sides and theserooms at the end of the 1st century B.C. were widened to form rooms square in shape (112×112m.). It had three monumental Gates, two galleries on four sides and was closed  court surrounded by stoas. Most of these rooms were used for mercantile purposes, although some were the meeting places for guilds and political associations. The traces of stairs found in the corner of the Southeastern Agora next to the Western Gate and to the east of the Northern Gate prove that these stoa were two-storied buildings. The Agora was devastated by earthquakes in the 3rd and the 4th century A.D. and was reconstructed by Emperor Theodosius I. (379-395 A.D.) according to its original plan, with reused materials, which is why it is also known as the “Theodosius Forum”. It  continued to function as an agora until the 7th century A.D.

     The Western Gate: This was the main entrance to the Agora, raised on a large podium(17 m.) at the end of the avenue leading from the harborto the city(the West Street). There were double columns on the wings on both sides of the front and ten-stepped flight of steps and two side-rows of columns in the back. There are rich decorations on the pedestals, some of which  remain in their original locations and the Ionic capitals surrounding the Gates are notewothy. On both sides of the gate there were marble benches for people to sit. This monumental Western Gate was constructed on the foundations of a smaller Augustan Gate following the earthquake of 23 A.D. In the period of Domitianus (81-96 A.D.) a Merchant from Alexandria made alterations to the gate, which was not then suitable for freight traffic. The present condition of the Gate can be connected to these first alterations made in antiquity, three Gates in the entrance building, two large water pools and loading ramps at the sides for heavily loaded vehicles. The large court of the Agora was decorated with numerous statues and altar monuments, the foundations of which remain today in their original positions.

The Gates of Mazaeus and Mithridates

     This was at the end of Kuretes Street, by southern gate of the northern agora in the Library Court, which was calledn Triodos in antiquity. İt was first constructed as a triumphal arch but then after the reign of Emperor Augustus was converted into the entrance gate of the Agora. Between 1979 and 1988 the missing parts of the gate, which was still in part standing, were restored and completed with modern replacement parts by the Excavations Directorate. Both Mazaeus and Mithridates were slaves of Emperor Augustus and his heir Agrippa. Emperor Augustus set them free and sent them to Ephesus as officers in charge of maintaining the properties belonging to the Roman Empire in Ephesus. Mazaeus and Mithridates constructed this monumental gate in appreciation of their former owners: it was constructed in 3 B.C. in honor of Emperor Augustus, his wife Livia, his son-in-law Agrippa who had died and his doughter Julia. The inscription on his building is in two languages. It was written in full detail in Latin on the sides of the Attica and an extract in Greek was placed in the middle section at the back. The inscription in Latinon the left record that it was constructed for “the son of Caesar, Augustus, who was chosen for the 20th time as the perfect head of the people’s assembly, the 12 times Consul and High Priest, and his wife Livia” and, onb the right, that it was constructed for, “the son of Lucius, Agrippa, who was chosen for the 6th time as the perfect emperor of the people’s assembly, the 3rd time as Consul, Julia, doughter of Caesar Augustus, the former masters of Mithridates and the people”. The monumental gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates Consisted of three arched gates. These arched gates ended by the side of the Tetragonos Agora in the same line, whereas the middle facade of the arched gate of the Library Agora was slightly recessed. The gates were connected to each other by richly decorated doorposts. There are two round niches in the outer walls.

 

     The roof of the gate consisted of an architrave in three ornamented sections, a frieze adorned with vines and a dentil border. The attica on the entablature with the inscription was bordered by a cornice molding on the top and interlaced moulding on the bottom. There were the statues of the family of the Emperor on the attica. There is a relief of Hecate, the God responsible for crossroads on the outer walls of the gate. On the architrave on the southeastern niche are courses on those people who choose to relieve themselves in this place. Futher, all th ewalls of the gate were filled with notices concering the grain supply to the city, price announcements, orders concerning other issues and environmental plans. The original appearance of the northern front of the gate was ruined during the course of modifications carried out in the 1st century A.D., According to a notice, in order to prevent rainwater running down Kuretes Street form overflowing into the Agora, the ground level of the South Gate was rised, to let the water accumulate in the channels. There were two storied wing structures on both sides of the gate, probably containing the tombs of Mazaeus and Mithridates, when it was first constructed.  The eastern wing was pulled down during modifications made to the Agora and the western wing, which contained the tomb of Mazaeus, was pulled down, at the latest when the library was constructed.

The Library of Celsus

     The library building, which is located on the corner of the West side of Kuretes Street and the southwestern side of the South Gate of the Tetragonal area acquired after the demolition of half  of the peristyle house in the South of the center. The library building was discovered during the excavations of 1905-1906. The facadeof the library was restored berween 1970 and 1978 by the Excavations Directorate, reusing the original materials, as well a employing modern materials substituted for the missing pieces according to its original appearance. The marble sarcophagus of Celsus, who died in Rome aged 70 in 114 A.D. when he was the Governor of Asia Minor, was put into the tomb by the southern entrance of the Tetragonos Agora. Before his death, Celsus bequeathed 25.000 dinars and requested the construction of a library and the purchase of new books for the library every year with the interest on the remaining money.  There were initially 12.000 books in this library. The library was constructed by Celsus Julius Aquila as a heroon on the tomb of the Roman Senetor Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus in the 1st quarter of the 2nd century A.D., The precise information provided by the inscription on the pedestals on two sides of the stairs indicates that Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, who was probably from Sardis,  was the Consul in 92 A.D. and the Proconsul of Asia in 106-107, and information about his public service and social status. Furthermore it is recorded in the recovered inscriptions that, “the library was constructed by son of Celsus and the Consul in 110 A.D. Celsus Julius Aquila, for his father as a heroon”.

 

      The library was entered through the three Gates which were located symmetrical to the axis on the facade with aediculas(small niches) reached by stairs of 9 steps and with statue pedestals on both sides. The indented desing of the two-storied alived- like facade of the library was achieved through the architectural elements overlapping on the upper and lower levels. Being narrower, the lower level had four higher aediculas while the upper level had three wider aediculas. There were single columns carrying detached entablatures on both sides. The Windows on the upper level accord with the entrances on the lower level through the plan of the facade designed by the architacts of the library, a beguiling perspective was created and the audience was mislead into thinking that the stage was wider than it actually was, through giving a curve to the horizontal elements of the building and increasing by a certain proportion the vertical elements of the construction on the central axis. Even though the front of the library was two-storied, the building inside was three-storied. The reading hall behind the facade was constructed following a tetragonal plan and the floor pavements and wall panels were covered by marble plaques of varius colors. There was an apse in the rear wall of the library and there was a statue of the Goddness Athena within this grand niched arch. There was the marble sarcophagus of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus beneath the apse and the vault was reached through a narrow passage in the North of the library. There were two storeys above the reading hall in the entrance, which was where the boks were kept. The books, rolled scrolls ( generally of papyrus) were kept in the niches in these two floors and were accessed from the galleries. As a result of the severe earthquakes in 262 A.D. the reading hall of the library caught fire and was destroyed and the main hall was not restored. A pool was constructed on the stairs of the library with large scale carved relief plates, and the front of the library provided the magnificent rear wall of this pool during the Late Antique period. The large scale circulars relief plaques on the front of the fountain which were known as the “Plaques of Parth”. These originally formed parts of the monumental altar constructed in honour of Emperor Lucius Verus in the mid-2nd century. Today most of these plaques are in the Museum of Ephesus in Vienna, with the recently discovered pieces exhibited in the Museum of Ephesus in Seljuk. The front of the Library was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages.

The Love House

     The house next door to the Latrina has figured mosaic pavements and together with the inscription of close to its end. The upper level is in the Ionic order and the lower level in the Doric order. The roof relief and frieze pieces found in the excavation indicate that the building was constructed in the 2nd were paved with mosaics. There women drinking and sitting around a table are depicted in the floor mosaicsof the small room. It is thought that the women’s rooms were upstairs and the rooms on the ground floor were reserved for the guests. The portraits of four womens are depicted in the mosaic in the dining room with the four seasons of the year described through the depiction of these house in this vicinity, portraying the God Bes with a long phallus and numerous erotic statuettes, some of which are exhibited in the Museum of Ephesus. There is also a depiction of a heart punctured by an arrow and a foot, and an effigy of a woman of Polos  incised on a marble block, which also is said to indicate a connection to the love house. The depiction of a heart indicates the love house and the effigy of the women of Polos indicates the library, it reads “follow me” (AKOLOYQI)in one sentences of the inscription.

The Latrina (Public Lavatory)

 

     In Ephesus every need was considered; a latrina (a public lavatory) was built at the corner of Kuretes Street and the Academy Path, facing the baths of Varius. On three sides of the open peristyle court are U- shaped marble seats with holes (toilet seats). A deep sewage pipe was located under the seats allowing fort he fast sterilization of the toilet drains and the rapid removal of bad smells. The clean water passing through the channels in front of the toilets seats gave the people the means to clean themselves up. Rain water was also passed from the channels beneath the Latrina in the connected pipes. In this place people lifted the togas they wore and could use the facilities in a group at the same time. The floor was paved with mosaic around the pool in the middle.,

The Octagon and the Fountain of the City-Founder Androklos

     The Octagon is located by the side of Kuretes Street on the nortwestern corner of the second Slope House. This building, which has inscriptions im Latin and Greek on the side facing the Street, is a monumental tomb for Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe IV, who was killed in 41 B.C. and is of an octagonal shape on top of a pedestal of a tetragonal shape. There is a vault and sarcophagus in this building. This octagonal building is surrounded by columns. The parts close to the roof are embellished with garlands and the roof was of a conical shape. The parts belonging to the roof and the Corinthian capitals of the tomb are still preserved. “The division of the monetary help to the cities after the earthquake”, is recorded in the Latin inscription on the left side. The inscription on the right side in Latin and Greek is about, “providing the funding fort he State Festival Games by the four cities”.

     The Fountain of the City-Founder Androklos: It is a fountain building  constructed in honor of Androklos the mythological founder of Ephesus and is situated in the North of Kuretes Street, close to its end. The upper levels is in the Ionic order and the lower level in the Doric order. The roof reliefs and frieze pieces found in the excavations indicate that the building was constructed in the 2nd century B.C. The water source called Hypelaia is inside this building complex. Its facede was covered with marble in the Byzantine period and so this fountain is also called the Byzantine Fountain.

Houses on the Slope (Terrace Houses)

    These were the houses of the wealthy of Ephesus, established on terraces on the slope of Mount Bülbül. They were built in peristle, adjacent to each other, of approximately the same size, each consisting of two flats, on three terraces. Some of these houses covered an area of 900-950 m². The construction of these houses dates to the 1st century B.C. from the finds made during excavations. However  after the restorations and repairs that were made after the earthquakes in 262 and 369-370 A.D., it is known  that the houses, most of which were of two-storey, were inhabited until the 7th century A.D. The entrances to these houses were from narrow paths with stairs. There was an inner court in the middle of the houses, which was surrounded by columns in a peristly and this court constituted the center of these houses. There was a covered gallery area with mosaic floors around this court and all romms were lined around this area, with the doors opened onto  thiz gallery. The rooms were the dining room, the bedroom, the guestroom, the bath, the lavatory, the kitchen and the slave room. All of these rooms obtained their light from this central courtyard. The hypocaust system (underfloor heating) ensured many rooms were centrally heated and this heating system was also installed on the second floors of these houses. The clean water and the sewage pipes of the baths, fountains and lavatories(Latrina)in the houses were freely used  as public service. Moreover, water requirements were provided for by the wells cisterns dug in the bedrock. The sewage pipes under the stairs were linked to the main sewer pipes in Kuretes Street. The most important room in residence No.1 is the theater room, with its walls decorated with depictios from the comedies of Menandros and the tragedies of Euripides. There is mythological scene(the fight between Hercules and Achilles)in front of an architectural adorment on the upper side of the northern wall. The main center of residence No.2 is the Rhodian 9 columns peristyle  court dating from the Late Empire period. In the vault of the tablinum in the South, there is an excellent glass mosaic depicting Dionysus and Ariadne in paradise. In the pedestal mosaic of the gallery in front, mythological sea creatures are depicted (a Nereid mounting a seahorse of Triton). The most important room in residence No.3 has depictions of the 9 Muses, and of Sappho and Apollo. Furthermore, the portraits, on the east wall of the inner court, depicting the renowed philosophers of the period, are of great importance for the history of art. In  residence No.4 are depictions of Socrates (today displayed in the Seljuk Museum of Ephesus) and the Muse Urania. By the door to the east section of the house are the frescoes belonging to the oldest period of decoration at Ephesus.

 

     The changes brought about though the construction of the apse of the basilica  on the lower terrace destroyed the balance of this residence. Also this stairs provide a connection to residence No.6 and it is thought that the owner of residence No.4 was also the owner of this northern  adjacent house. Due to the wealth of the owner, it was thought that in the period between the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., that residence  No.4 was used as the kitchen for residence No.6 Apart from the spaciousness of residence No.6, of 950m², the social, economic and religious duties and the home an Ephesian notable during the reign of Emperor Severus was revealed through the finds made in the excavation of this residence. It ıs understood to have been more important than the other residences on the slope, as there is an inscription which indicates its owner at the end of the 2nd centruy A.D. was C. Flavius Furius Aptus and it is known that Furis Aptus, a notable of Ephesus at least once at the end of the 2nd centruy A.D. had sponsored the Games held at Ephesus. This residence has a peristle court, thought to have been of two storeys. From this court one could enter the rooms in the West and North, a magnificent hall covered in marble on the South side, and the tunnel vaulted Private Basilica accessed from a small court with cross vault in the southwest. The importance to the home owner of the Dionysus cult is also reflected in the decorations inside the house and the subjects of the plaster relief in the vaults of a small room which opens to the main court in a basilica style. The thiasos carrying creatures of Dionysus are depicted on the vaulted ceillings, which are divided geometrically while the wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne among the Erotes is depicted on the stage by the pediment arch. Residece No.7, of 900 m² was connected at times to residence No.6 lying to its West. This residence built according to the traditional plan, is full of rooms having differing characteristics, all surrounding the center inner court. There are marble effigies of Emperor Augustus’ wife Livia and his sons, and Emperor Tiberius with a bronze statue of a snake(displayed in the Museum of Ephesus)in the peristyle exedra on the southern side.