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 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.
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