Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis, also known less precisely as Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to Artemis completed— in its most famous phase— around 550 BC at Ephesus (in present-day Turkey). Though the monument was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only foundations and sculptural fragments of the temple remain. There were previous temples on its site, where evidence of a sanctuary dates as early as the Bronze Age. It aroused the admiration of even Alexander the Great who would have liked to have taken charge - at his own expense - of the continuation of the work. Among others, Scopas and Praxiteles worked there, while the design is attributed to Chirocratus.


The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated facade overlooking a spacious courtyard.On July 21, 356 B.C., the day Alexander the Great was born, a man named Herostratus burned down the temple. A new temple of Artemis, designed by Dinocrates, was built in its place.The great temple was eventually destroyed successively by invading Gothic hordes, earthquakes, and plunderers. Today, only a solitary column remains of this once-glorious structure.

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