| Best Ephesus Travel Deals | Sponsored Links |
Turkey Christian Tours
Steps of Paul, Churches/Revelation individuals & groups of all sizes. Best tours to Turkey
1-888-435-6872 Call now Tailor-made and group tours Ephesus Tours
Enjoy the luxury of your very own private Ephesus Tour. Great deals!
| M tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ephesus locals.
M
• M Photos
• M Reviews
See all Ephesus Things To Do |
 | Ephesus Things To Do Reviews | 31 - 40 of 170 |  |
The Temple of Domitian (81-96AD) was the first structure at Ephesus dedicated to an emperor. The building is constructed on a terrace set on vaulted foundations. The temple was constructed by the Ephesians as a token and symbol of their friendship with Romans.
Today little remains of the Temple of Domitian, which was located in the centre of a broad platform, exists. The work on the temple began while the emperor was still alive, and the structure was destroyed at the end of the Christian Period.
The huge statue of Domitian found near the temple is today at the Yzmir Museum. Approach to the temple was by means of the monumental stairway still visible today on the north side of the terrace. The facade of the temple was decorated with eight columns. To the north was an altar, now on display in the Ephesus Museum, which is decorated with reliefs portraying various implements of war.
The terrace is 50 by 100m in size, and from the north appears to be two storeys high. The terrace is set on a foundation which rests against the slope. On the east were shops and small chambers, where a fresco of Demeter was found. On either side of the U-shaped extension are niches, above which were located windows which served to light the interior. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting Ephesus?
Read reviews about Ephesus Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Romans seemed obsessed with water - procurement, transfer, disbursement, and especially inventive methods of use. Between 7-15 AD a 2 mile long aqueduct was constructed on order of Sextilius Pollio transporting water to a fountain at the back of the State Agora now on Domitian Square. Between 93-97 AD and forward a high arch and numerous statues were added in his memory. The Odysseus-Polyphemus group of statues taken from the Isis temple in the state agora and a head of Zeus now reside in the Selcuk Museum. At the northeastern corner of the agora, a pile of excavated terra cotta pipes ( image 5 ) have been placed, these used for underground transport of water in Ephesus to the public latrines and baths. Leave a Comment
|
To the east of the Basilica is a large structure built of cut blocks of marble known as the Baths of Varius. Built with its north and east walls carved from natural outcroppings of rock, the baths were constructed in the 2nd century AD. and restored on numerous occasions, of which the 40 metres long corridor covered with mosaics from the 5th century is in evidence. With its frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium, and other adjacent sections, the baths covers a fairly large area.
To the south of the baths is a large public toilet from the Roman Period and other structures which were unearthed during excavations in 1969.
This structure was possibly a gymnasium and Vedia Faedrina, daughter of Vedius Antonius, one of the wealthy citizens of Ephesus, and the famous sophist P. Flavius Daminianus each had a room added to the structure. The building uderwent major alterations during the Byzantine Period. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
You can find Trajan Fountain in Curetes street next to Hadrian Temple. The fountain was built in honour of Emperor Trajan (98 117AD) and his family.
The fountain was built from 102-104 A.D. It had pool with Corinthian columns and important statues of his family around it. The original statues were removed and can be seen at the Ephesus local museum. Address: Curetes Street
|
Only two pillars remain from the two story Hercules Gate located at the midportion of Curetes Way. The space between allows passage for only two people side by side and is presumed to have blocked vehicular traffic from clogging the city's main street. The two columns were the base of an arch. The upper story was columned. At the upper corners were the Winged Nike figures, as seen on the main page. The pillars were placed here in the 5th or 6th Century, but their workmanship suggests a 2nd C craft and they were presumably moved from another building. On them, Hercules is seen wrapped in the skin of the Nemean Lion.
HERCULES AND THE NEMEAN LION - the first and easiest of Hercules' twelve tasks set by his cousin Euyrstheus was to slay the Nemean lion, a vicious mythologic predator with a fondness for human flesh. The huge beast was the son of the 100-headed monster Typhon and Echidna ( half woman, half snake ). The skin of the lion was so thick that arrows could not harm it. Hercules, never a master of subtlety, clubbed the lion into unconsciousness and then put his arm down the lion's throat and choked it to death. The skin was so tough that only the claws of the lion cut cut it off. Realizing its protective value, Heracles then wore the pelt with the jaws forming the headpiece and the paws knotted across his chest to form a cloak. The olive wood club and pelt are two of the symbols typically associated with Hercules.
At the level of the mosaics and immediately adjacent the hillside houses are the ruins of what are presumed to be upscale stores. Only partial ruins remain of these shops which were two stories high with porches covering window shoppers. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Visiting Ephesus?
Read reviews about Ephesus Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
The 1st C latrine is a prime attraction in today's Ephesus, located downhill and immediately adjacent to the Scholastica baths on Curetes Street. It is a noteworthy feat of engineering. The Romans prized their so-called " rooms of easement " and created elaborate decoration and plumbing. Most likely a public toilet, some references suggest is was one of the first pay toilets in the world.
Holes were cut through marble blocks, set close together, perhaps for conspiratorial conversations between the users, as there were no partitions. Ingeniously, waste was constantly removed by a continuous flow of water from the baths next door. In a gutter in front of the seats, a steady stream of fresh water allowed for cleaning. The seats were covered, but a central pool called an impluvium was an uncovered catch basin for rainwater. Leave a Comment
|
Emperor Hadrian (117-136 AD) is honored by one of the best reconstructed buildings in Ephesus with exceptional historical detail. The building was sponsored by P. Quintilius, an otherwise unknown person. The facade features four columns in Corinthian style supporting a curved arch with the face of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, often selected by cities as a sponsoring god. 150 years later, pedestals were placed in front of the columns bearing bronze statues of 4 Roman emperors who ruled from 293-305 AD - their names are on the pedestals but the statues are long gone.
Inside the temple the central figure is a maiden believed to be Medusa because of the surrounding acanthus leaves. The most famous feature of the temple are the four friezes to the sides of Medusa added in the 5th C , now plaster replicas of the originals in the Selcuk Museum. Three detail the mythologic and more historic origins of Ephesus, the figures ranging from the Amazons to Hercules. The fourth, farthest to the right, is of considerable interest. Emperor Theodosius outlawed pagan worship in the 4th Century - so he and his family are surrounded by many of the gods he banned including Artemis and Athena. Obviously, paganism was not banished by the word of the Emperor alone.
Hadrian is one of the most interesting of emperors, one of Machiavelli's Five Good Emperors, but a strange guy nonetheless. Born in Spain and made the heir of Trajan under suspicious circumstances which included the murder of four potential opponents, Hadrian was an educated and competent leader with an interest in philosophy and all things Greek ( including sexual mores - he was flamboyantly bisexual ). A moderate leader and careful army commander, his greatest failing was his inability to tolerate criticism, a crime usually punished by death. He is most famed for Hadrian's wall, a great barrier across Great Britain designed to protect from attack by " northern barbarians ". Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Before you reached the Theater in this picture near the parking you walk through a Stadium.
The 1st century AD Stadium had a track 712 feet long in front which the chariot and horse races were held. Gladiators fought wild beasts here, also, in front of the 70,000 spectators.
The 25,000 seat theater pictured here, is a huge semicircle with mt. Pion in the background. The begining of the construction on the Theater was by Alexander's general Lysimachus and completed by emperors Claudius and Trajan. In May there are numerous performances here at the theater. It is Selcuk Epheses Festival of Culture and Art Leave a Comment
|
Since these houses are located in the town center they were obviously occupied by important people. The area is called the "Rich Houses" or "Hillside Palace". Every terrace on the stepped street was a home entrance. All were peristyle (with a small pool in the center) and the rooms were arranged around the pool. Most houses were 3-storey not higher than 20 or 25m. Columns were on all sides and the floors were marble. There was running water to the houses, either from a fountain or along the side.
In some houses there were cisterns and wells. Light came in from the open peristyle, but not enough to keep the houses from being dim, since there were no windows. The houses were lighted like the baths were. The floors were mosaic, the walls had frescoes or colored marble.
The houses were built up the first century AD and were used as late as Heraclius' time (611-641) doubtless with multiple restorations. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Built in 104 AD, this large fountain was named for the emperor Trajan (98-116), considered one of Rome's best. In the center, only a foot remains from a massive statue. Water poured from larger to smaller bowls in front of the statue with a large pool. Surrounding were columns and statues including members of Trajan's family and a number of gods including Dionysius and Aphrodite, now removed to the Selcuk museum.
Note how squat and short the second level appears - reconstruction by the early Austrian explorers used columns which were too short ( according to the internet ).
The disorganized remains of the Scholastica baths are at the site of an original bathhouse built by Varius in the 1st C and rebuilt following an earthquake by a wealthy Ephesian woman named Scholastica. Much of the building materials were lifted from other ruined buildings, most notably the Prytaneion. The baths represent a considerable achievement in engineering. Heating was by forced air below the floor. Typically noble and rich Romans used these facilities, arriving with their servants directly after lunch to enter first the cold bath, then the hot bath, followed by several hours of lounging around the lukewarm bath discussing important events, philosophy, and presumably gossip of the day. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
|
|
on September 14, 2003
on December 6, 2008
on December 23, 2007
on March 2, 2005
