A Guide to Ephesus

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A GUIDE TO EPHESUS

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Ephesus Archaeological Site
The ruins of Ephesus, once the most important Greco-Roman city of the Eastern Mediterranean, is one of the best preserved ancient sites in the world. Today, modern travelers can trace the fault lines of ancient civilization in Ephesus's spectacular landscape of ruined temples, theaters, and colonnaded streets. There are two entrances to the site, which is on a hill, one at the top of the site and one at the bottom. The main avenue is about a mile long but there are a number of intriguing detours, so a minimum visit of two hours can easily stretch to four, not including an hour in the museum in town. The road leading to the upper entrance of the site passes a 1st-century AD stadium, where chariot and horse races were held on a track 712 feet long and where gladiators and wild beasts met in combat before 70,000 spectators. On the left-hand side after you enter the site from the upper entrance is a 25,000 seat theater, backed by the western slope of Mt. Pion. Construction on this huge semicircle, with row upon row of curved benches, was begun by Alexander's general, Lysimachus, and completed by emperors Claudius and Trajan in the 2nd century AD. There is a fine view from the top of the steps. Higher still, near the top of Mt. Pion, are vestiges of the city's Byzantine walls. The theater is used for music and dance performances each May during the Selçuk Ephesus Festival of Culture and Art. Leading away from the theater toward the ancient port, now a marsh, is the Arcadian Way. This 1,710-foot-long street was once lined with shops and covered archways. Only a long line of slender marble columns remains. In front of the theater is Marble Avenue. Follow it to the beautiful, two-story Library of Celsus. The courtyard of this much-photographed building is backed by wide steps that climb to the reading room, where you can still see rolls of papyrus. The library is near Marble Avenue's intersection with the Curetes Street, a still-impressive thoroughfare named for the college of priests once located there. At this corner is a large house believed to have been a brothel. Look for the floor mosaics of three women. To the right along the street are the terrace houses the multistoried houses of the nobility, with terraces and courtyards—there is a separate entrance fee to the terrace houses but the elaborate housing complexes of the Ephesian bourgeoisie are very interesting. A block from the brothel is the facade of the Temple of Hadrian, with four Corinthian columns and a serpent-headed hydra above the door to keep out evil spirits; beyond is a partially restored fountain dedicated to the emperor Trajan. The street then forks and opens into a central square that once held the Prytaneion, or town hall; the Nymphaion, a small temple decked with fountains; and the Temple of Domitian, on the south side of the square, which was once a vast sanctuary with a colossal statue of the emperor for whom it was named. All are now a jumble of collapsed walls and columns. Returning to the Street of Kuretes, turn right to reach the odeon, an intimate semicircle with just a few rows of seats, where spectators would listen to poetry readings and music. Columns mark the northern edge of the state agora. Beyond, the Magnesian Gate. at the end of the street, was the starting point for a caravan trail and a colonnaded road to the Temple of Artemis.