EPHESUS (eph'e-sus), (Gr.'Ecbcoos, ef'es-os), an old and celebrated city, capital of lonia,one of the twelve Ionian cities in Asia Minor in the Mythic times.
(1) Location. It lay on the river Cayster, not far from the coast of the Icarian sea, between Smyrna and Miletus. It was also one of the most considerable of the Greek cities in Asia Minor ; but while, about the epoch of the introduction of Christianity, the other cities declined, Ephesus rose more and more. It owed its prosperity in part to the favor of its governors, for Lysimachus named the city Arsinoe, in honor of his second wife, and Attalus Philadelphus furnished it with splendid wharfs and docks; in part to the favora ble position of the place, which naturally made it the emporium of Asia on this side the Taurus (Strabo, xiv. pp. 641, 663).
(2) History. Under the Romans Ephesus was the capital not only of Ionia, but of the entire as one of the seven wonders of the world. It stood on a platform about 425 feet in length and feet in width, measured from the lowest step. A flight of ten steps led to the pavement of the platform, and three more steps to the pave ment of the temple. The temple itself was 342/2 feet in length and 164 feet in width. It consisted of two rows of eight columns each in front and rear, and two rows of twenty columns each on either side of the sanctuary. These with two columns at each entrance of the sanctuary made one hundred in all. Each was a monolith of mar ble 55 feet in height, and the eighteen at each end were sculptured. The roof was covered with large white marble tiles. The cella or inner sanc tuary, which these columns surrounded, was 70 feet wide and toy long. Its internal ornamenta tion was of surpassing splendor, adorned with works of art by Phidias and Praxiteles, Scopas, Parrhasius, and Apelles. (Davis, Bib. Diet.) province of Asia, and bore the honorable title of the first and greatest metropolis of Asia. The Bishop of Ephesus in later times was the president of the Asiatic dioceses, with the rights and privileges of a patriarch. In the days of Paul Jews were found settled in the city in no inconsid erable number (compare Joseph. Antiq.xiv :JO, II), and from them the Apostle collected a Christian community (Acts xviii :to; xix:i ; xx ;16), which being fostered and extended by the hand of Paul himself, became the center of Christianity in Asia Minor. On leaving the city the Apostle left Tim othy there (i Tim. i :3) : at a later period, accord ing to a tradition which prevailed extensively in ancient times, we find the Apostle John in Ephe sus, where he employed himself most diligently for the spread of the gospel, and where he not only died, at a very old age, but was buried, with Mary the mother of the Lord. Some make John bishop
of the Ephesian communities, while others ascribe that honor to Timothy. In the book of Revelation (ii :I) a favorable testimony is borne to the Chris tian churches at Ephesus.
(3) Temple of Diana. The classic celebrity of this city is chiefly owing to its famous temple, and the goddess in whose honor it was built,name ly, 'Diana of the Ephesians.' The temple was a magnificent work of Ionic architecture, and ranked The earlier temple was burnt down on the night in which Alexander was born (B. C. 355), by an obscure person of the name of Eratostratus, who thus sought to transmit his name to posterity; and, as it seemed somewhat unaccountable that the goddess should permit a place which redounded so much to her honor to be thus recklessly de stroyed, it was given out that Diana was so en gaged with Olympias, in aiding to bring Alexander into the world, that she had no time nor thought for any other concern. At a subsequent period, Alexander made an offer to rebuild the temple, provided he was allowed to inscribe his name on the front, which the Ephesians refused. Aided, however, by the whole of Asia Minor, they suc ceeded in erecting a still more magnificent tem ple, which the ancients have lavishly praised and which it took two hundred and twenty years to complete. The theater was one of the largest known of all that have remained to modern times. The auditorium was semicircular, 495 feet in di ameter, and the orchestra was t to. The stage was 22 feet wide. The theater seated 24,50o persons. Among his other enormities Nero is said to have despoiled the temple of Diana of much of its treasure. It continued to conciliate no small por tion of respect till it was finally burnt by the Goths in the reign of Gallienus. The 'silver shrines' of the Ephesian Artemis mentioned in Acts xix :24. have been already noticed: (See DemeTRIUs.) (4) Sorcery and Magic. The Ephesian multi tude were addicted to sorcery; indeed, in the age of Jesus and his Apostles, adepts in the occult sci ences were numerous: they traveled from country to country, and were found in great numbers in Asia, deceiving the credulous multitude and prof iting by their expectations. They were times Jews, who referred their skill and even their forms of proceeding to Solomon, who is still re garded in the East as head or prince of magicians (Joseph. Antiq. viii:2, 5; Acts viii:9; 8). In Asia Minor Ephesus had a high reputation for magical arts (Ortlob, De Ephes. Libris coon bustis).