Classical Heritage of Anatolia (Day II)

Today was one of the highlights of my journey here through Turkey. We spent the day exploring the best preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. Walking through Ephesus, I felt as if I were stepping back in time and experiencing what life was like in Classical times. Ancient Ephesus was a great trading city and a centre for the cult of Cybele, the Anatolian fertility goddess. Under the influence of the Ionian Greeks, Cybele became Artemisia, the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon, and a fabulous temple was built in her honor. When the Romans took over this city and made it the capital city of the province of Asia, Artemisia became Diana.
We started this incredible day with a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemisia, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This site had been a place of pilgrimage in ancient Anatolia since 88BCE. By 600 BCE Ephesus was a prosperous trading city. In ancient times Ephesus was a seaport on the Aegean. The temple of Artemisia would have been looming large and magnificent as ancient vessels made their way into the harbor. Under Roman control Ephesus grew to 250,000 people and the cult of Diana brought pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean world. St. Paul when he visited this city in the 1st century CE came to preach about Christianity to the Ephesians and the uselessness of the cult of Diana. He preached in the Ephesus theatre and caused such a riot among Ephesians as a result of his attacks against Diana that he fled the city for his life.
After a stop at the site of the temple we toured the Ephesus Museum where among other classical ruins excavated in Ephesus we saw the statue of Artemisia. Next we explored other sites of Ephesus. In upper Ephesus we saw the odium, where the city council met and the Temple of Hestia Boulaea, in which a perpetually burning flame was guarded. Making our way towards the marketplace we passed through the Gate of Hercules constructed in the 4th century CE . The view looking down onto the agora, the market place, is spectacular. At its end is the famous Library of Celsus, named after the Roman governor of Asia Minor in the early part of the 2nd century CE. Along the market we couldn’t help but to pop into the remains of the male communal bathroom. (FYI-I now know what the Romans used instead of toilet paper-the had a remarkable water distribution system running all the way through Ephesus and some of the water that ran in throufs below the toilets from the baths up above was diverted into small channels in front of the toilets. Romans would then used available sponges to clean themselves and then washed them in the channel.) We also passed the Temple of Hadrian with a head of Medusa to keep out evil spirits. Finally, I paused for awhile to appreciate the library which once held 12,000 scrolls in niches around its walls. The outside of the temple has statues of the four wisdoms-Though, Knowledge, Wisdom and Goodness. (The real statues are in the Austrian Archeological Museum). There was of course much, much more to see and explore but time was against us.
Next it was up to visit the Basilica of St. John built by Emperor Justinian. It was here that St. John is believed to have preached. The 6th century church that bears his name was built here atop the ruins of the earliest Ephesus ruins. It was so moving to walk through a baptismal font along “the way of the pilgrims” as the early Ephesian converts must have done. Perhaps they were baptized by Paul or St. John themselves. St. John’s believed burial spot is here as well. The hill allows for a spectacular view of the temple of Artemesia and it’s easy to use one’s imagination to see the Aegean waters reaching up to its shores.
Lastly, but certainly not least, on my personal list, we visited The House of The Virgin Mary. After Jesus’ death in 33 CE, his mother, Mary, was entrusted into the care of the apostle John. John as I mentioned earlier, came to Asia Minor to spread the gospel and it is believed he took Mary with him and that it was here in Ephesus that Mary lived her last years. In the 19th century a German nun had a dream that the spot where Mary lived and where she was taken into heaven was in Ephesus. Clergy from nearby Izmir came to Ephesus and went to the place revealed in the sister’s dream. What they found was the foundation of the house you see today. (The house was reconstructed in the early 20th century). Below the Byzantine foundation was the remains of a 1st century home. Today pilgrims from all over, Muslims as well as Christians come to this spot to pray and meditate and bring back the waters from the spring. It was a very peaceful and reflective end to a extraordinary memorable day.