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Ancient writers largely agree
that Ephesus was founded
sometime between 1500 and 1000
B.C, and this is supported by
archaeological evidence at the
site. Later, it appears that
lonians settled in the cities of
lonia. According to legend,
under the leadership of
Androklos, son of Kodros, the
migrants arrived in Anatolia,
and asked their sages where
their new city should be
established. The sages
prophesied that a wild boar and
a fish would lead them to the
site of the new settlement. One
day, Androklos, himself a new
migrant from Greece, was cooking
fish on an open fire, when a
fish flew from the pan into the
nearby bushes. Sparks from the
fire also ignited the bushes,
and as they flared up, a wild
boar ran out of the bushes to
escape from the flames.
Androklos pursued and killed the
boar.
Then recalling the words of the
wise men, he built his city on
this site, which is at a place
about 1200 metres west of the
Artemision, where the original
city of Ephesus was founded. The
cities of lonia were later
joined together in a federation
entitled the Ionian confederacy.
Androklos, the city's first
king, died in battle with the
Carians, and the Ephesians
erected a memorial to their
first monarch. In the 7th
century B.C, Ephesus was invaded
by the Cimmerians, who razed the
city to the ground, and burnt
what they could, including the
temple of Artemis. After this,
Ephesus was ruled by a series of
tyrants.
Now let us visit the Museum of
Ephesus to look at the statue of
Artemis Ephesia, the altar of
the Temple of Domitian, the
Socrates frescos and the
Theodosian reliefs from the
temple of Hadrian. After
studying these beautiful
artefacts, we may move on to the
basilica of St. John on the
slopes of Ayasoluk. This
magnificent basilica was built
during the 6th century AD. by
the emperor Justinian, and
dedicated to St John. The
entrance to the basilica was on
the western façade, and the plan
of the church was cruciform. The
narthex was covered with a
single cupola, and the church
proper with six domes supported
on columns. Under the central
dome was situated the tomb of St
John.
On the eastern end of the church
were bays arranged in a
semi-circle, used by the priests
during ceremonies. The floors
are mosaic, and to the north of
the tomb are frescos on which
are depicted several of the
saints. In the centre is the
figure of Christ, and to his
left is that of St John and a
priest The basilica has been
restored several times, and on
the capitals of several of the
columns be seen the monograms of
the Emperor Justinian and the
empress Theodora. In 1869, an
Englishman named Wood discovered
the site of the Artemision.
Excavations were carried out
after this in 1904 by another
Englishman named Hogarth. In
1895 the temple was first
excavated by an Austrian team,
and it is Austrians who are
presently engaged in
excavational work around the
site. |
