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Ephesus
★ UNESCO
World Heritage
Ephesus

📷 Yasin Onuş · Pexels

Where in the world

Türkiye

The site

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk, Turkey, founded by Attic and Ionian colonists on the earlier site of Apasa. It was famous for the nearby Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and boasted the Library of Celsus and a theatre seating 24,000. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it slowly declined as its harbour silted up.

Field notes

civilizations
Greek
types
Village · City
built
1,000 BCE
occupied
1,000 BCE — 700 CE
country
Türkiye

See it in 3D

3D capture Theather Ephesus | TURKEY Arqueomodel3D ↗

Notable finds

Renowned pieces unearthed at Ephesus — and where they are today

Parthian Monumentarchaeological artefact
Parthian Monumentmarble · 150 CE▸Ephesos Museum

Figures of this place

Laid to rest, born or died at Ephesus

Heraclitus✶
Heraclitusborn hereGreek philosopher (late 6th/early 5th-century BC)
John VI✶
John VIborn herepope
Herostratus✶
Herostratusborn hereancient Greek arsonist
Arsinoe IV of Egypt⚱
Arsinoe IV of Egyptrests hereQueen of Ptolemaic Egypt from 48 BC to 47 BC
Hipponax✶
Hipponaxborn hereancient Greek poet
Soranus of Ephesus✶
Soranus of Ephesusborn here1st/2nd century AD Greek physician
Parrhasius✶
Parrhasiusborn hereLate 5th/early 4th-century BC Greek painter
Epenetus of Carthage✶
Epenetus of Carthageborn herepriest

Pictured through the ages

Artworks that portray Ephesus

The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus
The Preaching of St Paul at EphesusEustache Le Sueur · 1,649 CE
Ephesus. The ruins of the Temple of Hadrian.
Ephesus. The ruins of the Temple of Hadrian.Simon Kozhin · 2,005 CE

Chronicle

What happened at Ephesus

  1. 497 BCEBattle of Ephesus
  2. 408 BCEBattle of Ephesus
  3. 50 CERiot in Ephesus
  4. 100 CEbook burning at Ephesus
  5. 449 CESecond Council of Ephesus
  6. 475 CEThird Council of Ephesus

Nearby sites

Miletus ~46 km
Miletus Türkiye
Sardis ~86 km
Sardis Türkiye
Aphrodisias ~123 km
Aphrodisias Türkiye
Pergamon ~132 km
Pergamon Türkiye
Official site ↗