Temple of Ephesian Artemis

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision (Ἀ, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a localised form of the goddess Artemis (equated with the Roman goddess Diana). It was located in Ephesus, near modern day Selçuk in Turkey. While it had been destroyed and rebuilt many times in ancient history, the last incarnation of the temple was destroyed in 401 AD. Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain in the present day. The beginning of the history of the temple is unclear. It is known, however, that the earliest version of the temple was destroyed by a flood in the 7th century BC. A more elaborate reconstruction of the temple began around 550 BC under the leadership of the Greek architect from Crete Chersiphron, funded by Croesus of Lydia. This version of the temple lasted until 356 BC, when it was burned down by an arsonist, popularly identified as Herostratus. The final form of the temple was funded by the people of Ephesus. The temple was central to Ephesian life, as it had great political and social value to its citizens. The Ephesian Artemis, which was considered as separate from the Hellenic version of the god, had unique features and artifacts associated with her and was seen as a protector of the city.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).