The Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis:
The Artemision was a Greek temple dedicated to Artemis. The goddess Artemis played a great role in Greek mythology and religion. She was the daughter of Leto and Zeus (the ruler of the Greek gods) and the twin sister of Apollo. Artemis was the goddess of hunting, wilderness and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, and the protector of the girl child up to the age of marriage.
Artemis was known as the mistress of animals, but she was also a hunter and the goddess who could bring death with her arrows. Together with her twin brother Apollo she was the bringer of sudden death and disease too. As an Olympian goddess, Artemis was free to pursue her interests, and was often found wondering in the forests,together with a band of nymphs.
She was known as Diana in Roman mythology. Artemis is sometimes identified with the Greek goddess of the moon Selene.It is revealed in one of the epithets used to describe the goddess Phoebe called also as the bright one.
The construction completed around 550 BC and had 106 columns. The temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The most beautiful remaining of this temple are today exibited in the London British Museum.
The temple made ancient Ephesus a much visited pilgrimage place. In 356 BC The Archaik Temple was prey to a fire set by a mad man known as Herostratos and the very same night in Macedonia Alexander The Great was born.
The new building was started soon which had 127 columns with the height of 19m/62f.In the 5th C AD it was destroyed by a mob which was regarded as the final triumrh of chiristianity over paganism.
