Ruins of Ephesus

Ruins of Ephesus

It is a long, long, time since I wrote a blog! But today I thought I must sit and type it out, after a trip to Turkey and a visit to Ephesus – good reasons! Turkey is a culturally and historically important place, for Istanbul, its capital was Constantinople, the capital of Byzantine Empire for 1000 years. A city established by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in AD 330, it became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, which stood as the important center of Christendom, until 1453 AD when it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who renamed it as Istanbul. It is a pity that some people think of the trip to Turkey only as fun and for enjoyment, missing the historical and cultural importance of the place, and the impact it had in shaping world history.  

Now to Ephesus we turn! This is the renowned city of old in Asia Minor, which under the Roman Empire was under the rule of a Proconsul. But the city has a history dating back to 1400 BC, and more, for a Mycenean tomb was found during excavations. In 1860 statues of Artemis dating back to BC 3000 were excavated, which are of the Hittite period, when the place was called Apassa. It was a harbor city, being situated near the mouth of the river Cayster, where it joins the Aegean Sea. Today it is silted up and the old harbor lies six kms from the sea, and lies in ruins near a town called Selcuk.  

In 550 BC Ephesus was conquered by Croesus of Lydia, who rebuilt the temple of Artemis there and it became the wonder of the ancient world. Artemis was the Greek goddess of fertility, called Diana by the Romans. This is the place where Paul had come in AD 53, and proclaimed the gospel, also preaching that idols are not gods. This stirred up a riot in Ephesus for the sale of the silver shrines of Artemis went down, due to such exhortations. The mob that had collected there shouted for two hours saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The town clerk quietened them with great effort and dismissed the crowd. All these are narrated in Acts of the Apostles 19:21-41. Later, Paul stayed in Ephesus for almost three and a half years and continued his ministry, implanting a few home churches in and around the area.

When John the Apostle came to Ephesus as an old man, after his internment in the island of Patmos, he wrote down his visions as the Apocalypse or Revelation, the last book in the Bible. He writes the seven letters of Jesus Christ to the seven churches in the then Asia Minor, which start with Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7; see my book “Revelation Made Easy,” pp.44-46). Traditionally it is held that John died here of old age. As a witness stands the St. John Basilica, on the top of the citadel in Selcuk. His grave lies here and a modest church was built over it in 4^th century AD, which was replaced by a magnificent sanctuary built by Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora (around AD 545). It is a cross-shaped basilica with six domes, the central dome sheltering the grave of John the Apostle. Today it lies in ruins, with the Islamic government and tourist guides not giving importance to this site, which was a Christian pilgrimage site at one time.    

Jesus Christ, from the cross entrusted the care of his mother, Mary to his beloved disciple John, who was standing at the foot of the cross, along with mother Mary (Gospel according to John, 19:26-27). Tradition has it that John brought Mary to Ephesus and provided for her, and that she lived and died there. When the first Christians were scattered because of persecution by the Jews and Romans in AD 37-42, John fled from Jerusalem and came to Ephesus along with Mother Mary (so writes historian Eusebius). As Mother Mary is revered in Quran as the virgin mother of the Prophet Jesus, this place has become a pilgrim center

prayer requests hanging on the walls of the building

The house of Mother Mary

for Muslims also. The small and humble house where she lived along with John the Apostle, is among dense forests on the edge of Bulbul Mountain.

After her death, a church rose in that place, but was forgotten until a physically disabled German nun, Catherine Emmerich in 1800s described the location of the place she saw in her dream. Though she herself never visited the location, the priest of Izmir College in 1891 was sent to verify these facts and he confirmed the truth of the nun’s dreams. Thereafter by 1892 the place became a pilgrimage spot, especially as Pope Paul 6 in 1867, Pope John Paul 1 in 1979, and Pope Benedictus 16 in 2006 visited the place. What impressed me at the site was the thousands of prayer requests written in papers and hung or inserted on to the walls of the house and the little chapel there. It speaks volumes of the faith of the people!

Of the ruins of Ephesus, which was a great city in the ancient world, one saw Roman baths, Agora, temple of Hadrian, Library of Celsus, the grand theatre, harbor street, the temple of Artemis and so on. There is also the ruins of a temple to Domitian, the Roman Emperor (AD 81-96). There are pits, communal ones, of toilets! There are hillside terraced houses which are covered by tin, to keep them safe from the vagaries of the weather. These have ground floor, and two floors above. Frescoes and mosaics have been discovered here, these being houses of the rich, who have embellished their homes. The ruins of the library of Celsus in Ephesus are still standing tall, a two storied building, with sculptures adorning the entrance, built mostly during the period of Emperor Hadrian. The statues here depict Wisdom, Fortune, Science and Virtue. It was built in honor of the Roman senator Tiberius Julius Celsus, the General Governor of the Province of Asia, (Ephesus was the capital of the province), who was a great lover of books, the construction started by his son and completed in AD 117.

The steps leading to the top seats in the Amphitheatre

The next important ruin is that of the Great Theater, which can accommodate some 25000 spectators, being the largest in Asia Minor. Remains of stadium and gymnasium are also seen. The Temple of Artemis is also in ruins, but must have been magnificent during the hay days, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is the largest marble temple ever built. Pliny the Younger (who lived in in 1^st century AD) states that there were 127 marble columns, the front and the back having double colonnade. It was burnt down by one crazy man named Herostrate in 356 BC, and it never regained its glory thereafter. Today only a single, lone column stands as a witness to this once famous temple.

So, empires come and go, emperors live and die, famous cities lie in ruins, marbles and mosaics become memories, all indicating the transient nature of this world and its attractions – a good reason for us to place our eyes and attention on the eternal city that awaits every believer as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ. These ruins of a once famous city tell us exactly that!