"Artemis of Ephesus is divine." The country of great Artemis, the goddess of hunting and the chase, stood around the bay of the Kucuk Menderes river (kaystros). As time passed, the bay was filled with silt carried by the water of the river. In ancient times, before the Ionians, it is believed that a certain goddess of abundance ruled over the land. It is known that the old inhabitants of this country, that is, the Carians and the Lelegians, used to call the goddess of abundance whom they worshipped, "Great Mother". Though there is a big question as to what name she was called, we know that this goddess was worshipped. After the Ionians came to this city, they called the nameless goddess with the Greek name Artemis. When the Ionians came to the bay of Kucuk Menderes, between the two roads leading to the bay there stood a temple. This was surrounded with walls. In it there was a wooden statue representing Artemis the goddess. This was the first of many statues of Artemis and it was accepted as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. When Croesus, the King of the Lydians invaded this area, the temple was ruined, and so the king himself offered to build another temple of stone and presented some pillars to decorate the new Temple of Artemis. The temple site is now a ditch about one or two hundred metres on the right hand side of the road leading from Selcuk to Ephesus.
After Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in the year 334 B.C. he visited Ephesus, liked it very much and revered it. He organised a parade full of pomp in honour of the goddess. He promised the Ephesians that he would undertake all the expenses for Artemis, but the proud Ephesians declined this offer and smartly replied in such a way that even Alexander was pleased by the answer: "It would not befit a deity like you to build a temple to another deity". There was another reason for Alexander, who later received the title of "the Great" at the age of twenty, to feel such great reverence towards Artemis. When Alexander was born in Pella, the metropolis of Macedonia near Salonika in 356 BC, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was burnt down that same night by a madman named Herostratus, who wished to become famous by doing this. On a question about this to the Ephesians: "Why couldn't your goddess protect her temple from destruction by fire?" it was answered: "Because our goddess had gone to Pella to be present at the birth of the Great Alexander."
Today, only a huge ditch remains from the majestic and colossal monument of that age. After this conflagration, the new temple was erected with the assistance of the most famous Greek architects of the time, Praxiteles and Skopas, and decorated with statues. The statue of the goddess, ornamented with gold and brilliant marble, used to blaze in the light.
The story of "Great Artemis of Ephesus" is explained as follows: In the early days of Christianity, a conflict had begun between the God of Christians and all the pagan gods. One of those who carried out this campaign was St. Paul. During that period a certain jeweller, Demetrius, used to make silver miniatures of the Temple of Artemis and sell them. He heard that St. Paul stated that idols made by man could not be gods and should not be sacred and worshipped. Demetrius explained this situation to the artisans who worked in his workshop. As a result these men, who believed deeply in Artemis and considered that their interests would be greatly endangered if the temple lost its importance, marched to the great theatre in a group shouting: "Great is Artemis of Ephesus." It became such a big crowd that most people hadn't any idea why they came together.
This confusion was created by the artisans on purpose. Many orations were recited. Then the government took a hand in this affair and it was brought to court. As a result, St. Paul was compelled to leave the city. The Temple of Artemis was an architectural masterpiece which attracted people from all over the world for at least one thousand years as a holy place for pilgrimage. The most skilful architects and artists fashioned it.
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