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What was it?
How could just a temple take its place among other unique structures such as the Pyramid, the Hanging Gardens, and the Colossus of Rhodes? For the people who actually visited it, the answer was simple. It was not just a temple... It was the most beautiful structure on earth... It was built in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting and wild nature. That was the Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus.
Location
The ancient city of Ephesus is near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey.
History
Although the foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC, the structure that earned a spot in the list of Wonders was built around 550 BC. Referred to as the great marble temple, it was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled artists of the time.
The temple served as both a marketplace and a place to worship. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent excavations at the site have found gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings, bracelets, and necklaces... objects from as far away as Persia and India.
On the night of 21 July 356 BC, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to become famous. He did indeed. Strangely enough, Alexander the Great was born the same night. The historian Plutarch later wrote that the goddess was "too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple". Over the next twenty years, the temple was restored and when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he helped rebuild the destroyed temple.
When St Paul visited Ephesus to preach Christianity in the first century AD, people were still worshipping their goddess Artemis. And when the temple was again destroyed by the Goths in AD 262, the Ephesians rebuilt it. By the fourth century AD, most Ephesians had become Christins and didn't use the temple. Finally in AD 401 the Temple of Artemis was torn down by Christians. Ephesus was later deserted, and only in the late nineteenth century has the site been excavated. The digging found the temple's foundation and the road to the now swampy site. Attempts were recently made to rebuilt the temple, but only a few columns have been re-erected.
Description
The temple was rectangular in shape, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m by 130 m. The columns were 20 m high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total.
The temple housed many works of art, including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists at the time. When St Paul visited the city, the temple was adorned with golden pillars and silver statuettes, and was decorated with paintings. There is no evidence that a statue of the goddess herself was placed at the center of the sanctuary, but it probably was.