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Ephesus |
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The findings obtained in this region
where the native people, namely the
Lelegs and the Carians have lived since
the beginning, indicate that the city is
dated back to 2000 years B.C. As far as
the years of 1000 are concerned, it is
assumed that the Ions came to this
region, lead by Androckles. Ephesus was
captured by the Kimmers (Cimmerians) in
the 7th century B.C., by the Lydians in
560, and later in 546 B.C. by the
Persians; and was rescued from the
Persian domination when Alexander the
Great defeated the Persians in 334 B.C. |
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Lysimachos, a commander of Alexander's,
had the settlement removed from the
whereabouts of the Temple of Artemis to
the location between the Mount of
Panayir and the Mount of Bülbül, and had
a wall built around the city. The city
was taken by the Kingdom of Pergamon
after 190 B.C., by Rome in 133 B.C., and
later by Byzantium, Ephesus maintained
its importance during the period of
Christianity, and the apostle St. Paul
arrived there during the years of 50
A.D. It is also a known fact that St.
John was buried on the hill of Ayasuluk
(Selcuk, near Izmir) at the beginning of
the 2nd century. Ephesus lived through
its third glorious period during the
reign of Justinianus in the middle of
the 6th century A.D. and, at this time,
the Church of St. John was built on the
hill of Ayasuluk by the Byzantine
emperor.
The Temple of Artemis is also one of the
places to visit in Ephesus besides the
Church of St. John. The Temple of
Artemis, which had been built at first
during the Archaic period (8th c. B.C.),
was one of the Seven Wonders of the
ancient world later during the
Hellenistic period and, in the year 356
B.C. when Alexander the Great was born,
it was destroyed by a lunatic called
Herostatus who always wanted to be
remembered in the future (and he
succeeded) and was reconstructed by the
people of Ephesus. It has 127 ionic
columns and its dimensions are 55 x 115
m. Some of the bases of the columns of
the temple are ornamented with raised
relief design. Today two marble statues
of the goddess Artemis can be seen in
the nearby museum. Some other friezes
are in British Museum in London.
The ruins of Ephesus, situated near
Selcuk - Izmir, are centers of interest
owing to the ancient remains that are
still existent. When you enter through
the Magnesia Gate from above you see the
State Agora (or Upper Agora). The Temple
of Isis is situated at the center of the
Agora, and Stoa is placed on the North
side of it. The Odeion (Bouletarion or
Parliament) with a capacity of 1400
persons is placed behind it and the
Prytaneion (Town Hall) where the sacred
fire used to burn, is on its flank. The
Baths of Varius are placed on the east
side of Odeion. On the west of the
Agora, the Monument of Memmius built in
the 1st c BC., the fountain of C.
Sextilius Pollio built in the year 93
A.D., and the Temple of Domitian (81-93
A.D) are placed. On the south of the
Agora, the fountain of Laecanius Bassus
is situated. The Curetes street starts
downwards from the Temple of Memmius.
The Gate of Heracles (Hercules) is
placed on this avenue. After passing
through this part, the fountain of
Trajan built in the years 102-114 is
seen on the right hand side and after
this, the Temple of Hadrian appears in
front of us, in all its splendid beauty
(117-138 A.D). The Scholastica Baths,
built in the 4th century A.D., are
situated behind the Temple of Hadrian.
The houses of the rich people of Ephesus
which were in front of it, have been
restored and opened for visits at
present with special permits.
At the corner formed by the Curetes
street and the Marble Road, the House of
Love (Pornaion or Brothel) is placed and
the Library of Celsus, restored and
reestablished in recent years, stands
right in front of this. The library
which had been built in the name of
proconsul Gaius Celsus completed in the
year 135 A.D. by his son Tiberius
Giulius Aquila, is entered by way of a
stairway, 21 m in width and having 9
steps. The southeastern gate of the
Trade Agora opens to the Library of
Celsus. Emperor Augustus' slaves,
Mazaeus and Mithridates, liberated by
him had this gate built in the year 1st
c. A.D.; it comprises three sections and
has been restored today. The Corinthian
columns of the Stoa encircling the Trade
Agora with the dimensions 110 x 110 m,
are standing erect today. The Temple of
Serapes built in the period of Antonine
(138-192 A.D.) is placed behind the
Trade Agora.
One of the magnificent buildings of
Ephesus is the theater, largest in Asia
Minor, which had a capacity of 24.000+
people and is in a rather well preserved
condition. The construction had started
during the Hellenistic period but it
could only be completed during the time
of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). Festivals are
celebrated in this theater today. St.
Paul was dragged into this theater to
face the crowed because of his famous
letter to Ephesians, but rescued by the
security corps of the city.
The Port Avenue extends in front of the
theater. The avenue is 11 m wide and 600
m long, and it has been called Arcadian
Street because it was renewed during the
time of Arcadius. All the streets of
Ephesus were illuminated at night with
oil lamps, this shows us the richness of
the city. On the whole north side of the
avenue, there are the Harbor Gymnasium,
baths and the Theater Gymnasium. The
avenue that passes along the front of
the theater, extends towards the Stadium
built during the Nero period (54-68
A.D.) and towards the Vedius Gymnasium.
The Church of the Virgin Mary built at
the beginning of the 4th century A.D. is
situated behind the Port Gymnasium
before the exit. This was also the
meeting place of the 3rd Ecumenical
Council.
On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale mountain)
there is the House of the Virgin where
it's believed that she passed last years
of her life and died. Virgin Mary came
to Ephesus together with St. John and
taken up to Panaghia Kapulu mountain to
survive the Roman persecutions. The
House was destroyed by many earthquakes
and not discovered until 1951 thanks to
a German Nun Catherine Emmerich who saw
its location in her visions. It is
recognized as a shrine by Vatican. Now
the House of Virgin Mary is renovated by
George Outman Foundation from Ohio and
serves as a small church which attracts
many Christians as well as Muslims
coming to pray for Her. The Mass is held
here every weekday and Saturdays at
07.15 and Sundays at 10.30 AM. On 15th
August 2000 there was a great ceremony
for the Assumption of the Virgin.
The Seven Youths of Ephesus
Maximilian, Jamblicus, Martinian, John,
Dionysius, Exacustodian (Constantine)
and Antoninus
These saints lived in the third century
in Ephesus. Saint Maximilian was the son
of the Ephesian city governor; the
remaining six youths were the sons of
other notable Ephesian citizens. The
youths were friends from childhood, and
all were in military service. When the
Emperor Decius (249-251) arrived in
Ephesus, he commanded all the citizens
to appear for the offering of sacrifice
to the pagan deities; but torments and
the death penalty awaited the
recalcitrant. Upon denunciation by those
who sought the Emperor's favor, the
seven Ephesian youths were also called
to account. While standing before the
Emperor, the holy youths confessed their
faith in Christ. Immediately, their
military insignia - their military belts
- were taken from them. However, Decius
set them free, hoping that they would
change their minds while he was on a
campaign. The youths left the city and
hid in a cave on Mount Ochlon, where
they passed the time in prayers,
preparing for the martyric struggle. The
youngest of them - Saint Jamblicus -
clothing himself in pauper's rags, would
go to the city and buy bread. During one
such excursion to the city, he heard
that the Emperor had returned and that
they were being sought in order to be
put on trial.
Saint Maximilian inspired his friends to
leave the cave and appear voluntarily in
court. But the Emperor, having learned
where the youths were hiding, ordered
that the entrance to the cave be blocked
up with stones so that the youths would
die therein from hunger and thirst. Two
of the officials present at the blocking
up of the entrance to the cave were
secret Christians. Desiring to preserve
the memory of the saints, they placed
among the stones a sealed coffer in
which were two tin plaques. Written
thereon were the names of the seven
youths and the circumstances of their
passion and death.
But the Lord brought upon the youths a
miraculous sleep, which lasted nearly
two centuries. By that time, the
persecutions against the Christians had
ceased, although under the holy,
right-believing THeodosius the Younger
(408-450), heretics appeared, who
rejected the resurrection of the dead at
the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Some of them said: "How can
there be a resurrection of the dead,
when there will be neither body nor
soul, since they will be annihilated?"
Others asserted: "Only souls will have a
recompense, since it is impossible for
bodies to rise and come to life after a
thousand years, when even dust from them
does not remain. It was then that the
Lord revealed the mystery of the awaited
resurrection of the dead and the future
life through His seven youths.
The owner of the parcel of land on which
Mount Ochlon was situated began a stone
building, and the workers took the
entrance to the cave to pieces. The Lord
revived the youths, and they awoke
literally from ordinary sleep, not
suspecting that nearly two hundred years
had passed. Their bodies and clothes
were completely incorrupt. Preparing to
receive torments, the youths charged
Saint Jamblicus once more to buy them
bread in the city to fortify their
strength. On approaching the city, the
youth was astounded to see the holy
Cross on the gates. On hearing the Name
of Jesus Christ freely pronounced, he
began to doubt that he had come to his
own city.
When paying for the bread, the holy
youth gave to the merchant a coin with
the depiction of the Emperor Decius and
was detained as one who had hidden a
treasure of old coins. Saint Jamblicus
was brought to the city governor, whom
the Ephesian bishop was with at that
time. Listening to the youth's perplexed
answers, the bishop understood that God
was revealing through him some mystery,
and he himself set out for the cave
together with the people. At the
entrance to the cave, the bishop drew
the sealed coffer out from the pile of
stones and opened it. He read the names
of the seven youths on the tin plaques
and the circumstances of their
immurement in the cave at the command of
the Emperor Decius. On entering the cave
and seeing the youths alive therein,
everyone rejoiced and understood that
the Lord, through their waking up from a
long sleep, was revealing to the Church
the mystery of the resurrection of the
dead. Soon the Emperor arrived in
Ephesus and conversed with the youths in
the cave. And then the holy youths,
before everyone's eyes, laid their heads
on the ground and again fell asleep,
this time until the general
resurrection. The Emperor wanted to
place each of the youths in a precious
reliquary, but the holy youths,
appearing to him in a dream, said that
their bodies were to be left in the cave
on the ground. In the twelfth century,
the Russian pilgrim, Abbot Daniel, saw
these holy relics of the seven youths in
the cave.
The memory of the seven youths is
celebrated a second time on the 22nd of
October. (According to one tradition,
which entered into the Russian Prologue,
the youths fell asleep the second time
on this day; according to a note in the
Greek Menaion of 1870, they fell asleep
the first time on the 4th of August, and
awoke on the 22nd of October. The holy
youths are also remembered in the
service of the ecclesiastical new year -
the 1st of September.)
Today the Cave of Seven Sleepers is on
one of the sideways going to Ephesus.
Other places to visit in and around
Ephesus are; the Mosque of Isa Bey built
in 1375, The Church of St. John where he
was buried after his exile in Patmos,
Roman Aquaducts, and the Museum of
Ephesus where the ancient remains found
in the ruins of Ephesus and environs are
beautifully displayed. Also Sirince
village represents an interesting
mixture of past-Greek existence with
today's local Turkish people producing
home made wine and olive oil. |
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