Artemis of Ephesus is one of the most famous goddesses of Antiquity. Her home was in Anatolia and, although she has disappeared in practice, you can still encounter her face to face on your next trip to Turkey. In this post we tell you the most interesting aspects of this divinity, represented in several statues that leave visitors awestruck by their evocative power.
Where it was located and where it is today
The name Artemis of Ephesus refers to the divinity who was venerated in the famous Temple of Artemis, on the outskirts of Ephesus. This temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, due to its grandeur and veneration, and is commemorated in an interactive museum or even at Miniaturk in Istanbul. In fact, it was one of the reasons for the economic importance of this city: thousands of pilgrims from many points across the Mediterranean disembarked at its port to pay homage to this singular divinity.
The Temple of Artemis, constructed in the 6th century BC (on the site of an earlier place of worship), was abandoned over time, destroyed by fire, rebuilt, and subsequently razed by Goths in the 3rd century. Inside it was preserved a large statue of this goddess, to whom special worship was rendered, with offerings.
Today only the ruins of this temple remain and the principal statue has disappeared, but important archaeological pieces have been recovered, now exhibited in the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, in the nearby city of Selçuk. Some of these pieces are smaller sculptures of this goddess, easily recognizable, as we shall see below.
Who the goddess is and what she is like
Known as Artemis of Ephesus because the Greeks assimilated her with their goddess Artemis (a very common practice in that civilization), the truth is that this goddess appears to have more attributes of the goddess Cybele, who was known as the mother goddess in Anatolia, specifically by the Phrygians who inhabited this territory.
Cybele and by extension Artemis of Ephesus are the goddesses of the earth, nature, and fertility. They are represented as a standing female figure, rigid and in frontal position. On her head, a tower or a temple, which could refer to her own temple and to herself as the pillar of her cult.
On her, earrings, necklaces and many other accessories where different animals are observed: lions, deer, griffins and, especially, bees, which are the symbol of Ephesus and which in this temple were considered sacred animals. In fact, the bust of the goddess may well recall a beehive with bees clustered around their ‘mother’ or ‘queen,’ the goddess.
The bust of the goddess also evokes female breasts, multiplied everywhere to denote her power of fertility, of which she was protector. Other interpretations connect these protuberances with amber pearls in the shape of teardrops, which were ex-votos or offerings that faithful pilgrims hung on her xoanon, that is, a wooden sculpture on which such offerings were deposited and which, perhaps, was the central statue of the temple.
How to visit the museum
To become acquainted with Artemis of Ephesus up close, you will necessarily have to visit the Ephesus Archaeological Museum. It preserves two sculptures of this type, with slight variations between them, which demonstrates a widespread and standardized cult of this goddess, as she is also present in other archaeological museums and private collections around the world.
The exact address of the museum is Atatürk, Uğur Mumcu Sevgi Yolu No: 26, 35920 Selçuk/İzmir. The general admission price is €10 and it is open every day of the week, from 8:00 to 19:00 in the summer season (from April to October, both inclusive) and from 8:30 to 17:30 the rest of the year (consult the website for possible changes to this information).
So if your passion is archaeology and ancient religions, you have an appointment with Artemis of Ephesus. And, why not, you can travel later to more similar destinations with other agencies in our group, Mandala Tours: to the necropolises of Ancient Egypt, to the Hindu and Buddhist temples of India, etc.
