Saturday, 8 March 2014

Old Seven Wonders of the World: The Temple of Artemis, Turkey

Temple of Diana

Old: The Temple of Artemis, Turkey

Color engraving by Ferdinand Knab/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images
The great marble temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis was completed around 550 B.C. at Ephesus, near the modern-day town of Selçuk in Turkey.
In addition to its 120 columns, each standing 60 feet (20 meters) high, the temple was said to have held many exquisite artworks, including bronze statues of the Amazons, a mythical race of female warriors.
A man named Herostratus reportedly burned down the temple in 356 B.C. in an attempt to immortalize his name. After being restored, the temple was destroyed by the Goths in A.D. 262 and again by the Christians in A.D. 401 on the orders of Saint John Chrysostom, then archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul).
Today the temple's foundations have been excavated and some of its columns re-erected.

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