Home to one of the Seven Ancient
Wonders of the World, Ephesus is an important city of antiquity located
in Turkey. Can you guess which 'Wonder' existed at Ephesus?
It was the Temple of Artemis, which was built back in 550 BC. The
size and beauty of this all marble temple is what puts it into this
exclusive category. The platform, which was 260 ft. by 430 ft., supported
one hundred twenty seven 60 ft. columns. That's about as tall as the
Sphinx in Egypt and as large as a football field and a half!
Antony and Cleopatra used to vacation at Ephesus, and it is where they met
for the last time before the Battle of Actium.
Archaeologists have uncovered artifacts at Ephesus dating well into the third
millennium B.C, long before the Ionian colonists first arrived around 1,000 B.C.
Emperor Augustus made Ephesus the capital of the Roman province of Asia.
St. Paul preached here, as did St. John, who moved to Ephesus with the Virgin
Mary after the crucifixion of Jesus.
It's the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. She lived the last years of
her life in a small stone house on the outskirts of Ephesus, which eventually
became a center of early Christianity.
Current day Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city on the Mediterranean.
